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The Best Way to Tie-Dye Your Pants Yourself Download Article Scrunch, fold, and dye your own pair of tie dye pants with this detailed guide Co-authored by Amy Guerrero and Hannah Madden
Last Updated: May 1, 2025 References
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Scrunching or Folding Your Pants
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Applying the Dye
|
Rinsing Your Pants and Letting Them Dry
|
Video
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Things You'll Need
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This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden. Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University. She worked as a graphic designer before starting her own business. Sunshine Craft Co. is a creative hub that offers a wide range of workshops, tools, and resources for any craft project to inspire creativity and community engagement. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 108,456 times.
Tie dyeing is a great way to add some color and pattern to your jeggings, leggings, yoga pants, or harem pants. As long as your pants are made of mostly cotton, you can tie dye any style, including jeggings, leggings, yoga pants, or harem pants. All you need is a single afternoon to create a fun new style!
Steps
Part 1 Part 1 of 3:
Scrunching or Folding Your Pants
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1 Choose white pants made of cotton. You can tie dye leggings, yoga pants, or even jeggings, as long as they are made of 100% cotton. Check the label on your pants to find out what material they are, and make sure they are mostly white.[1]XResearch source
Tie dye colors show up the best on white clothing.
If you are dyeing yoga pants or leggings, they may have some elastic blended in with the cotton. As long as it's under 10%, your tie dye will still work just fine.
2 Lay your pants out flat. Smooth out your pants on a flat surface, like a table or countertop. Make sure the surface is clean so you don't get your white pants dirty, and smooth out any wrinkles or creases in your pants with your hands.[2]XResearch source
You don’t need to iron your pants; just use your hands to smooth them out as best you can.
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3 Scrunch your pants up towards the waistband for a splatter effect. Grab the bottom of the legs of your pants and push them up towards the waistband. Bring the waistband in towards the legs of your pants and try to make a large ball of fabric.[3]XResearch source
This scrunched method makes a random splatter effect on your pants.
4 Fold your pants accordion style for a spiral design. Start at the bottom of 1 leg of your pants and fold it up in a 0.5 in (1.3 cm) horizontal section. Turn that fold over on itself to make a second fold. Continue this all the way up both legs of your pants, and then fold the waistband the same way.[4]XResearch source
This folding method creates more of a classic spiral tie dye pattern.
5 Put rubber bands around the middle of your pants for a bullseye. Pinch the middle of your pants upwards and wrap a rubber band around them so that they stick up in place. Keep pinching and attaching rubber bands about 2 inches (5.1 cm) apart until you can’t grab any more fabric.[5]XResearch source
This creates a bullseye design that will stem out from the center of your rubber bands.
6 Attach rubber bands in random places to hold your design in place. Grab 5 to 6 large rubber bands and place them around your pants to hold your folds together. Make sure your pants stay tight in their design and won’t come loose as you apply your dye.[6]XResearch source
Tip: You can also put the rubber bands on as you scrunch or fold your pants if it’s easier.
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Applying the Dye
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1 Put on rubber gloves and lay down plastic to protect your surface. Grab some rubber kitchen gloves or latex gloves to keep your hands protected as you use your dye. Then, place a large plastic tarp or some large plastic bags down to keep the dye contained, even if you are working outside.[7]XResearch source
You can buy gloves at most home goods stores.
2 Mix up your dye in individual squirt bottles. Open up your tie dye and follow the instructions on the package. Mix each color in individual plastic bottles with squirt bottle tops so that you can pour them out easily.[8]XResearch source
You can use as many or as little colors of dye that you would like to!
Classic tie dye usually involves red, green, yellow, purple, or blue, but you can also find pastel tie dye colors.
You can purchase tie dye at most craft stores.
3 Squirt dye over your pants in a random pattern for an irregular design. Take your bottles of dye one at a time and squirt each color onto your pants. Overlap your colors for a design that makes a random pattern.[9]XResearch source
Try using red, purple, and blue for a cute color combination.
Add yellow and orange dye for bright, vibrant pants.
Tip: Make sure you turn your pants over to get dye on both sides.
4 Add dye in blocks or lines for a sequential pattern. Use each dye color in blocks or lines that are about 2 inches (5.1 cm) wide. You can do your colors in an alternating pattern for a cohesive look overall.[10]XResearch source
Try using red, green, and yellow for a classic looking tie dye.
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Rinsing Your Pants and Letting Them Dry
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1 Place your pants in a plastic bag and let them sit for 6 hours. Don’t disturb your pants so that they have time to soak in all the dye. The longer you leave your pants, the more vibrant the colors will be. Leave them on a porch or back patio so they won’t be moved around.[11]XResearch source
You can let your pants sit for as long as 24 hours if you’d like to.
