Ever since quarantine started, you've probably seen at least one tie-dye piece of clothing, or perhaps even a tie-dyed two-piece sweatsuit, every time you've scrolled through Instagram. Along with baking bread from scratch, tie-dye seems to be one of the biggest trends since March, and while you can totally pay for a tie-dying kit from any craft store, you can also do it yourself using any bottle of red wine.
All you'll need for this fun DIY project is a bottle of red wine, rubber bands, white clothing or accessories, and a pot to use on the stove. When tie-dying, you can make unique patterns by rolling up your shirt and using rubber bands to secure it, so you can either wing it or try out one of these specific folding and tying methods to get a desired pattern.
Once your shirt or accessory is tied up, you'll want to pour your red wine in a pot and bring it to a boil. The amount of wine you'll need will depend on the size of your item, so be sure you have enough wine in the pot for your material to be totally submerged. When the wine is boiled, you'll take it off of the heat and place your item into the pot so it's completely covered. It should sit in the wine for at least eight hours and can stay in there up to 24 hours.
After that time is up, you can dry your item in a 170 degree oven for 10-to-15 minutes, or until it's completely dried. Then, you'll want to hand-wash your item in warm water to release any of the extra wine from the material. When it dries again, you're free to wear it and show off your creation. For those who are visual learners, there are tons of wine dyeing tutorials on TikTok.
Quite a few wine brands are leaning into this craze by offering bottles and sets perfect for tie-dying. Apothic Red, for one, has new bottles of 250-mL single-serve wine that is a great size for smaller items like socks and bandanas. They're also encouraging fans to tag @ApothicWine and use #ApothicSingleServe to share photos of wine-dyed items on social media. Similarly, BABE Wine is selling tie-dying kits that include a sweatshirt and biker shorts set with socks, dye, wine, rubber bands, and squeeze bottles for you to get crafty with.
Whichever way you choose to tie-dye with wine, make sure you have an extra bottle you can drink on the side. Consider these your weekend plans.
