Learn How to Tie-Dye Using the Ice-Dye method with Tulip Tie-Dye to Create Amazing Watercolor and Galaxy-Like Patterns on Plain Garments!
For this tutorial, I'm tie-dying a table runner and a few of t-shirts using the ice-dye method for a 4th of July celebration with my daughters! Tie Dye is a family-friendly fun summer activity that everyone will surely enjoy!
You've likely tried tie-dye before, but have you tried the ice-dye method? This is one of my favorite ways to use tie-dye to get unique patterns of colorful gradients.
This technique is one of my favorites, especially during the summertime, and I'm so excited to share the process and finished result. The steps are simple- all you need is a dyeable garment, powdered fabric dye, and ice.
I like using the ice-dying technique because the results look more organic and galaxy-like. It basically has the same effect as watercolor does on paper. This method also allows for more color variations than the normal tie-dye technique.
When using this technique, powdered fabric dye or all-purpose dye is the best for ice-dying. You can mix the dye powder with water or leave it in its powdered form. I'm going to be using Tulip Tie-Dye from my local craft store.
What Materials Can I Tie Dye?
When it comes to tie-dye, the options are truly endless! But the most important part of this process is to look for a natural base that's made primarily of cotton or Rayon fabric.
Synthetic fabrics such as polyester will have a harder time holding onto the dye and will have less vibrant-looking results.
Another thing to keep in mind is that dyeing a white base will give you the most vibrant results without altering the color of the dye. You can dye darker bases, but you won't get the same vivid results.
Should I Prewash My Fabric Before Dyeing?
Yes! For the very best results, I always recommend washing your base material before applying dye. This will remove any sizing or chemical that may have been added to the material during production. The dye will absorb best on a freshly washed material.
Supplies Needed
- Tulip Tie Dye Kit or Powdered Dye
- 70-100% Cotton Material
- Bucket of Ice
- Metal Cooling Rack or Dish rack
- Rubber Gloves
- Rubber Bands
- Plastic Tablecloth or Garbage bags
- Storage Bin or Washtub
- Disposable Spoons
- Dust Mask
- Laundry Detergent
If you're new to Tie-dyeing, I recommend grabbing a Tulip Tie-Dye Kit for the best results. Your kit will come with a variety of dye colors, rubber bands, instructions, a plastic table covering, and gloves.
I always recommend picking up a higher-quality pair of gloves than what comes with the kit. I find the tighter-fitting Rubber Gloves are much easier to work in.
Prepping the Fabric
Pre-washing your fabric will eliminate any residue on the material from the manufacturing process and help give you the best results. If you're not using Tulip Tie Dyes, you may need to pre-soak the fabric in soda ash depending on the brand you're using, but when using Tulip Tie Dye you can skip the soda ash.
Using a minimum of 80% cotton fabric will also help you get the best results.
Folding Techniques
There are many tie-dye folding techniques you can use! There's the spiral, bulls-eye, linear, etc. Feel free to use any of them for the ice method. I decided to tie-dye my garments using the linear and crumple technique. You can refer to your Tulip instructions for a variety of folding technique options.
How to Ice-Dye
Step One: Prepare the Surface for Tie Dye
The first step is to prepare your surface. Cover your surface with a tablecloth or garbage bag to prevent any dye from staining your surface.
This step is REALLY important. Just ask me how I know this. 🤣 I've stained way too many tabletops thinking I could get away without a protective layer between my project and table.
Next, grab a bin and set a rack inside. I recommend grabbing a metal or plastic rack to prevent your fabric from becoming too muddy as the ice melts. This will elevate the project so it doesn't have direct contact with the melted dye in the bottom of the pan, which gives you more vivid results.
Step Two: Fold or Scrunch Your Base Into the Desired Pattern
Fold or scrunch your material into your desired pattern. The technique below is called the crumple technique. You grab parts of the fabric and crumple it. There's no right or wrong way to scrunch your fabric. You can use an iron to help set the scrunched design into place.
You can wrap rubber bands around your fabric to secure it into place.
Or you could grab a strip of cardboard or foam piece and make a border to keep the ice in place. To make a border, tape the ends of a strip of cardboard together to form the wall, place it on the rack in your tub, and put your scrunched fabric inside.
Step Three: Add the Tie Dye to the Material
The next step is to sprinkle the dye over our material. Again, you can mix the dye in water or use it in its powdered form. I prefer using the dye dry to get the best results.
Sprinkle the colored dust onto the fabric however you want- it can be random or controlled. I just dusted the fabric by shaking the squeeze bottle.
Note: Powdered dye has different colored particles that make up the color you're using and can show up during the melting process. For example, if you are using a green dye, yellow and blue will appear.
