DIY Crafts: How To Ombre Tie Dye

This post was sponsored by I Love to Create and Blueprint Social. I was compensated and received product, however all opinions are my own.

Today I want to share with you how you can actually tie dye your furniture! What?! Craziness!! Okay, so you’re not actually going to tie dye the furniture furniture, but you CAN tie dye cushions for chairs, sofas, benches, etc. AND I’m going to show you how to do some ombre tie dye so you can Tie Dye Your Summer.

For this DIY tie-dye project I used the Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit. It’s a 59-piece tie-dye kit that comes with EVERYTHING you need for a tie-dye craft project or tie-dye party. That includes the dye, rubber bands, and gloves – all you need is something to dye!

As you can see from this commercial, the Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit is super fun and easy for kids to work with:

I started with this bench I found at the Salvation Army. I got it for $40 to use in my daughter’s nursery as a “reading bench.” I thought about covering the cushion with some pretty fabric, but I figured dyeing the cushion cover would be a lot easier (plus my sewing skills aren’t that great).

If you’re going to do ombre tie dye, you want to set up all your materials before you actually start dyeing stuff. The dye is relatively un-messy, but I put down a plastic trash bag under the cushion cover just to be safe. You’re also going to need your mixed dye in the bottle, some water, and a big paint brush.

Start by getting the object that you’re dyeing damp – this makes it easier to spread the dye. The next step is putting the tie dye directly onto one end of the cushion cover (or shirt, or whatever you’re dyeing). You can put it at the top, the bottom, the side – basically wherever you want the ombre to be the darkest, that is where you start with the dye.

Next, take your brush and spread the dye in the direction that you want the ombre to be going. I started at the bottom and spread the dye going up with my brush.

Once you’re happy with how the tie dye looks, you’re going to roll up the item or make it compact enough to…

…wrap it with plastic wrap! Yep, just completely wrap your cushion cover, shirt, etc. You could also put it into a bag – basically you just have to make sure it keeps wet for the next 6-8 hours. I know, 6-8 hours sounds like a long time to wait, but the longer you wait the more the dye will saturate whatever you’re dyeing, and the more vibrant the colors are going to be.

Once you’ve waited about 8 hours, unwrap your material and rinse out all the excess water. Next, you’re going to wash it in the washing machine on its hottest setting, with the most amount of water possible, and a very minimal amount of laundry detergent.

Dry your item according to its washing instructions, and you’re done! I painted the reading bench purple to go with the ombre purple tie dye cushion, and I think it looks awesome! I’m so excited for when my daughter starts to read so she can use it (although, I’m definitely not rushing the whole growing up thing…I just want her to be a baby FOREVER)!

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