DIY: How to spray-dye your old t-shirts
You can be a spray-dye artist
Here’s a simple project to get you started.
- Plain T-shirt
- 3 spray bottles of fabric paints in different colours
- Cardboard sheet
- Protective gloves
- 7-inch record
STEP 1
Place the cardboard sheet between the front and back of your tee to avoid colour bleed.
STEP 2
Smooth the top surface and spray your first colour.
STEP 3
Place the record in the centre of the design area.
TIP
We chose a 45-rpm record — as music lovers, we like the reference and the two-circle pattern it makes — but almost anything can be a stencil. Buy reusable designs at craft stores or forage for natural elements like leaves and pine needles. Get creative. Put your (gloved!) hand down and spray over it. Make paper cutouts or “write” words with strips of tape. As for fabric paint, we use Marabu Fashion Spray, the apparel industry standard.
STEP 4
Spray your second colour over the record.
STEP 5
Spray your third and final colour into the record hole.
STEP 6
Carefully remove the record and add a few more sprays if you’re feeling it.
TIP
To achieve colour richness but avoid drips, spray lightly and slowly build layers. A drippy effect can be cool-looking, too — tilt the T-shirt (in cardboard) for extra drip. Have kids? Send them outside with the bottles (in clothes you don’t care about) and let them go nuts.