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How to make tie dye pumpkins
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DIY Tie Dye Pumpkins

Create cheerful and colorful Tie Dye Pumpkins with some t-shirts (or whatever other fabric you have handy), craft pumpkins and pre-mixed dyes!
Cook Time30 minutes
Drying time12 hours
Total Time12 hours 30 minutes
Keyword: craft pumpkins, fall decor, tie dye
Servings: 3
Author: Lydia

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Wash fabric and dry it without any fabric softener. Cut into squares large enough to completely cover pumpkins.
  • Cover your work area with the drop cloth and use the plastic gloves that are both included in the tie dye kit.
  • Shake dye bottles well before applying. Apply the dyes in the colors and patterns of your choice (see pattern tutorials below).
  • Let dyed project dry overnight. The next day, remove the rubber bands, air dry and once dry, place in dryer for 20 minutes to set the dye. Wash on regular cycle with no other items and dry as usual.

Sunburst Tie Dye Pattern

  • Make small twists throughout the fabric and pull them through rubber bands. Pull about 3/4" of fabric up through the bands.
    sun burst tie die tutorial
  • Apply Ocean dye to the tips of the fabric pulled through the rubber bands. Squirt Lemon dye around the the base of each bunch just below the rubber bands. Pour Poppy around the remainder of the fabric, leaving random areas white.
    sun burst tie die technique

Spiral Tie Dye Pattern

  • Pinch the center of the fabric and twist until all of the fabric is twisted around (kind of like a cinnamon roll).
    spiral tie dye technique
  • Place 3 rubber bands equidistance around the twisted fabric.
    spiral tie dye tutorial
  • Squirt dye on each pie piece. Apply the dyes heavily to the center of each slice and it will naturally bleed to fill the section. Flip over and repeat. Of course you can use whatever color dyes you'd like; since I'm ROYGBIV obsessed I used Geranium, Poppy, Lemon, Key Lime, Ocean and Eggplant (in that order).
    how to make a spiral tie dye

Bulls Eye Tie Dye Technique

  • Pull the center of the fabric and place rubber bands around the length of the fabric about an 1 1/2" apart. (Think of pulling a napkin through a napkin ring).
    bulls eye tie dye technique
  • Squirt a different color on each section. Again, focus the pour in the middle of each section so that the color bleeds out and stays in its own section. Flip over and repeat. Starting from the top, I used Lemon, Poppy, Blossom, Eggplant, Ocean, Key Lime and Lemon again.
    bulls eye tie dye tutorial

How to Make Tie Dye Pumpkins

  • Cut fabric into squares large enough to cover the pumpkins.
  • Drape the fabric over the pumpkin with the center of the fabric on the stem. Tightly wrap a rubber band around the the base of the pumpkin stem.
  • Pleat and tuck the fabric around the entire pumpkin and secure the fabric to the bottom of the pumpkin. Since I may want to return my craft pumpkins to their original state, I secured the pleats to the bottom of the pumpkin with packing tape, but you could also use hot glue.
    pumpkins with tie dye fabric
  • Apply dark brown paint around the rubber band and to the top of the tie dye pumpkin to create a stem.
    painted pumpkin
  • Add a little bit of black to the dark brown and paint the recessed areas of the pumpkin stem to create a more realistic, dimensional appearance to the stem. For more dimension, once the stem has dried apply a thin strip of gold metallic paint to the raised areas of the pumpkin stem to add a highlight.
    highlight stem of painted pumpkin

Notes

100% cotton, 100% polyester or a cotton/poly blend works best for tie dyeing.
Keep baby wipes and paper towels handy so you can clean your workspace as you go... the drop cloth gets a lot of dye on it and you don't want the colors to bleed together when you flip over your designs.