28 Summer Tie-Dye Crafts

There’s nothing quite like relaxing (napping) on a hammock on a warm summer day. Make that relaxation time even sweeter by crafting your own tie-dye hammock with this tutorial from Studio DIY.

With this tie-dye slime recipe from Babble Dabble Do, your kids can enjoy a summer craft that’s part STEM project and part groovy color play. Experiment with different colors to make endless batches of funky fun slime.

You can customize your summer beach trips with a tie-dyed beach towel in your kids’ favorite colors thanks to this craft from Handmade Charlotte. Make a rainbow of colors or stick with similar hues to give it a tie-dyed ombre look.

If a summer beach trip is on your agenda, grab some shells to make this tie-dye craft from East TN Family Fun. You can use any type of seashell (even shells from lakes and rivers) for this craft — they just have to be sand-free, clean, and dry when you start. The finished result can be used for decoration and will be a really fun memento from your summer travels.

If your kids think swimming counts as a bath and you need a way to encourage them to actually bathe this summer, making homemade tie-dye soap is the way to go. From A Beautiful Mess, this craft tutorial shows you exactly how to achieve a fun and funky pattern in various colors. You can even add your favorite essential oils to make them scented.

I’m truly obsessed with these tie-dye headbands from DIY Candy. Not only is it a craft that’s easy to make with your kids, it’s a cute accessory you can wear the rest of the summer — or honestly, anytime!

Once you make this tie-dye rainbow yarn from Crafty Chica, you can use it to make all sorts of fun tie-dye-themed craft projects throughout the summer. From dream catchers to keychains, tie-dyed yarn is your starting point for hours of fun crafting.

The tutorial from Pink Stripey Socks for this macrame plant holder uses strips of a tie-dyed t-shirt, but, if you make the rainbow yarn linked above, you can use that to take this tie-dye macrame plant holder to a whole other level. Make this craft to spruce up your summer garden with some tie-dye.

A good tote bag always comes in handy, but this tie-dye ombré bag from Creative Green Living is useful and adorable. The ombré effect gives it more of a subtle tie-dye look rather than the super psychedelic look you might use for a t-shirt. After you make this craft, you can use it as a book bag for trips to the library, a beach tote, or even as a snack bag on your summer road trips.

If your kids want to achieve a totally retro look with their tie-dyed t-shirts this summer, DIY Beautify’s tutorial for how to create a classic swirl pattern is the one to use. Try using different colored tees (light colors work best — think pale pink, yellow, aqua) for a unique look.

One of the prettiest tie-dye summer crafts you can make is a bouquet of these coffee filter flowers from Pink Stripey Socks. They won’t wilt in the summer heat and they’re easy to display in a jar or vase. You can even wrap the pipe cleaner around pens to make cute flower pens!

Using Handmade Charlotte’s step-by-step instructions, you and your kids can create beautiful tie-dyed tapestries in incredible patterns. They’re sure to bring a splash of summertime to any room you hang them in.

This summer craft project from DIY Candy is a great way to transform paper towels into groovy tie-dyed works of art. Using food coloring for the dye, this is a really easy craft for kids to do themselves. Once it’s dry, press their tie-dyed paper towel into a frame and hang up their new wall art for everyone to enjoy.

Between water balloons and Super Soakers, your kids are probably already battling it out in your backyard daily. Why not up the ante with some dye and white t-shirts? From A Few Short Cuts, this tie-dye craft tutorial shows you step by step how to do just that.

Do you remember making stained glass crafts at summer camp as a kid? Mine never came out as cute as these tie-dye crafts from 30 Minute Crafts. Make them with your kids this summer and relish the nostalgia.

You’ve probably seen plenty of tie-dye on store shelves lately. The trend is trending. You and your kids can get in on the trend by making tie-dye dresses with this craft tutorial from DIY Candy. All you need is a plain white dress and dye. So simple and cute!

Follow this tutorial from 30 Minute Crafts for step-by-step instructions on how to make fabulous dip-dyed watercolor shoes. Choose your color, change up the pattern, or even dye the laces to make a truly unique craft that’s both funky and fashionable.

From This Grandma Is Fun, coffee filter butterflies are the perfect tie-dye crafts for little ones to enjoy. This way, you can help them feel like they’re a part of the tie-dye action without chancing any ruined fabric. They’re super simple to make, but the craft itself will (hopefully) keep them occupied for a while.

Looking for a way to tie-dye with your kids that’s not as messy as the traditional route? (I sure am!) This genius craft hack from 30 Minute Crafts uses spray bottles to apply dye so that there’s less mess to deal with. To achieve a tie-dyed pattern, simply spray different colors across a plain white scarf.

How pretty are these Shibori tie-dye napkins from A Beautiful Mess? Shibori is a traditional Japanese dyeing technique involving twisting and folding fabric, binding it with twine, and then dyeing it to create intricate tie-dyed patterns. It’s a fantastic technique to use if you want to make fabric tie-dyed crafts that will look a bit more upscale than the wild patterns you usually see.

You’ll be ready for the Fourth of July with these patriotic tie-dye bandanas from The House That Lars Built. In contrast to many of the other tie-dye summer crafts on this list, this tutorial calls for using bleach to remove some of the color from store-bought bandanas to create a distressed tie-dye look.

How stylish are these tie-dyed rainbow shorts from Crafty Chica? Starting with a pair of plain white denim shorts, you can create a rainbow pattern or choose to use only a few colors — whatever suits you! Whether you make a pair for your little one, one for yourself, or a pair for each of you, spend the rest of the summer rocking this fashionable and fun craft.

Using Sharpie markers, rubbing alcohol, and this craft tutorial from This Grandma Is Fun, you can achieve the tie-dyed t-shirt look without as much mess. You may need a bit of patience to achieve this pretty pattern, but the results and the lack of dripping dye mess are worth it.

To really brighten up your summer garden, follow this tutorial for squeeze-painted tie-dye clay pots from KC Edventures. You get this really retro-looking tie-dye effect that’s super unique and fun to try in various colors.

Are these recycled crayons from One Mama’s Daily Drama technically tie-dyed? No, but they have the look of something that’s been tie-dyed when all of the crayon colors melt and mix together. Those swirls are so cute and your kids will have a blast creating their own set of groovy-looking crayons using this tutorial.

If your kids are interested in learning to sew or looking for fun projects where they can use their sewing skills this summer, these tie-dye scrunchies from Bayhill Studio are a great place to start. With this tutorial, you’ll learn how to dye the fabric to create fabulous tie-dye patterns and then there are easy-to-follow instructions to sew that fabric together into scrunchies.

Have a batch of this tie-dye tissue paper from Kitchen Table Classroom ready to go for the next summer birthday party your kids are invited to. It’s so simple to make using food coloring, rubber bands, and a bit of colorful creativity.

You’ve surely got a few pairs of socks around the house that your kids could use to make these adorable tie-dye socks, courtesy of Sugar Bee Crafts. It’s super easy to achieve the tie-dye patterning with dye applied via a squirt bottle.