Tie-Dye Shirts at the Beach
Learn how fun and easy it is to tie-dye with sand at the beach.
A great time was had on our spring break beach vacation last month. We rented a waterfront condo and just enjoyed a relaxing week along the gulf. Our days were filled with long walks along the beach, sand castles, and gorgeous sunsets. We also enjoyed exploring the Gulf Shores area. Our trip included a lot of colorful beach crafts, including dying shirts. I thought it would be cool to try to tie-dye with sand at the beach. Instead of tying, we used sand to resist the dye.
How to Tie-Dye with Sand at the Beach
Supplies
clean white shirt
fabric dyes
gloves
Directions
Get your shirt wet. You can soak in a combination of water and soda ash to hold the color. I did not use soda ash, so our colors faded a little bit.
Lay your damp shirt on the beach and create a design with sand on top. The thicker the sand, the more resist you will get.
Apply the fabric dye and let it set for a while. Ours was out there a little over and our. We had a lot more sand on the shirt on the right and you can see how it resisted the sand.
Thoroughly rinse the shirt until the sand comes off and the water runs clear. I rinsed ours in the outside shower down by the beach.
Wrap in plastic or place in a plastic bag overnight. This is what ours looked like the next day.
Aren’t those shirts great? I placed the shirts out on the drying rack on our balcony to dry and it ended up raining overnight. We had to pack up and drive home, so I placed the shirts in plastic bags. Unfortunately, the dye kind of soaked in together and we lost of varied colors. Didn’t matter to my son. He has been wearing his shirt a lot lately. It’s his spring break keepsake.
Have you ever tie-dyed with sand or other alternate techniques?
Thanks! I hope you share your creation.
Happy Birthday! I am going to steal this idea !!!
I used non-toxic dyes.
Are the dyes actually safe for the wildlife?
My favorite dyes are the fiber reactive procion dyes from Dharma Trading Co. They come in powder form. It seems expensive but comparatively, it’s a better price per application than the kit ones that you get at the box stores. I find that they are more vibrant and they don’t fade much. I did not use the procion dyes at the beach. We had a big tie-dye party recently that I will be posting later this week. Thanks for stopping by!
This is wonderful as well as the sand art and coloured sand castles. I’m teaching some meditation classes for children at the beach and was on the hunt for mindful crafts to incorporate into the lesson so these are perfect. Can I ask about your fabric dyes? What brand did you use or would you recommend? Many Thanks
Make sure you check out my other beach crafts too!
Such a clever idea! We live in FL and spend a lot of time at the beach so this is perfect!
I have more coming soon!
Thank you!
Thank you Amy~
Yes! He loves his tie-dyed shoes. His skivvies are quite colorful too, but you’ll just have to take my word for it.
What a fun craft to do on the beach! What a bummer your shirts got rained on, but looks like your son doesn’t mind a bit. Are his shoes tiedyed also?
I’ve been loving the beach crafts!!! Happy birthday Diana!!
What a fun idea of something neat and memorable to do at the beach!
I love all of these beach crafts that you have shared! So much fun!
Thanks Erica!
Love this idea! What a fun craft.
Thank you Posh Lady!
Wow your site is looking so nice!!! Happy Birthday as well 🙂