Lipgloss and Onesies Blog: {Craft Time} DIY Permanent Marker Tie Dye

Friday, April 10, 2015

{Craft Time} DIY Permanent Marker Tie Dye


So we all know how Pinterest-obsessed I am {sigh}. When I started seeing tutorials for using permanent markers to do your own tie dye designs, I thought it'd be amazing to try on a shirt for the Little One. 

The idea behind this craft is to use permanent markers to make a design on fabric {shirt, socks, scarf, pillow cover, etc, etc...} and then apply rubbing alcohol to the design to make the ink spread, bleed, and become a colorful tie dye design. This project will not allow for precise designs since the ink spreads so much with the alcohol, so choosing to do wavy lines or abstract flowers is your best bet. 

After reading over several different instructional posts, I decided on the spray bottle method. You can also use a dropper to apply the alcohol but if the kids are joining in on this craft, I think the spray bottles are a better choice.

So I gathered up the following supplies and got to crafting:
- shirt {or fabric of your choice}
- permanent markers {I used the BIC Mark-it Permanent Markers, because they're not as smelly as Sharpie}
- rubbing alcohol
- small spray bottle
- wax or parchment paper




1. Insert a piece of wax or parchment paper inside the shirt to avoid the ink spreading to the back.

2. Draw your design with the permanent markers.




3. Pour rubbing alcohol into small spray bottle. {I found mine in the travel section at Target}




4. Spray design with rubbing alcohol. 
*I found that it's good to start out with just spraying a little bit and add more if you want the design to keep spreading. If you just do a small amount of spraying, it doesn't look like it's going to do anything at first. But if you look closely, you'll see the edges start to spread. The more you saturate the ink, the further it will spread and blur the design. It just depends on your personal preference.

5. Wait . . .below is a time lapse of how the design spreads the longer you wait. As you can see, just 30 seconds after spraying, you can the ink start to bleed. 



6. After the shirt has dried, usually overnight, throw it in the dryer for about 20 minutes. The heat will set the design so that it won't fade when washed. You can also use an iron to set the design, but who wants to drag out the iron when you can let the dryer do all the work ;)  I then washed the shirt before Little One wore it just to be on the safe side to avoid skin irritation {and to get the alcohol smell out}.


This was a really fun craft that I think would be great for kids to join in on. Little One didn't help me with this one since I wanted to test out the spray bottle method and see what kind of results it would give. I absolutely love the way it turned out and this will be a great addition to Little One's summer wardrobe. I'd be curious to see what kind of results you could get from doing this on a canvas bag . . . that might be the next project :) 

Let me know if you've tried the permanent marker tie dye before and how you liked it. Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite summer craft is and maybe I'll try it and share on the blog :)

Thank you so much for stopping by and don't forget to follow the blog on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay in touch. 





Craft-o-maniacCreative K Kids3GLOL

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    1. SO sorry...I totally did NOT mean to remove your comment. I meant to hit REPLY :( I did read it though...and yes, this is much easier than regular tie-dying. Thanks for stopping by!

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  2. This looks a lot less messy than the traditional tie dye we do every summer.
    Heather, I think there is a choice of restoring the above comment, I use blogger, too.

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    1. Crystal, YES it is definitely a lot less messy! I love it for that. It would be a fun project for a kid's birthday party or if you're having a bbq and lots of little ones will be there. Just set up a craft station to keep them busy. They'll love it!
      Thanks for stopping by the blog!

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  3. This looks amazing. Is it safe to wash with other clothes afterwards?

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    1. I would probably wash your tie dye item with darks for the first 1 or 2 washes. We had a little fading during the first 2 washes but after that it should be fine to wash with lites or mediums...however you categorize your laundry ;) Thanks so much for stopping and I hope you try the project.

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  4. This is so cool! I'm going to save this for a fun, summer project with the kids. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks Jessica! I'm glad you'll be trying it with your little ones too!

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  5. An easier version for a tie dye! Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.

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    1. Thanks for the pin Kareen! And yes, it definitely is an easier version :)

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  6. I’m loving this! Pinned and tweeted. We appreciate you taking the time to party with us. I hope to see you on tonight at 7. Happy Monday! Lou Lou Girls

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  7. I am always looking for fun activities for the kids to do at our family gatherings!! At this years family reunion, we did firework shirts with acrylic paint and koosh balls! I am going to do this one at our next reunion!! Thanks so much for sharing!

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  8. Will this work on a canvas backpack?

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  9. Prime Trading Company offer a tailored solution to today's garment manufacturing.Our Production range Covers Tie and much more.

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  10. Everything looks fantastic.Amazing i m really impress with your content and very useful it.okAprilRice

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  11. I know I'm 6 years late but I need help. I wanted to do a flag for pride parade and I think tie die is to messy for that to work properly. If I want to blend the colors together, will I have to draw them separately, leaving space for it to spread? And also, is there a way to keep the area in the middle uncolored, like idk, putting wax on the shirt in that place? Will it work? Last question, will it work with fabric markers too or only permament markers? Thanks!

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