Tie-dyed Bracelets, Necklaces, and Anklets

Our set up en plein air.

My frugal husband has been cutting up his old t-shirts to use as rags. He recently cut some up and I got to thinking--we could use some of the scraps to make bracelets. Since my daughter has a number of tie-dye kits that she has received as gifts, I thought that it would be really cute if we made some tie-dyed bracelets for summer. I love to keep my daughter busy during the summer and doing crafts is always a plus, so we embarked on our project.

To start our project, I cut some rags into small strips. My goal was to tie three strips together to create a bracelet at the end. I used my daughter as a model to measure the correct lengths. I also cut some strips a little longer to make a necklace or some anklets.



Once I cut the strips, my daughter and I whipped out the tie-dye kit. We assembled our materials outside (the strips, dye, newspaper, a bowl, paper towels, rubber bands, plastic wrap, plastic bags, gloves). We put some knots into our strips and tied pieces off using rubber bands. Then, we put on some gloves and smocks. Next, we poured some of the dye over a chosen strip. We squirted the dye onto the strip over a bowl to catch excess dye. (Surprisingly, my daughter did not get the dye everywhere.) When we finished with the strip, we placed it onto a piece of newspaper before going on to the next.

Tied off strips

Dying the strips.

Once all of the strips were dyed, we wrapped each in a little plastic wrap and placed them in plastic bags. We let them set for 12 hours. Then, we rinsed them out until no more dye rinsed out. Per the kit's instructions, we let the strips dry. (It was so hot that I was able just to sit them outside for a little while.) Then, we washed them in the washer on cold. Next, we dried them.

Drying our strips.

Finally, we were ready to tie them off into necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. My daughter had fun choosing tie-dyed pieces to tie together. To make our pieces, all we did was tie simple knots. Now, we have some beautiful, bright accessories for the summer!

I am excited that the craft came out so nice! Also, the project kept my daughter occupied and we successfully used up one of her kits! (An activity that actually made some space in my house--nice!)