How to Tie Dye with Wine

I had leftover wine from dying my Easter eggs and decided to give wine tie dye a try. Apparently this was a big thing on Tik-Tok but I’m old and completely missed the trend. Oh well, that didn’t stop me from trying to tie dye an old white shirt that I haven’t worn in years. I watched countless videos and came up with this wine tie dye strategy. Also, I made a giant mistake tie dying that I hope you’ll learn from and not repeat. It was a happy mistake but I’m still a bit annoyed at my own stupidity.

Supplies: What You’ll Need to Tie Dye with Wine

• A bottle of dark red wine like Mourvedre, Syrah, Malbec, or Tannat. For this wine craft I used Mourvedre which is inky purple.
• A white t-shirt, sweatshirt, or whatever item you want to tie dye with wine. I used a long sleeve white T that I hadn’t worn in years since it had a small stain. You could say it was perfect for this since I’ll actually wear it now.
• Plastic table cloth
• 3-5 Rubber bands
• Spray bottle for water
• Empty dish soap bottle with spout or squeeze bottle
• Funnel
• Drying rack
• Tub or plastic bucket
• Baking sheet

Step 1: Boil the Wine

In order to concentrate the color of the wine, reduce it by simmering it for a 30 minutes. Allow it to cool until it’s warm. Once it’s not too hot, use a funnel and pour the wine into a squeeze bottle. I used an old empty dish soap bottle with a spout.

What kind of wine to use for tie dye?

You’ll want to use a wine that’s highly pigmented like a Mourvedre, Syrah, Malbec, or Tannat. These wines will have purplish blue undertones. Boiling the wine helps to concentrate the pigment even more. Use cheap wine, I mean CHEAP!, since you won’t be drinking it. Or use wine that is past its prime. Want to know if your wine has aged too long?

Step 2: Prepare the Shirt for Tie Dying

If the shirt is new, you’ll have to launder it. If it’s clean, spray it with a water bottle until it’s slight damp. Choose what kind of tie dye design you want. I chose a classic spiral shape. Pinch the fabric in the center and turn it until the shirt is shaped like a cinnamon bun. Make sure it’s tightly wound.

Step 3: Add the Rubber Bands

Secure the shirt with 3-5 rubber bands.

Step 4: Time to Tie Dye with Wine!

Place the T-shirt on a drying rack in your sink or above a plastic tub. Begin soaking the fabric with wine. You’ll want to get both sides and the edges.

Step 5: Wait

You can leave the now wine tie dyed shirt on the drying rack to dry. You can also move the shirt into the sun to dry faster. You can also place the fabric in a ziploc bag. If you start this project at night, let it dry overnight to secure the color. I let the fabric bun sit in the sun to dry. It took about 4 hours.

Step 6: Bake Your Wine Tie Dye Project

Place your fabric on a baking sheet and put it in a 170f/80c oven for 30 minutes until completely dry.

Step 7: Rinse

Rinse the fabric with cold water in your sink, tub, or in a plastic tub until the water runs somewhat clear.

Take off the rubber bands and unravel your fabric. Increase the warmth of the water and keep rinsing the fabric.

HERE IS WHERE I MADE A MISTAKE!

I had seen in one of the videos to add a touch of dish soap to the water to avoid the wine dye from going into the white part of the fabric. Well dummy me, I grabbed laundry detergent. The second I added the laundry detergent, the beautiful purple color turned navy blue! In an instant!!! I still like the blue color but the purple was pretty cool. Oh well, I made the mistake so you don’t, I guess.

Rinse until the water runs clear.

Step 8: Hang to dry

Hang the now wine tie dyed shirt out to dry. As it dried, it took on a bluish gray color, which if I’m being honest, I’ll wear a lot more often than if it was purple. If you don’t have an outdoor clothes rack drape it over your shower rod. Once it’s dry, it’s ready to wear!

Step 9: Wear Your DIY Wine Tie Dye Shirt with Pride!

Once the shirt is dry it is ready to wear!

Tips and Tricks to Tie Dying with Wine

Make sure your fabric is clean. If it’s straight from the store, you still need to wash it to remove any weird residue that may have been added during manufacturing.

Because wine is a natural dye, I didn’t wear gloves and wasn’t so gun-ho about protecting surfaces. Of course, if you want, wear gloves and protect your surfaces, duh.

Taking Care of Your Wine Tie Dye Shirt

The first time you wash your shirt it should be alone as to not stain other clothes. Launder it inside out. Dry it in a dryer as usual.

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