We’re all on lockdown due to Coronavirus at the moment - and there are only so many books we can read and pub quizzes to take part in.
If you, like us, have been using this time to do something slightly more creative or learn a new skill - might we suggest the one we’ve seen all over TikTok and Instagram and tie-dye old garments.
After a thorough wardrobe sort, you might have found a few old white t-shirts that, rather than binning or giving to a local clothing bank and charity shop, you can give a new lease of life with some dyes and create the trend that seems to be sweeping the high street for less.
Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and a range of celebrities have all been seen giving the trend a go and we're here for it. Not to mention everyone on social media right now - and it’s so easy to do too.
Get ready to pimp out an old pair of socks, t-shirts, gym clothes, leggings and hoodies with ease and from the comfort of your own home.
It’s also a great way to entertain the kids whilst they’re off too. But we will warn you, it might become addictive.
We've also found some items on the high street you can buy online now if you can't be bothered with cleaning up after or don't trust yourself enough.
Top tie-dye picks:
Weekday hoodie, £35
Perfect for wearing on a run, around the house or down to the shops.
Matalan dress, £20
How gorgeous is this dress? And for £20 it's a total bargain. We love the subtle tie-dye printed and pastel colours used.
Free People jumper, £58
Add colour to your summer wardrobe with ease in this multicoloured sweater. Just add jeans or shorts and trainers.
Topshop joggers, £29.99
Work from home in style in these - tuck in a plain tee and add some sliders for the ultimate street style chic.
What do you need for tie-dyeing?
One or more coloured dyes (you could either use Dylon or tie-dyeing a kit where you just add water - and everything else comes with it)
A clean cotton or linen item
250g of salt
Measuring jug
Rubber gloves
Bands or hair ties
Plastic bottle
Step by step guide:
Wet your clean item and squeeze out any excess water and leave damp.
- Bind the sections of the item with bands - these areas will be protected from the die and create the pattern so get creative. You can always play around with this before and look at the creases before committing to any dye.
- Wearing your rubber gloves, dissolve your chosen dye in 500ml of warm water in the jug and mix in 250g of salt and stir well. Some dyes come in bottles so you just need to add water.
- Empty this into a plastic bottle for easy application of the dye.
Repeat the above steps with additional colours until your happy with the colour combinations.
Store your t-shirt somewhere safe for about an hour or longer if you can wait for the colour to really seep into the fabric.
Don’t untying the fabric, rinse in cold water until it runs clear then untie your t-shirt and rinse in warm water.
Leave to dry away from direct sunlight and you’re done.
Better yet, were you aware you can also create a cool effect with ice? Very much the same way as before but you need a bag of ice, a tray and cooling rack.
How to ice-dye:
Wet the clean shirt and squeeze out any excess water.
Leave damp and crumple the item or items into a bundle.
Stack the cooling rack on top of a tray for ice to drip freely in a puddle under the item or items.
Place the crumpled item on a rack and cover with ice cubes.
Sprinkle the powder or colour at random over the ice.
Repeat if you're using different colours.
Leave the item to sit for a minimum of an hour or until the ice has melted to allow the dye to seep into the fabric.
Once the dye has set, rinse out the excess until the water runs clear and leave to dry away from sunlight.
It's worth noting that when buying and picking your colours, to go for ones from the same family (shades of blue, pink and purple) or primary colours that can be mixed to create new (red, yellow and blue).
