How To Tie Dye With Bleach: 15 Steps (with Pictures) - WikiHow

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Terms of Use wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Learn why people trust wikiHow How to Tie Dye with Bleach PDF download Download Article Co-authored by Emily Zahniser and Amy Bobinger, BA

Last Updated: August 23, 2025 Fact Checked

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  • Finding a Garment and Work Area
    • |
  • Creating Cool Designs
    • |
  • Applying the Bleach
    • |
  • Video
    • |
  • Q&A
    • |
  • Things You'll Need
|Show more |Show less X

This article was co-authored by Emily Zahniser and by wikiHow staff writer, Amy Bobinger, BA. Emily Zahniser is a Sewist based in the Pacific Northwest. She designs and sews garments from vintage and antique textiles. Passionate about sustainability, Emily gives new life to discarded and forgotten fabrics, including upcycling home textiles like bedding and table linens, or deadstock bulk fabrics. Through her fashion brand, Saint Clairs Scissors, she carefully sources, cleans, and mends vintage fabrics, crafting one-of-a-kind pieces that blend nostalgia with a modern, timeless twist. She received a BA in Music from University of Washington and attended a Graduate program at Columbia University’s Manhattan School of Music. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 858,298 times.

Tie dyeing is a fun way to give new life to clothes, but darker colors don’t always take dye very well. If you’re looking for a way to update your dark clothes, try tie dyeing with bleach! You'll get a cool white design that stands out well against dark or bright colors.

Steps

Part 1 Part 1 of 3:

Finding a Garment and Work Area

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  1. Step 1 Work outside or in a well-ventilated area. 1 Work outside or in a well-ventilated area. The fumes from bleach are extremely strong and they can be dangerous, so make sure you set up your project in an area with plenty of fresh air. If you can, try to work outside.[1] If that’s not an option, choose a large room and open a window or turn on a fan.[2]
  2. Step 2 Protect your hands with heavy rubber gloves. 2 Protect your hands with heavy rubber gloves. Bleach is a strong chemical. Even when it’s diluted it can cause chemical burns on your skin. Be sure to wear heavy rubber gloves (like the kind used for cleaning) to protect your skin while you’re tie dyeing your clothes with bleach.[3] You can get these wherever cleaning supplies are sold.[4] Advertisement
  3. Step 3 Choose cotton clothing in a dark color. 3 Choose cotton clothing in a dark color. Black is the best color for tie dyeing with bleach because you will get the best contrast, but you can use any color as long as it’s dark enough to produce an effect. Experiment with different colors to find what you like![5]
  4. Step 4 Avoid garments made from delicate or synthetic fabrics. 4 Avoid garments made from delicate or synthetic fabrics. Bleach won’t affect synthetic materials like polyester because they are designed to be colorfast. In addition, bleach can damage more delicate fabrics such as silk.[6]
  5. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 5 Lay down old towels or a drop cloth. If you’re working inside, you’ll need to protect your work surface from bleach, so cover it with a drop cloth or old towels that can get messed up. If you’re using an absorbent material like a towel, be sure it doesn’t get soaked or the bleach will seep through and ruin whatever’s beneath it.[7]
    • If you’re working outside, you’ll want to have something laid on the ground to protect your garment from getting dirty during the tie dyeing process.
    6. Advertisement
Part 2 Part 2 of 3:

Creating Cool Designs

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  1. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 1 Twist your garment to create a pattern and secure it with rubber bands. Space the rubber bands several inches apart. The parts of your garment that are rubber-banded will stay the original color, while the exposed fabric will turn white when you bleach it.[8]
    • You can get creative with your designs or you can just bunch up the fabric and put rubber bands on it to get a random and totally unique look.
    • As closely tied as the rubber band or the string you use will be, the tenser removing it will become. If you want, instead of removing, you can cut off the rubber bands carefully, in the end.
  2. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 2 Twirl the garment to create a spiral pattern. To create a traditional spiral tie-dye pattern, hold your garment with 2 fingers and twirl it so it twists tightly. Keep twirling until the entire garment is twisted into a tight knot. Secure the twirl with several rubber bands, then apply your bleach mixture. You can use a string to tie it up too. The tighter the spirals are secured, the better the distinction between darker and lighter areas will be formed.[9]
  3. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 3 Create several patterns on the same garment with knots. If you want to create a haphazard tie-dye, try using rubber bands to create several tight, small knots on the garment. Bunch these all together and secure with more rubber bands, then apply the bleach. Secure them tightly so the bleach doesn't seep through the knots.
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 4 Relocate the rubber bands and re-spray for a multi-hue effect. If you want to create a layered look, twist up your garment and apply rubber bands, then apply bleach to your fabric and let it sit for about 5-6 minutes. Take all of the rubber bands off your garment, twist your garment again, put the rubber bands back on, and re-spray the garment with the bleach mixture. Leave the second batch on for the 8-10 minutes, then rinse.[10]
  5. Step 5 Create an ombre effect on your garment by dipping it in a bleach mixture. 5 Create an ombre effect on your garment by dipping it in a bleach mixture. After you’ve tie-dyed your garment, you can make a cool faded effect by dip-dyeing the fabric. In a large bucket, dilute another mixture of 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water. Dip the bottom few inches of your garment in the bucket and leave it for 5-10 minutes to create an ombre effect.[11]
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Part 3 Part 3 of 3:

Applying the Bleach

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  1. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 1 Fill a spray or squeeze bottle with a mixture of 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water. You can get a bottle for your project at almost any store which sells cleaning supplies. You can use either a spray bottle or a squeeze bottle. A squeeze bottle may produce a slightly more precise effect than a spray bottle, but the results will be similar with either one.[12]
  2. Step 2 Apply the bleach mixture to the exposed fabric of the garment. 2 Apply the bleach mixture to the exposed fabric of the garment. Spray or squeeze the bleach mixture from your bottle onto your garment. You can vary the amount of bleach that you use depending on how intense you want the color change to be. A heavier application of bleach will cause the fabric to lighten more, and you can create different looks by applying the bleach only to some areas and not to others.[13]
  3. Step 3 Allow the bleach to sit on the fabric for 8-10 minutes. 3 Allow the bleach to sit on the fabric for 8-10 minutes. You should be able to see the bleach changing the color of the garment within about 2 minutes, but it will take 8-10 minutes for the bleach to really seep into the fabric. If you leave it on much longer the bleach could damage your garment.[14]
  4. Watermark wikiHow to Tie Dye with Bleach 4 Wash the garment in mild detergent when the time is up. Remove all the rubber bands. You want to wash your garment right away to stop the chemical bleaching process. You can either put your clothing in the washing machine with a mild detergent or you can hand wash it in your sink or bathtub.[15]
    • If you hand wash your garment, make sure to leave on your gloves until you’ve finished rinsing it so you don’t come into contact with any bleach.
    • Have your bathtub rinsed well if you washed in it.
  5. Step 5 Hang your garment to air-dry or place it in the dryer. 5 Hang your garment to air-dry or place it in the dryer. Once your garment is thoroughly rinsed, you can either air-dry it or put it in the dryer, depending on how you normally prefer to dry your clothes. After it’s dry, it’s ready to wear, so put it on and enjoy your new style!
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Community Q&A

Search Add New Question
  • Question How would I be able to do a 1960s pattern out of tie dye? Community Answer Community Answer To get the 60's spiral effect, lay your shirt flat on a table; I like front side down because the spiral looks better on the other side. Place a fork in the middle of the shirt and turn the fork, twisting the fabric as you go, until you end up with a small, flat spiral of fabric. Now hold it together with rubber bands, across the middle top to bottom, left to right, and diagonally; it should look like pie slices. Wet the shirt in diluted bleach just a few minutes, then take off the rubber bands and rinse all of the bleach out. Voila, a spiral. If using colored dye, dip and hold about 1/2 of the shirt in one color, then 1/2 in another color. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 10 Helpful 81
  • Question I tried the 1-to-1 mixture ratio, but it barely lightened the fabric. I applied a lot of the bleach mixture and let it sit for hours, and nothing. What did I do wrong? T. Chinsen T. Chinsen Top Answerer T-shirts for any tie dye project need to be 100% cotton to have the best effect. A 50/50 shirt has a mix of polyester with cotton. Synthetic fibers do not absorb dye and will not bleach out, as they are not made of fine fiber strands. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 6 Helpful 42
  • Question Can I wash/rinse several bleach tie-dyed shirts all together in the washer? T. Chinsen T. Chinsen Top Answerer Rinse out excess bleach from the garments before washing them together. You risk excess bleach damaging your designs when you wash them together. Adding some washing or baking soda (about a half cup) will help neutralize the bleach. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 8 Helpful 23
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Things You'll Need

  • Bleach
  • Water
  • Heavy rubber gloves
  • Rubber bands
  • Spray bottle/squeeze bottle
  • Old towels or drop cloth
  • Clean colored T-shirt
  • Mild laundry detergent

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References

  1. ↑ Shaelynn Haning. Professional Tailor & Business Owner. Expert Interview
  2. ↑ https://www.candiedfabrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Tie-Dye-for-Kids.pdf
  3. ↑ Shaelynn Haning. Professional Tailor & Business Owner. Expert Interview
  4. ↑ https://www.candiedfabrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Tie-Dye-for-Kids.pdf
  5. ↑ https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Chem_p019/chemistry/how-to-make-the-boldest-brightest-tie-dye
  6. ↑ https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Chem_p019/chemistry/how-to-make-the-boldest-brightest-tie-dye
  7. ↑ https://campfireseattle.org/blog/diy-acrylic-tie-dye/
  8. ↑ https://campfireseattle.org/blog/diy-acrylic-tie-dye/
  9. ↑ https://campfireseattle.org/blog/diy-acrylic-tie-dye/
More References (6)
  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIptlFFf-Bk
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIptlFFf-Bk
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiLc-FR2sgU
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiLc-FR2sgU
  5. ↑ https://www.instructables.com/Tie-Dyeing-with-Bleach/
  6. ↑ https://www.instructables.com/Tie-Dyeing-with-Bleach/

About This Article

Emily Zahniser Co-authored by: Emily Zahniser Sewist and Upcycling Expert This article was co-authored by Emily Zahniser and by wikiHow staff writer, Amy Bobinger, BA. Emily Zahniser is a Sewist based in the Pacific Northwest. She designs and sews garments from vintage and antique textiles. Passionate about sustainability, Emily gives new life to discarded and forgotten fabrics, including upcycling home textiles like bedding and table linens, or deadstock bulk fabrics. Through her fashion brand, Saint Clairs Scissors, she carefully sources, cleans, and mends vintage fabrics, crafting one-of-a-kind pieces that blend nostalgia with a modern, timeless twist. She received a BA in Music from University of Washington and attended a Graduate program at Columbia University’s Manhattan School of Music. This article has been viewed 858,298 times. How helpful is this? Co-authors: 13 Updated: August 23, 2025 Views: 858,298 Categories: Featured Articles | Tie Dyeing Clothes and Fabric Article SummaryX

To tie dye your clothing with bleach, twist your garment into a tight spiral or several small knots, then secure the twists with rubber bands. Next, fill a spray bottle with a mixture of 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water. Spray the bleach mixture onto the garment and allow it to sit for 8-10 minutes, then wash the garment with a mild detergent. Keep reading for tips on how to create cool patterns! Did this summary help you?YesNo

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Reader Success Stories

  • Maja Gorzynska

    Maja Gorzynska

    May 2, 2020

    "I followed the directions and my tie dye shirt came out amazing. I definitely recommend using this tutorial."
More reader stories Hide reader stories Share your story If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.

Did this article help you?

Yes No Advertisement If you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.Cookies make wikiHow better. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Emily Zahniser Co-authored by: Emily Zahniser Sewist and Upcycling Expert Click a star to vote Co-authors: 13 Updated: August 23, 2025 Views: 858,298 Maja Gorzynska

Maja Gorzynska

May 2, 2020

"I followed the directions and my tie dye shirt came out amazing. I definitely recommend using this tutorial." Mike Hawk

Mike Hawk

Mar 16, 2023

"Great shirt - 10/10 would bleach again! " Rated this article: Anna Oop

Anna Oop

Jun 10, 2020

"My shirt was nicer than ever." Share yours! More success stories Hide success stories

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