One of the latest fashion trends in the gym combines two standbys—comfy soft sweatshirts and tie-dye from the 60s. A contemporary twist for today’s fitness world is cropped hoodies or sweatshirts.
Creating your own tie-dye is a fun and rewarding experience. And though there are general directions for the technique, one can never predict exactly what one will get until the work of art is unveiled. No worries. There simply is no imperfect tie-dye. Each is a beautiful, one-of-a-kind piece of art.
Follow the steps below to make your own tie-dye garment for the gym. While you are at it, make several to give as gifts. Your family and friends will be impressed by your creativity and appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Or, if you think this looks like a job better left to someone else, order a tie-dye hoodie or sweatshirt in several beautiful colors from GymGewelry.com. Both cropped and regular garments are available.
Supplies:
The supplies listed below are recommended for tie-dying a cotton/polyester blend garment using Rit DyeMore Synthetic. While other dyes are available, Rit is relatively inexpensive and readily available through many outlets. Please note that regular Rit dye will not adhere to synthetics.
Cropping Supplies:
- Hoodie or sweatshirt (50% cotton/50% polyester blend)
- Test fabric or waste from cropping regular garment
- Rotary cutter or scissors
- Cutting mat and straight edge ruler if using rotary cutter
- Measuring tape
- Straight pins
Dying Supplies:
- 2-3 extra large, heavy duty rubber bands (often sold for use with trash cans)
- Large pan
- Water
- Candy thermometer
- ½ teaspoon dish detergent
- Rit DyeMore Synthetic (color chart for color recipes)
- Tongs
Cropping Hoodie or Sweatshirt
To make a cropped garment from a regular garment, cut off the bottom of the hoodie or sweatshirt. There is no need to bind (sew) this edge as most sweatshirts are made from knit fabric, which does not ravel.
Determine where you would like the garment to be cropped and mark with a pin. Measure down the same distance under each armpit and mark with additional pins. In my medium-sized sweatshirt, I placed pins 15 inches down from the neck edge and 7 inches from each underarm.
Cut the fabric in a straight line across the garment using a rotary cutter and a straight edge ruler on a cutting mat. Or make the cut using scissors. You may need to mark your cut lines with additional pins if using scissors. If the garment has a seam on the side, be sure to stitch it together at the bottom to prevent it from coming apart.
Set aside the bottom of the garment for use as a test swatch for your dye bath.
Preparing Garment for Dye
Rinse your garment in water in the sink to dampen thoroughly and evenly. In the same manner as a damp sponge better absorbs water, a damp garment will better absorb dye.
Choose your tie-dye pattern (sunburst, shibori, bullseye, etc.). Though there are many different designs, I am fond of the one-color spiral, so will describe how to create this design.
Decide the placement of the center of your spiral and pull up a small bit of fabric here. In my example, I wanted the spiral to be focused in the center of the sweatshirt. Then, swirl the fabric to make a round, pulling in the sleeves and bottom as you.
Wrap one large rubber band around the round twice to form four evenly spaced sections. Wrap second rubber band around the fabric to create eight evenly spaced sections. Make sure sleeves and hoodie (if applicable) are secured under rubber bands so they are not loose.
You can use additional rubber bands as well for a design with more texture. Keep in mind that fabric in the folds and under the rubber bands will absorb the least amount of dye, if any.
Preparing the Dye Bath
Add 3 gallons of water to a very large pan. I use a 21 ½ quart water bath canner. It allows me to comfortably dye 3 medium hoodies. Heat water to 200° F, gauging temperature with a candy thermometer. Heat is required to dye synthetic fabrics, so
Add dish detergent and Rit DyeMore Synthetic in your choice of colors. Stir to evenly distribute detergent and dye. Test color with the scrap fabric from your cropped garment or a similar fabric. Adjust color until it is of the desired tone and value. Keep in mind, the color will be quite a bit lighter when it dries.
Dying the Garment
Place your bundled hoodie or sweatshirt into the dye bath. Leave in bath for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
When desired depth of color is attained, remove garment from dye bath with tongs. Rinse under warm running water.
Now for the fun part! Remove the rubber bands to reveal your masterpiece. Rinse under cool running water for several minutes, until water runs clear and dish detergent is removed.
After Care
At this point, I generally run garments through the rinse and spin cycles of the washer and dry in the dryer until damp dry.
Because the process for dying synthetics requires heat, the hoodie or sweatshirt will be quite wrinkled initially. With repeated wash and dry cycles, it will become less wrinkled.
I usually iron my garments after they are dyed to improve their appearance, especially if given as a gift or sold through my shop.
A dove gray cropped hoodie that has been ironed and adorned with the GymGewelry logo.