Tie Dye Kits

Get your groove on

You might want to wear rubber gloves for this project and make sure your work surface is covered with a plastic tablecloth to protect it from the dye.

Soaking: Follow the directions for soaking the T-shirts in a bucket of soda ash water for at least 20 minutes.

Wring out the excess fluid: Lay the shirt flat on the work surface.

Creating spiral: To twist into a spiral pattern, take your thumb and forefinger and pinch the center of the T-shirt and twist into a spiral.

Tie the shape: It will resemble a cinnamon bun — with rubber bands to form sections.

Make a pattern: Alternate red and blue ink squirted on each section until each section is thoroughly dyed with a color.

Seal bag: Carefully place and seal in a Ziploc bag for at least 24 hours.

Rinse: Rinse the shirt with cool water until the water runs mostly clear.

Wash: Remove the bands and wash the shirt alone in the washing machine.

Dry and wear

Second wash: After it's worn, wash it again by itself to make sure the dye is set and the colors don't run.

"You know how white T-shirts can get so dingy after a while?" said Leslie Canepa of Stockton, who likes to tie dye with her daughters. "We like to take those and tie-dye them. But make sure whatever T-shirt you use is 100 percent cotton, otherwise the color won't set well."

Canepa uses old-fashioned Rit Fabric Dye.

Find dyes (in all kinds of colors) and ties (rubber bands or zip ties) and other necessary supplies at craft or fabric stores. Or get really serious and tie-dye like a deadhead by getting supplies from the experts online.

Towels that Kari Herrington of Stockton tie-dyed nearly five years ago for a local swim team still hold their color, thanks to expert dyes and chemicals she purchased online from a company specializing in tie-dye supplies.

In this DIY illustration, the shirts were made using supplies found at Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts in Stockton. The shirts were soaked in a soda ash solution for 20 minutes beforehand. Tulip brand fabric dyes were used as was a Jacquard tie-dye kit. Afterward, the shirts were rinsed under cool running water and then untied.

The U.S. almost wore a tie-dye kit at the '94 World Cup ...

The 1994 World Cup in the United States is mostly remembered for the drama of Roberto Baggio's miss in the shootout that gave Brazil the title and the tragedy of Andres Escobar's murder after Colombia's disappointing performance. Providing a tiny bit of levity in the midst of all that was the regrettable, stone-washed denim style away shirt that the U.S. team wore before being eliminated in the round of 16.

The blog named that very fashion statement, The Denim Kit , interviewed Drew Gardner, who was adidas' product manager for the team that created the design. And Gardner reveals that it as almost far worse:

So halfway through the process [Air Jordan developers Rob Strasser and Peter Moore] came in, and they were very market-driven, so Strasser wanted to make sure that whatever was done got a lot of attention; whether it was right, wrong, or indifferent.

I remember one time he kept pushing and pushing tie-dye. That's kind of how the away jersey kind of came from … they were first playing with a tie-dye look when you twist the t-shirt before you dye it and rubber band it up; the stars were going to open up like that.

The bottom line was they wanted to be able to sell a retail line and tie it back to the uniform and they wanted it to be financially successful and they were able to convince the powers that be that this was the kit that we needed to push forward.

Tie-dye. I really don't think they could have ever lived that down. Although, given the look Alexi Lalas had going back then, it would have been at least partially appropriate.

Read the full interview here -- it provides great insight into the creation of a national team kit and even mentions how Dikembe Mutombo was supposed to be the next Air Jordan.

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