If you don't want a variety of colors to appear, I recommend mixing the dye in water because dissolving the dye in water will turn it into a unified color, and you won't get the same effect as the melted ice mixing with the powdered.
Step Four: Add the Ice to the Dye
After sprinkling the first layer of dye, it's time to add the ice.
Dump handfuls of ice onto your fabric until it's fully covered.
Note: Places that don't have ice will be left empty, meaning those areas will not be dyed. It can also happen if your material is tightly wrapped or crimpled.
Pro Tip: If you don't want any empty spaces, fully cover your material with ice.
Then, sprinkle more powdered dye on top of the ice randomly or in a more controlled way.
Step Five: Allow the Ice to Melt and Dye to Set
Let the ice melt completely. Afterward, you can wait 6-24 hours for the tie-dye to set for vibrant colors. If you want pastel colors, you can wash it immediately or wait a few hours after the ice melts.
As the ice melts, the powdered dye will mix with the water and create organic watercolor-like shapes.
I'm placing my material with ice outside since I live in a warmer climate, and then I let it completely melt.
Step Six: Rinse By Hand and Machine Wash
Hand rinse the garment to remove any excess dye with cold water until the water runs clear. It's important to use cold water during the process to avoid the colors running together. Afterward, put it through your washer and dryer.
Finally, put the garment through the wash and dryer separately, and now you have a beautiful ice-dyed piece of clothing!
Looking for more tie-dye projects?
- Click here to learn how to tie dye in two different ways!
- Click here to learn how to make costumes with tie dye!
Don't want to forget about this craft? Click here to save it on Pinterest!
This looks like a fun idea with my grandkids!
I think this is an easy, yet very creative project.
Looks like a great idea to do with the grandkids!
Perfect to do with my grandkids this summer
I also think its a great idea for the grandkids
What a great idea! I need to try this method.
I love the outcome! I've tried tie dying with ice and have added this to our summer bucket list!
Gonna try this with the kiddos this weekend. Thanks Kim!
Love all the instructions. Your great
A nice summer project for the kids. Thanks.
Looks awesome especially in this heat.
I love tye-dyes! Thank you for sharing.
I Love all your ideas.
You have some awesome ideas!
I paint, watercolors. I'm not gonna lie, this looks like when I use too much water and get blooms. I do that sometimes on purpose for the effect. This is neat seeing it on a shirt. I may have to do this for a shirt for when I do my plein air!
Great idea for a project! I haven't seen it done with ice cubes before. Good idea!
What a fun way to tie dye!
Such a fun and easy craft with the kids! Thanks for sharing this. I will absolutely have to try this with my daughter.
I love how the process makes such soft colors.
Fun
You make it look easy!
Awesome
This looks so fun and easy! I will definitely be trying this!
interesting, I didn't know about this, it almost gives it a softer look.
So fun!
I never would have thought to use powder! Beautiful!!
Great informative post
Love the idea. Thank you for sharing.
Cool idea. I have never seen this before. Love it!
Very informative thanks!
Very fun
Who Knew there was sooooooooo much fun to be had!
Love to tie dye it have not tried this method. Great instructions!
What a cool effect!
loving this
great and easy idea
I have always loved tie die!
Looks like fun
Looks like a great summer project to do with my grandchildren!
Cool way to tie-die. thanks for sharing
I have never tried the ice method before. I think it would be fun to try.
Looks like a very fun project!
I love this!
I think I'll try this ice technique!
These are beautiful! This looks much less messy than the traditional method. I’ll have to give it a try!
This is a great summer project!!
Neat Idea!!! looks fun!
Wowzer- I can see how much more fun that would be than our lady's book club!!!!
My grands would love this
My mom and I use to tie-dye shirts every summer. Now she does it with her grandkids. Totally sharing this to her!
Looks like fun
Haven't tried the ice method
How fun!
Can’t wait to try this!
Fun in the sun!
So cool (pun definitely not intended)!
My kids would love this
Fun project to do with the grand kids!
I've always wanted to try this technique.
Adorable kids would love this!
I need to give this a try, it’s absolutely stunning.
Love this technique!
I did tie dye back in the day, not saying how long ago ;). This is a new technique for me and I think I will try if only for the nostalgia.
This looks like so much fun. I will definitely be trying this with my son!
Never heard of ice dying, looks like fun. I do like the organic result like watercolor.
Wow, that is so cool! I had no idea that ice dying exists and am happy to have found this article
Can't wait to try
I like the ice twist
So simple but came out amazing!
Looks like fun!
So fun! Love this idea.
I will have to try this
That looks so cool. I need to try this!