2 Rinse out your pants with cold water. Take your pants out of the plastic bag and run cold water over them in the sink. Keep rinsing your pants until the water runs clear so that the dye doesn’t get on any of your other clothes.[12]XResearch source
Cold water will leave your dye intact and won’t make the colors run together.
3 Let your pants air dry before you wear them. Hang your pants out to dry in the sun until they aren’t damp anymore, or put them in the dryer to dry them faster. Enjoy showing off your DIY tie dyed pants![13]XResearch source
Tip: If your pants get dirty, wash them on their own in cold water to make sure the dye doesn’t get on any of your other clothes.
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Things You’ll Need
White cotton pants
Rubber bands
Tie dye
Plastic squirt bottles
Plastic bags or a plastic tarp
Gloves
Plastic bag
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Co-authored by: Amy Guerrero Arts & Crafts Specialist This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden. Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University. She worked as a graphic designer before starting her own business. Sunshine Craft Co. is a creative hub that offers a wide range of workshops, tools, and resources for any craft project to inspire creativity and community engagement. This article has been viewed 108,456 times. 32 votes - 92% Co-authors: 6Updated: May 1, 2025 Views: 108,456 Categories: Featured Articles | Fabric PaintingArticle SummaryX
To tie dye pants, you’ll need white pants that are made out of mostly cotton. Machine wash your pants without fabric softener, then leave them damp. Put down some plastic over your work area and lay your pants out flat. For a random splatter effect, scrunch the pants up toward the waistband and scrunch the waistband toward the legs. Secure the folds with rubber bands. For a spiral effect, grab the pants where you want the center of the spiral to be and twist. Then, secure the fabric with a rubber band. Make as many spirals as you’d like. Now put on gloves and mix fabric dye with water in squirt bottles, using a separate bottle for each color. The more dye you use, the darker and more saturated your colors will be. Apply the dye to your pants until all of the exposed white fabric is covered. Place your pants in a plastic bag and let them sit for at least 6 hours. Then, rinse the pants with cold water until the water runs clear and remove the rubber bands. Finally, dry your tie-dyed pants in the dryer. Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Reader Success Stories
Zainab Fatima
Jan 20, 2022
"I used the accordion fold, blue and green colours and boy was it beautiful. It had a beautiful pattern, sort of stripes and just so beautiful. Loved it."..." more
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Yes No Advertisement Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Co-authored by: Amy Guerrero Arts & Crafts Specialist Co-authors: 6Updated: May 1, 2025 Views: 108,45692% of readers found this article helpful. 32 votes - 92% Click a star to add your vote
Zainab Fatima
Jan 20, 2022
"I used the accordion fold, blue and green colours and boy was it beautiful. It had a beautiful pattern, sort of stripes and just so beautiful. Loved it."..." more Share yours!
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Download Article Scrunch, fold, and dye your own pair of tie dye pants with this detailed guide Co-authored by Amy Guerrero and Hannah Madden 
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Co-authored by: Amy Guerrero Arts & Crafts Specialist This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero and by wikiHow staff writer, Hannah Madden. Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University. She worked as a graphic designer before starting her own business. Sunshine Craft Co. is a creative hub that offers a wide range of workshops, tools, and resources for any craft project to inspire creativity and community engagement. This article has been viewed 108,456 times. 32 votes - 92% Co-authors: 6 Updated: May 1, 2025 Views: 108,456 Categories: Featured Articles | Fabric Painting Article SummaryX
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1 Choose white pants made of cotton. You can tie dye leggings, yoga pants, or even jeggings, as long as they are made of 100% cotton. Check the label on your pants to find out what material they are, and make sure they are mostly white.[1] 
2 Lay your pants out flat. Smooth out your pants on a flat surface, like a table or countertop. Make sure the surface is clean so you don't get your white pants dirty, and smooth out any wrinkles or creases in your pants with your hands.[2] 
3 Scrunch your pants up towards the waistband for a splatter effect. Grab the bottom of the legs of your pants and push them up towards the waistband. Bring the waistband in towards the legs of your pants and try to make a large ball of fabric.[3] 
1 Put on rubber gloves and lay down plastic to protect your surface. Grab some rubber kitchen gloves or latex gloves to keep your hands protected as you use your dye. Then, place a large plastic tarp or some large plastic bags down to keep the dye contained, even if you are working outside.[7] 
2 Mix up your dye in individual squirt bottles. Open up your tie dye and follow the instructions on the package. Mix each color in individual plastic bottles with squirt bottle tops so that you can pour them out easily.[8] 
1 Place your pants in a plastic bag and let them sit for 6 hours. Don’t disturb your pants so that they have time to soak in all the dye. The longer you leave your pants, the more vibrant the colors will be. Leave them on a porch or back patio so they won’t be moved around.[11] 
3 Let your pants air dry before you wear them. Hang your pants out to dry in the sun until they aren’t damp anymore, or put them in the dryer to dry them faster. Enjoy showing off your DIY tie dyed pants![13] 