The crumple might be the easiest tie-dye technique. It’s also it’s one of the most powerful.
The crumple’s popularity is a testament to its versatility. From a rough scrunching to precise micro crumpling.
This guide will teach you how to fold and dye a crumple from beginning to end.
How to tie-dye a Crumple Step-by-step
Also called the scrunch, the crumple is easy to get started with.
In this guide you will learn how to perform the folding, dyeing, and rinsing of a crumple shirt.
You will start from a blank white shirt an turn it into a beautiful tie-dye creation.
If you need more information on any of these steps, please visit our tie-dye guide for beginners.
Step 1 : Soak, then wring out a blank shirt
Pick out a clean garment (usually a shirt) made of 100% cotton.
Soak it in warm water to get it ready. Leave it to soak for a few minutes. This can be done in a sink or in a bucket, whichever you prefer.
Wait until the shirt is completely saturated with water. Take the shirt out and wring it out by hand.
Remove enough water to leave the shirt slightly damp, but not dripping.
Take the shirt to your work table, or any large flat surface.
Step 2 : Pull the fabric towards the center
Start with the shirt flat on a table. Flatten the shirt and remove any wrinkle. You want the seams from both layers to line up.
Place your hands on the fabric, a few inches apart. Press down with your fingers, grabbing onto the fabric.
Bring your hands together, dragging the fabric.
As you squish the fabric, it starts crumpling randomly, creating creases and folds in all directions.
Step 3 : Bring in more fabric
Place your hands farther away from the center and pull in more fabric.
Slowly grab and pull fabric. Pay attention to the creases that start forming.
Make sure the folds are all similar in height.
Slowly start guiding the fabric towards the center. Don’t force the fabric, let it stay loose for now.
Step 4 : Crumple around the shirt one area at a time
Continue crumpling farther away from the center.
Go around the shirt one area at a time. Crumple the fabric, then slowly bring it towards the center.
Pull in the top of the shirt. Crumple the sleeves and collar so they keep their shape relative to the shirt.
Crumple and pull in the bottom of the shirt.
Slowly start bringing the shirt together. Be careful not to create large mounds of fabric.
Step 5 : Tighten the crumple
Push the fabric together to tighten the folds. Tuck in loose fabric at the edges.
When needed, unfold and rearrange the creases.
Try to make your crumple uniform with all the folds a similar height and size.
Step 6 : Bind the crumpled shirt with rubber bands
Place rubber bands around the crumpled shirt. Your goal is keeping the fabric in place.
Be careful not to deform the shirt with the rubber bands. Crumples are notorious for wanting to fold on themselves when binding.
Four rubber bands are usually enough to hold a crumple together.
After binding it, place the crumple on your work surface.
Step 7 : Dye the whole first side
Now for the main course. If you haven’t done so already, I suggest mixing up some dye bottles.
With your squeeze bottle in hand, gently start pouring dye over the shirt.
Place dye over the whole surface of the crumple. Every peak and valley needs color.
Continue until you cannot see any white areas peeking through.
In this example, I use a single color (purple) over the whole face of the shirt. Be sure to check out all our crumple patterns to try other designs.
Step 8 : Flip the shirt
Put on your gloves and flip over the shirt. Pick up the dyed crumple and place it face down.
If you’re using multiple colors, make sure to line them up when flipping the shirt to prevent staining.
Alternatively, you can use a second rack on top of the shirt for easier flipping.
Step 9 : Leave the underside white
Some patterns may require that you dye the underside.
For this pattern, we’ll leave the underside as it is. The white will become part of the design.
Make sure to leave enough white so it shows through on the final result.
Leave the shirt with the white on top to prevent it from begin eaten by the color.
Step 10 : Let the shirt set for at least 8 hours
Place the shirt where it can sit overnight. Make sure to let the dye set for at least 8 hours at room temperature (70°F or 21°C).
Leave the shirt folded up as it is. You don’t need to cover it up with plastic or anything unless you live in a very dry environment.
Leave it in a warm room where it won’t be disturbed.
Step 11 : Rinse out and open up your crumple
Pick up the shirt and bring it to the sink. Keep the rubber bands on the shirt for now.
Rinse out the shirt under cold running water. Rinse out both sides of the shirt. The water running off will be brightly colored from soaking up the excess dye.
Remove the rubber bands and start opening up the shirt under the stream of water.
Unfold the fabric and make sure to hit every area of the shirt with cold water. Turn it inside out to rinse out the inside too.
After rinsing, prepare a hot water bath and soak the shirt for a few minutes. This will loosen up excess dye.
Wring out the shirt and soak it a second time in a hot water bath.
Step 12 : Wash and dry your shirt
Place the shirt in your washer. Wash it on cold with a small amount of detergent.
Either wash the shirt by itself, with other fresh tie-dye shirts, or with old/dark clothes.
This step removes loose dye molecule by friction between the fabric.
When the cycle is over, tumble dry or hand dry the shirt. Be sure to check this page for aftercare instructions for your tie-dye.
There you go. This is how you turn an ordinary white t-shirt to a beautiful tie-dye piece.
The crumple is a useful technique to have in your tie-dye tool belt. The more variations you try, the better you will get.
Crumple tie-dye patterns
Here’s our collection of crumple patterns. Feel free to try them and find out which ones you like best.
Pastel Crumple
Heavy Crumple
Random Crumple
Camo Crumple
Fire Crumple
Slash Crumple
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