Something to try with the kids
So much easier than typical tie dye
Love the outcom
Love the ice method will definitely be trying.!!
Cool summertime project
Looking forward to trying this
Love the end result
I will have to try this!
Soo cute!! Love tie dye!
Too cute
Such a cool idea. I have done regular tie-dye but not this way.
Thanks. very informative and will have to try.
Always enjoy your crafts! Loved the pj pants!
So pretty
Love the effect of adding the ice
I’ve never seen this technique before. It looks like a lot of fun! I wonder how matching socks would look.
Love to tie dye and this looks like fun!
fun project
A great project for children to participate in. Would also be good for summer camp projects!
Love the coordinating shirts and outfits
will have to give this one a try
This looks like fun!
I would love to try this! School colors maybe?!
Cool idea
Looks like fun!
Different than the tie-dye I did in 1970s but I think I like this better. When I was young I loved the bright, neon colors but not so much now that I'm old 🙂
What a fun idea!
Thank you for sharing this.
Looks like fun.
Nice!
Love this. It looks easy and the results are outstanding.
Looks like alot of fun,definitely need to do this with my kid.
Such a neat technique. Loving the results!
This would be a fun project to make with my son! He is my crafting buddy.
Looks like a fun project
First time I'm seeing/reading the ice trick, really cool. Kid's will love this..
This looks like a fun project to do with my grandkids
Fun idea can’t wait to try it
Lots of great ideas!!
How cool!! Looks like a fun and neat project!! Can't wait to try that and make some fun shirts!!
I love how that looks! I might give it a try for a galaxy skirt!
I tried this and my shirt came out great. It was fun and easy to di
This looks like so much fun and the results are amazing.
Great activity to do with the grands!
Really fun!
Very interesting concept. I didn't know something like this existed.
This looks great! Going to try it on white bath towels to make pool towels for the kids.
Love the shirts!
Thank you for the great tutorial! My grand daughter will be her next week and she would love doing this together.
Great help!
Such a fun idea! Thanks for sharing!
Great idea!
I am going to do this with my Granddaughters!
Can't wait to try this!
Ice dying is so fun!
My granddaughters would love this project!
Wow you really are amazing and the ultimate crafty wizard. I would will tie this with my niece for a fun summer project. I love how you explain it things, you make it look easy.
Tie dye is back!! This is so cool!
A great project to do with the kids.
Thank you for the step by step detailed photos, I am such a visual learner!
Love this idea!
You always come up with amazing projects, and the instructions are very understandable. Thank you.
Really want to try this! I run a camo for kids and this would be a great project!
Thanks for the inspiration.
I never would have thought to add ice
What a great summer project!
What a great idea to do with kids! I am going to do it with my goddaughter.
Great tutorial! This is something I have been wanting to try and can now.
Fun!
Super cool method!
How fun!
Ice dyeing gave me pastel colors on my shirts. I like more vibrant colors.
I really want to try this.
I have never heard of Ice Dying before ... looks a lot easier than most methods I have seen!!
I haven't tried tie dying in years but this looks fun!
Looks fun and easy.
Curious how it would work with the colours more mixed together.
i love tie dye! thanks for the instruction!
I had no idea ice dying was a thing!!
Fun project
I love tie dye on anything. Grew up with that style1 Great job, making everything so cute. And fun to do!
This is on my bucket list to do with my grandbabies as soon as they get a bit older!
Never knew you could use ice for dying! How cool!
Great idea for a project! I haven't seen it done with ice cubes before.
Love how these shirts turned out!
Great project for a hot day!
Love this!!!
Looks like a fun summer project.
what a fun project
Great idea if you have kids!
I've never heard of ice dying before. It looks pretty neat. I'll have to try it
Great summer project
You are a nicer mom than I was...messy things were off the table...LOL...you have so much fun with your girls...I bet they had a blast!
Fun!
I love this!
After reading your blog I tried this method, loved it!
Great summer idea. I’ve never tie dyed but seems like a nice project to do with my daughter.
This is truly awesome. Thanks for the tips.
So much fun! Thank you for this step-by-step, it is very helpful!
The grandkids did this at school year end and haven't stopped talking about it. They turned out great. We will have to give it a go next time they are here.
We used to do this years ago and have forgotten all about it! I’ll have to try this with my grandchildren! Thank you!
This is something I would like to try. Thanks for the information.
Very cool
You make it look so easy!
I can't wait to try something for Christmas with this method.
Definitely something to try
Going to try this
Such a great and fun craft!
Looks like a fun project to do with the grandkids!!!
My granddaughter loves anything tye dyed will have to try this with her, a cute shirt for her and some quality time and memories for both of us, Thank you!
Love this idea!
Curious what it would look like with three colors
gonna have to try this with my niece and grandkids
Wow!
Great project for the family
Looks like a fun activity to do with kids.
Gotta try this!
Very fun idea . . . love it.
Literally cool!!
Great project to do with kids
Have got to try this
Looks like this would be so much fun! Thank you.
I can’t wait to try this! My kiddos have been going stir crazy this summer.
Glad to see you finally got your site fixed! I love this project!
very cute and fun to do.
I wonder what it would look like with the colours more mixed
Looks like a great idea for the summer!
Love this idea! Sooo cute!
This looks like a fun activity to do with the kiddos. I can't wait to try it with our 2 boys. We need more activities to do as we are homeschooling for now on starting this year. Thank you for putting this together so others can try too.
Love this! This looks like so much fun,my nieces would love it!
What a cute project!
That glowforge machine is awesome and amazing ❤️
good info
This sounds like a fun activity for the grand kids!
Fun to try
So cool
This looks like so much fun
My kids would love this!
wow I love this, looks pretty easy to do and the results are so nice
So fun!
Very Interesting
TY for sharing. This is v cool and I'm going to try it with my nephews.
Looks like so much fun!
I have never thought to use ice.
I'm glad u spend such quality time with ur kids!
Going to do this with my granddaughters looks like so much fun
Used to tie dye as a child. Will definitely share with my grandchildren
This looks like a fun activity!
Looks fun
This is a neat idea !
Neat technique!
This would be a fun project to do with nephews!
I was looking for something for kids (niece)
I've heard about this method but never tried it. Guess I'll have to give it a go!
This would be so fun with the kids. Need to make thr list of supplies I need. End of summer fun.
This fascinates me! I would love to try this with my grandsons.
Very clear and easy to follow!
Very interesting. You make this look so easy and fun.
Awesome ideas for the grandbabies
Looks easy to do and lots of fun!
I wouldn’t want the results to be so light. Is there a way to make it brighter?
This looks like so much fun with my grands!
I always love coming to your site to see the How To video's you post. Your a busy lady thats for sure. I'm dusting off my sewing machine and headed back sewing again. Thank you for the MOTIVATION!!!
The advertising on the page is over kill making it too hard to get to the comment section!! Just a heads up.
What fun!! I would love to do this again!!
My kids would love doing this with me!
This looks so fun!
Love this a lot because the coloring is more subtle than with traditional tie-dye.
That looks fun!!
Looks like such a fun project.
This is so cool
Fun project to do with kids and looks so cool!
Wow! I did not know how to do this! Thanks!
I cant wait to give this a try with my grandkids!!!
I'm definitely doing this with my kids! They will enjoy it!
my grandkids would love this ty
Going to do with my granddaughter. Thanks
Been wanting to try this, great tutorial
Less mess with beautiful results! What a great technique!
This is amazing! Thank you for sharing!
What a fun way to dye many things!! Can't wait to try it!
I've never tried to tie die before because it seemed too difficult and messy. This blog makes it look so much fun. Maybe I'll try this with my grandchildren.
This looks really fun!
My niece would love this!
I've never heard of this method before. It looks very fun and cool.
This is great! My daughter is obsessed with everything tye dye. We will be trying this soon I am sure.
Very nice!
What a fun activity! Love the tips included.
AWESOME fun for the whole family.
Ice dye? I never knew!
This is cool and so different! Love it!
I've never tried to tie dye before because I've always thought it seemed too messy. I may try this. I need a new tied dye shirt for Tie Dye Day at school. Thanks for sharing this!!
What a great idea to do with children of all ages.
Beautiful result ! I like it and perhaps I will try with my grandchildren when they will be older. Thank you
The grandkids are going to love this!
What a fun summer craft!
My grandchildren would find this fun!! Thanks for sharing!!
what a great idea!
I love this idea!
Love this technique and the shirts!
I had never heard of ice dyeing before this. I liked it. I will have to give it a try.
We so love doing things like this.
Looks like fun!
I've never seen this technique before, but I really love the results! Thank you!
Love this
This looks like a lot of fun! I can probably do it with my nieces and nephews.
So cool, literally and figuratively!
Tried this and loved it. Thanks!
Looks so cool
Looks so very cool
This is really neat! I thought you had to use hot water to dye like this. Thanks for the video and tips!
I've always wanted to try this!
I love the way it turned out. I need to tie dye all of my daughter's white clothing it always ends up stained by the first wear.
Never heard of Ice dying. Looks cool
awesome
My granddaughters love to craft with Nana. And they love to do tie dye. We are definitely going to try this method.