Looking to enchant your wardrobe with some color magic? You’ve come to the right place!
This page contains only the most stunning tie-dye patterns captured on video. If you’re new to the craft, I’d suggest checking out our beginner’s guide first.
Here you’ll find over 100 variations of the most popular designs.
Easy Tie-dye Patterns
These tie-dye patterns are perfect to get started with. They’re easy to make, even if you’ve never touched a bottle of dye in your life.
As opposed to painting, sculpting, or other fine arts, tie-dye is very forgiving to newcomers. You’ll be amazed on the first try!
The fun part is that you don’t need to be perfect. Even a rough approximation of the folding technique is enough to give you great results.
Common techniques can be found here, such as the spiral, crumple, and fan fold. Practice your favorite techniques, you’ll become a pro in no time!
– Press on a shirt to play instructions –

Single Arm Spiral

Two-arms Spiral

Rainbow Spiral

Blackback Spiral

Pastel Crumple

Heavy Crumple

Random Crumple

Camo Crumple

Fire Crumple

Slash Crumple

Side Fan Fold

Top Fan Fold

Diagonal Pleat

Wedge

Oasis

Fireworks

Eyeball

Heart

Snowflake

Target

Double X Pattern

Geodes

Straight Pleat

Diamond

X Pattern

Pyramid

Zig Zag

Water Drop
Intermediate Tie-dye Patterns
You are ready to try new things. Intermediate patterns are next on your list. You will recognize some of the previous techniques.
Only this time we’ll use more colors and more complex dyeing patterns. We are entering the territory of advanced spirals and precise geometrical shapes.
Don’t be afraid to try something challenging, you’ll only get better as a result. Whatever happens, I guarantee you’ll be surprised.

Blue Lightning

Skeletal Spiral

Spirograph

Fragmented Spiral

Six Colors Spiral

Criss-Cross

Shifting Spiral

Reverse Spiral

Peacock

Double Peacock

Sunflare

Black Hole

Chain Links

Rasta Pleat

Right Angle

Fish Scales

Geometric

Kaleidoscope

Star Mandala

Sunshine Mandala

Candy Corners

Reverse Spine

Rorschach

Lotus Mandala

Earth and Sun

Nautilus
Advanced Tie-dye Patterns
Flex your tie-dye muscles with these impressive techniques. Mastering will open the door for you to make some of the most expensive and sought-after items of the craft.
Advanced patterns can be hard or even impossible on the first few tries, but they are so worth it.
You might need to work up your muscle memory and finger dexterity before you’re successful.
Advanced patterns use only the most advanced folding and dyeing techniques yet revealed. These are truly some of the most unique pieces you can create.

Complex Spiral

Mosaic Spiral

Winter Wonder

Mindscape

Diagonal Wig-Wag

V Wig-Wag

Wedge Wig-Wag

Fan Fold Wig-Wag

Mirror Wig-Wag

Ripple Pleat

Ripple Peacock

Mirror Ripple

Ripple Fan Fold

Gradient Fan Fold

Rainbow Guitar

Mini Geodes
Fun Tie-dye Patterns
At the end of the day, tie-dye is all about having fun, and it doesn’t get much more fun than these patterns.
Use the fabric as a canvas and draw with your bottle of dye. Draw whatever shape you want. Keep your fingers crossed for the reveal. You never know how it’ll turn out!
The process is so much fun, just make cool patterns with your friends and have a great adventure.

Mysterious Spiral

Happy

Strange Encounter

Ladybug

Blooming

Elements

Froggy

Lion

Mad Cat

Squid

Tiny Shirt

Mushroom

Tiger Stripes

Gift Box

Rainbow

Monkey

Watermelon

Zig-Zag Spiral

Straight Line Spiral

Monkey
More Amazing Tie-dye Techniques
Had fun with these video tutorials? Just wait until you try these other popular tie-dye techniques!
How to Use Tie-dye Patterns
Use the patterns on this page by first learning the basic process. This is easiest done by reading our complete guide to tie-dye.
- Choose your favorite pattern
- Prepare your supplies and work area
- Wet, then wring out a cotton shirt
- Fold and tie the shirt according to the pattern
- Prepare your colors
- Apply dye to the fabric according to the pattern
- Let the dye react for 8 hours
- Rinse out the shirt
- Wash your tie-dye shirt
This is where art meets science. Use your own artistic touch to build on the pattern and create something in your own style. No matter how exactly you try, it’s near impossible to 100% recreate a pattern. All tie-dye shirts have a unique fingerprint.
How Patterns are Ranked
Tie-dye patterns are ranked by difficulty. The main factors used to rank them is the time it takes, the technical ability needed, and the number of colors used.
- General difficulty
- Time required
- Technical ability
- Number of colors
An easy pattern can be completed in as little as 5 minutes, while advanced patterns may require multiple hours of work.
Advanced patterns require the use of many colors. A simple tie-dye may need only one colors, while a difficult one may use six or more different colors.
How to Design your Own
Patterns come in many variations, but something you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for. When this happens you may need to improvise. A pattern is the result of folding, tying, and dyeing a shirt. When repeated in the same way they produce a similar result.
First you should practice the basics a bit. Start with basic techniques until you get the hang of it. Start adding small variations to your designs. Compare and contrast your projects. You will soon understand how folding and color placement translates to the end result.
What makes a Good Tie-dye Design?
The attractiveness of a shirt is purely subjective. We each have our own preferences. This is because some styles are contrasting. These are some words that could be used to describe the appearance of a tie-dye shirt:
Flashy
– Bright
– Bold
– Exciting
Elegant
– Soft
– Sophisticated
– Calming
If you’re more scientifically inclined you may have an interest for difficult and impressive techniques. Some characteristics you may find appealing in a tie-dye shirt:
- Color saturation and brightness
- Technical difficulty
- Quality of execution
What are Tie-dye Patterns?
Basic patterns are often referred to by the folding technique they use. More complex or hard to describe patterns can be named according to the shape, color, or general appearance of the design.
Designs can be made with or for any shape, size, and arrangement of fabric. They are usually made on shirts or tapestries. Most patterns can be used interchangeably on any blanks.
Tapestries are flat pieces of fabric. It can be considered to be a two-dimensional object for the purpose of folding and dyeing. Garments, on the other hand, are usually three-dimensional objects.