DIY Dip Dye Shorts

After making the flag shorts, I found out about dip dye shorts. Once again, dip dye shorts are ridiculous if you buy them in a store or online somewhere. Why not make them for under $10?

Materials Needed:

• A pair of jean shorts (or pants that you can cut off)
• Regular bleach (not necessary if shorts are already white or light denim)
• White vinegar (also not necessary if you're not bleaching)
• Permanent fabric dye in any color or colors
• Large bowl or bucket
• Gloves (optional)

Before you start, you should know that this is going to take some time. This would be a great project for a lazy day!

First thing's first, you'll need some shorts. I hit up Goodwill and found these for $4.

They were a little momish so I cut them a little shorter and frayed the bottom. You can fray the bottom by using a safety pin or needle and picking away at the thread.

In order for the colors to show through better, you need shorts as light as possible, so we need to bleach them. If you already have white shorts, you can skip this step.

Mix two parts water and one part bleach in a bowl or bucket that you wouldn't mind having bleach in, and put your shorts in there. If you're going for a denim to color ombre effect, lay the part of your shorts you don't want bleached over the side. Since I'm coloring my entire shorts, I fully submerged my shorts in the bleach water.

Leave your shorts in the bleach water for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. I just used a pencil since I didn't want bleach on my hands. This is where you could use gloves if you have them.

You'll start to see the water kind of change color as the denim fades.

After your shorts have soaked in the bleach water for about an hour, lay them out, without rinsing or anything, so they can continue to whiten while you get the next step ready.

Dump out your bleach water in a tub or sink and rinse it out. Now make a solution of two parts water, one part white vinegar. This will stop the bleaching process. Just stir the shorts a couple times and leave it in the vinegar water for about 10 minutes.

When you're done with the vinegar, dump out the vinegar water and rinse out your shorts in a sink for a couple minutes.

And now you're ready to dye! This is where you'll follow the directions on the dye. I used two different brands, Tulip and Rit. They both work fabulously. 

The Rit can be found with the laundry stuff at Walmart, and I found the Tulip with the tie dye stuff at Hobby Lobby. I think any permanent fabric dye should suffice, though.

Generally, dye will require a gallon or two of really hot water (I just used an old milk jug to measure). The Tulip brand also needed a cup of table salt.

Also, the Tulip is a one time use powder while the Rit can be portioned.

Make sure to use the lighter color first if using more than one color!

So, wanted a sunset kind of effect, so I used yellow and pink, with yellow at the bottom. Since yellow is lighter, I did it first. I draped the shorts over the edge. If you want an ombre effect, make sure to get some of the dye in the part where you'll put the other color. 

Here is the yellow part finished!

Now mix together your other color, and flip the shorts to where the undyed side is now immersed in the dye.

If you're only doing one color, you can skip this step.

Once you're done dying, you'll want to set the dye in. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest way is to throw it in the dryer by itself until fully dry.

After the color is set in, go ahead and wash it with some towels or something you don't care gets color on, just in case it runs a little bit. After the first time washing it, you should be able to wash it with your other clothes.

And here's the finished product! The pink and yellow mixed together to make a pretty orange!