Reverse Tie Dye Sweatshirt Using the Shibori Method

We love tie dye – No secret here. It is the perfect quarantine craft using materials you already have! That’s why I jumped on the reverse tie dye trend to create this amazing Shibori sweatshirt. For those who are unfamiliar, Shibori refers to a gorgeous Japanese blue dye. Typically, the fabric is delicately folded versus the scrunching and twisting of your regular tie dye. I combined the two methods, folding for design and bleach for as the dye, to make a gorgeous reverse tie dye shibori sweatshirt.

To create this sweatshirt, I used a cotton sweatshirt (order here) and toilet bowl cleaner. As long at the product has bleach, it will work perfectly. This was all the store had when I checked – bleach is in high demand in 2020.

If you like this tutorial, try this tutorial for the scrunch tie dye technique to make this jumpsuit for $25!

Note that this sweatshirt is navy blue. Since bleach removes the color, the resulting sweatshirt will be the absence of the dye. So, black results in orange. Navy results in gray.

Materials for Reverse Tie Dye Sweatshirt (Shibori Method)

Sweatshirt (cotton)

Rubber bands

*Update June 2020 – Using half water/ half bleach works for best results over toilet bowl cleaner with bleach*

Instructions

Step one: Wet the sweatshirt and wring out so that it is damp, but not soaking.

Step two: Fold the body of your sweatshirt in half. Then, fold in triangles. Make sure the edges of the fold are facing outward.

Step three: Repeat step two on the sleeves.

Step four: Add cardboard to both sides of your now triangle of fabric to protect these areas from bleaching. Rubber band to hold together.

Step five: Use a mixture of 1/2 water and 1/2 bleach for best results. Using spray bottle, spray the exposed edges of your clothing. Wait 10-15 minutes to develop. Add clinging bleach to edges as needed to “develop” fabric. If using toilet bowl cleaner, make sure that the edges start to turn color. There are some cleaners that do not have strong enough bleach for this project.

Step five: Rinse in bathtub until water is clear. Wash separately.

Here is a video tutorial: