3 different ways to make tie-dye t-shirts at home with children 2026

Without a doubt, it is one of the leisure plans that are marking the quarantine: customizing clothes with the help of different materials. There are many influencers who have joined the trend of fading and dyeing white t-shirts to their liking. Many have also taken advantage of the opportunity to form a fantastic family plan and let their little ones create their own.

And we are talking about a plan that, in addition to being super entertaining, provides children with doses of emotional learning: if parents let them create their own textile designs, in addition to feeling integrated, they will feel that their opinion counts and, therefore, we will be working on their self-esteem. Not to mention imagination and creativity: “here are these materials and these colors, let's see what design you can think of to create.” A good opportunity for them to let their tastes fly and form their own personal stamp in the form of a t-shirt that they will wear when the good weather arrives and the days when we can leave the house.

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Pilar Rubio was one of the first mommy influencers to join the trend. And he showed the result in an Instagram post that gained thousands of followers. Both she and her husband and children customized different t-shirts to their liking and waited a day to see the final result.

A trend that Jessica Bueno also followed, who shared several images of her little ones totally concentrated while they dyed t-shirts to their liking.

A great plan that you can also follow at home. You won't need too many materials: a white t-shirt (with or without a logo) will be enough, some colored dyes that can be easily found on any large surface and a few rubber bands or hair ties to hold the t-shirt before stretching it. These come in powder form and, although the exact instructions for use will come in the box, you normally have to dilute them in a little boiling water and put them in a bottle with a nipple or with a hole made in the cap (so that more quantity than desired is not spilled). If you don't have one, you can take a black t-shirt and use bleach to fade it. Of course! If children are going to participate in the activity, keep in mind that it requires adult supervision because the materials can be harmful to their health if they manipulate them without help.

Depending on the way you roll the t-shirt or piece of clothing to dye it, the final design will be one or the other. Here we show you three very simple and very beautiful ones:

Spiral winding

It is one of the most widespread ways: all you have to do is roll the shirt into a spiral with the help of a fork (or simply with your hands). To ensure this position, you will have to hold it well with a few rubber bands or scrunchies, just as it is in the photograph. Next, we will dye each section well with dye. It can be the same color or different colors. After letting it dry for approximately four/five hours, you can cut the rubber bands, stretch and see the wonderful spiral that will remain on your t-shirt.

Crumpling

A very simple and equally beautiful alternative is to roll the shirt on itself (we crumple it a lot to form a curl). We will grab this in several places with rubber bands, forming little lumps that we will color with the dyes. As in the previous design, you can choose between painting only one color or choosing one for each roll. The result will be beautiful faded horizontal stripes.

With the help of a cord

For this third model you will have to help yourself with a cord or rope. So that? Well, because the shirt will be rolled over it to form a curl that you will later pull to form a circle as in the photograph. Although the method is ideal for a single color, you can use your imagination and improvise with several. You have to dye each white gap you see well with dye. When you unroll, the result will be great.

Although we are giving the example with t-shirts, there are many garments that you can customize: sweatshirts with and without hoods, fluid pants, jackets, skirts or even some accessories such as towels for beach and pool days, summer sarongs. For the most experts: also backpacks.