Reverse tie dye (also known as bleach tie dying) is an awesome way to remove color from a shirt or hoodie with beautiful and unique results. See below how we created this totally adorable shirt, perfect for Florida weather!
If you know us at all, you know that we adore tie dying! This was the second time we have tested out a “reverse” tie dye but the first time with a kit. You can see our entire TikTok video below or visit us and see everything we do here @TrishaAndCharlotte. Once you see our video, head below to see the full tutorial!
TikTok Tie Dye
@trishaandcharlotteDo we get a ❤️ for part 1 and part 2 in same video!?! ##tiedye♬ original sound – trishaandcharlotte
What is “Reverse” Tie Dye?
There is no doubt that you have heard of regular tie dye. Long since one of the most fun ways to make custom shirts, hoodies (even masks) tie dye is loads of fun. Reverse tie dye is the act of REMOVING dye versus adding it. You can reverse tie dye just about any solid color shirt by adding a remover like bleach or chlorine, or use a reverse kit like we did below.
Tulip® Reverse Tie-dye Kit
We purchased the Reverse Dye Kit at Micheal’s for about $10. The kit comes with what we would call a chlorine solution (smells JUST like a pool) in a powder form that you add water to.
Why not just use Bleach?
You can def use bleach. The issue with bleach is that if it touches like ANYTHING, it bleaches it and its so easy to spill. Plus, many people can be really sensitive to straight bleach (smells, touch on hands, etc). We like the kit personally over trying to pour bleach into a tiny container.
Results May Vary….
One thing we have learned is that how well your shirt dyes is really up to the material that it is. We have tried to reverse dye a hoodie that was a sports material and it did NOT work. Cotton blends seem to work the best when it comes to reverse dye.
Best places for Tie Dye
All of the craft stores sell full T-shirts for tie dying, however if you want something more fashionable to wear like Charlotte has on, you can find crop tops or smaller shirts very inexpensively at
- Aeropostale (ours were $6)
- Tilly’s (5 for $25)
- American Eagle $12
- Charlotte Russe $6-$8
Reverse Tie-dye Kit Tutorial
*follow instructions on the crafting kit*
The kit will come with some bottles of powder. Add water to the fill line and shake until powder is resolved.
Pick a design and properly rubber band your shirt. Place in bin, like this disposable bin below.
Add gloves to your hands and pour bleach mixture to the shirt, pushing into the material until saturated.
Let process until the amount of lighting you want. The process we used was about 3 hours.
Remove rubber bands with scissors.
Rinse in cold water, wash, and dry.
Now your reverse dye is ready! Here is Charlotte showing off the one we made!
Looking for more crafts that are fun to do as a teenager?
Try one of our other ways to put down the phone and get crafty here:
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