American Flag Inspired Tie Dye

The 4th of July is going to be here in just a couple of weeks. I am going to a family reunion that weekend and wanted to wear something that would show off my creative personality. I love the American flag and have made several projects using it as inspiration, and thought "why not dye?"

I really wanted to just play with this design and see what would happen. I didn't have a pattern to follow and had no clue how it would turn out. But really, as long as you don't get crazy with too much dye, which can muddle your colors and basically make "brown", then it's kind of hard to mess it up.

Supplies needed:

Red and blue dye
White tee
Masking tape
Plastic gloves (from inside kit)
Newspaper
Plastic tablecloth
Bleach
Sponge applicator

Lay out your tablecloth and cover it with newspapers. Place your white tee on top of the newspaper.

Use your fingers to scrunch up the top part of the tee. Place a couple strips of masking tape across the tee, this marks where your blue will stop and your red will begin.

Squeeze some blue dye out onto the top part of the tee. No need to go crazy and uber-saturate it.

The dye will spread on its own as it sits.

Squirt the red dye on in strips. Looks a little like a murder scene... let it sit for 4-6 hours.

Rinse the shirt under cool running water, rinsing each section separately the best that you can. Now, don't let panic set in once you see all the pink in your white sections. We're going to fix that! First, pull your shirt over a shirt form or a piece of foam core board.

Next we'll add some white to that blue section, you know, for the stars. Put some bleach into a small bowl. If you prefer, you can wear a mask for the fumes. I live dangerously and went without. Take your sponge applicator, dip it in the bleach and dot it onto the blue section of the shirt in various places.

Now use your sponge applicator dipped in bleach to "paint away" that pesky pink. It's amazing how well it works! Just keep painting until all the pink is gone.

Then.. rinse, rinse, and rinse again. Rinse it really well to get all the bleach out, use a few drops of laundry soap too to get it good and clean. Let it hang dry or toss it in the dryer.

See? Fun huh? :)

Psst. Like that polka dot tree on canvas in the background? You can find out how to make it here >> Polka Dot Circle Tree

Project created by Amanda Formaro for I Love to Create. Amanda is a well-known craft expert and author of the  books "Rubber Band Mania" and "Duct Tape Mania", the first two in a series of craft books for kids. She has been writing and crafting on the Internet for over fifteen years. Find out more on her blog, Crafts by Amanda, where she shares tutorials with step-by-step photos for adults and kids alike.

Head over to our TIE DYE YOUR SUMMER site for even more inspiration, how-to's, and fun videos to get you mega-inspired for some DIY summer fun!