Learn how to tie dye socks at home to make your own unique clothing. Learn different tie dye sock patterns to use for single colored, two-toned, and rainbow tie dye socks.
Table of Contents
I absolutely love to tie dye socks! They’re small so they’re super quick and easy to dye and you can test out all sorts of different patterns and designs.
The funny thing about tie dye is I actually rarely wear anything I dye. Classic me, I love making it, but don’t actually use it. However, for tie dye socks, I’m more likely to wear them since they get covered up by shoes. Plus when they’re on my feet without shoes (or some matching tie dye shoes or tie dye Crocs), I can actually look at them and appreciate them vs a tie dye sweatshirt or tie dye shirt. Though I did dye some shorts hoping I would wear them.
Follow the steps below for the basic steps to tie dye your own socks. I’ve also included the instructions for how I made all the different tie dye sock patterns.
And to dye colored socks, check out bleach tie dye. Or for a different look, use the ice tie dye technique or use pastel colors.
Be sure to also check out this guide on the best tie dye kits to find the right one.
Note: Some links in this post may contain affiliate links, which means at no cost to you, I may earn a commission.
Which Socks are Best to Tie Dye?
You want to use plain white socks. The best material for dyeing would be 100% cotton, but that can often be rare to find for socks. Therefore look for socks that have at least 50% cotton. This is because polyester and other synthetic materials don’t absorb the dye from tie dye kits very well. You would need to use a specific type of dye synthetic fabric.
For shape, any shapes work! So pick your favorite you’d like to dye. I’m personally a big fan of ankle socks so those are the ones I used.
To make it easy, below are some socks from Amazon in different shapes that have a high percent of cotton.
Don’t forget to pin it so you can come back to it later!
Materials to Tie Dye Socks
- White Cotton Socks (these are similar to the ones I used)
- Tie Dye Kit or Tie-Dye Dye and Soda Ash (I used the Jacquard Tie Dye Kit that has both soda ash and tie-dye dye, which you can get on Amazon, Michael’s, or Blick Art Materials)
- Soda Ash (if your kit doesn’t have any, you can get some on Amazon)
- Rubber Bands (this is the pack I have)
- Latex Gloves (I like these since I have tiny hands)
- Paper Towels
- Plastic Wrap
How to Tie Dye Socks
Preparing the Socks for Dyeing
Start with plain white socks (these are similar to the ones I used). You want to first wash them to make sure there is no material on them that would prevent the dye from setting.
I used old socks so they had already been washed several times.
Soak them in water. If you needed to wash them, then simply take them out of the washer wet.
The reason you want them wet is because they’ll be easier to shape and tie. It will also allow the patterns to show up better.
Now it’s time to fold, scrunch, and twist.
It’s up to you how you want to do it. There are a bunch of different tie dye patterns you can make on socks and they all depend on how you scrunch them.
Below are a bunch of different patterns and how I made each one, but we’ll use one as an example.
Then wrap it up with rubber bands (this is the pack I have and love since it has different sizes).
Where you place the rubber bands will also create part of the pattern.
Repeat the process for the other sock so that you have two matching socks.
Prepare the Soda Ash Mixture and Socks for Tie Dye
If your tie dye kit is a one-step tie dye kit such as Tulip One Step Tie Dye Kits, you don’t need to do this section. Though I still recommend it to get the most vibrant color. Since the kit I used had it, I didn’t need to get it separately.
In a large container, mix 1 gallon of warm with water with 1 cup of soda ash (if you don’t have soda ash, you can easily get it on Amazon). Stir it up until the soda ash is dissolved.
Then soak the tied up socks in the soda ash mixture for at least 20 minutes.
You can see I went a bit tie dye crazy and tied up a whole bunch of pairs of soaks and then the bigger items are a sweatshirt and t-shirt. Here’s how the tie-dye sweatshirt turned out. And these are the shirts.
Tip: Flip the socks over midway through and squish them to make sure the mixture really soaks in.
Mix the Dye from the Tie Dye Kit
Follow the instructions on the kit, but typically they want you to add warm water up to a line and shake. Make sure the dye powder is completely dissolved. This is the kit I used.
Tip: Wear gloves when mixing the dyes just in case they leak. These are the ones I use since the ones in the kit are way too big for me.
Get the latest DIY tutorials, reviews, and crafting updates
You'll never be spammed and can unsubscribe at any time
Add Dye to the Socks
Now for the fun part – dyeing the socks!
Start by placing a piece of plastic wrap on the table.
Place your socks on top and then start with one color at a time. Be sure to dye both sides and try to get the dye between the folds. You really want to soak it with dye, but not too much so that it’s dripping.
Tip: Dye both socks at the same time next to each other so you can keep them the same.
For this example, I show you how to make the blue and red tie dye socks. I first folded them like an accordion from toe to heel.
Then if you want to use another color, add it next to it.
Keep in mind, if you have two colors touching, they will mix together. So in this case they mix together to make purple.
You can also push on the socks to help spread the dye or mix the colors together.
Set the Dye on the Socks
After you’ve dyed the socks, wrap them in the plastic wrap and leave them to set for a minimum of 8 hours. I just leave them for 24 hours to make sure they really absorb the dye.
Wrapping it in plastic wrap helps keep the socks wet since the moisture is necessary for the dyes to set.
Rinse the Dye Off the Tie Dye Socks
After the dye has set, you need to rinse off all the extra dye. Use warm water and run the sock under the stream while it’s still tied together.
Wear gloves for this and be careful not to splash the water – the dye can still stain other things.
Once the water is less colorful, you can take off the rubber bands. I like to save them, but you can also cut them off if that’s easier.
Continue to rinse the socks until the water runs clear.
Then wash them in the washing machine. Wash them with other tie dyed socks or other tie dyed clothes just in case there’s a bit of dye that didn’t wash out.
Run them through the dryer and then your tie dye socks are ready to wear!
Get the latest DIY tutorials, reviews, and crafting updates
You'll never be spammed and can unsubscribe at any time
Here’s the other side of one of these.
If you make your own, I’d love to see them! Tag me on Instagram @ab.crafty!
You May Also Like...
Tie Dye Sock Patterns
And here are all of the tie dye socks I made so you can see all the different style and colors. Hopefully these will inspire you to make your own tie dye socks! If you do, be sure to tag me on Instagram @ab.crafty.
Here are the instructions to make each of these tie dye sock patterns:
- Blue Tie Dye Socks (top left)
- Rainbow Striped Tie Dye Socks (top right)
- Spiral Tie Dye Socks (bottom left)
- Faded Rainbow Tie Dye Socks (bottom right)
Blue Tie Dye Socks
This is an easy and simple way to make a solid color tie dye sock with a fun random tie dye pattern.
Simply scrunch the socks up and tie the rubber bands around them randomly just to make sure it’s all held together.
Then cover them completely in blue dye.
Because it’s just one color these are super quick and easy to make.
Just make sure to squeeze the dye into the socks.
Then wrap them up together to set.
Get the latest DIY tutorials, reviews, and crafting updates
You'll never be spammed and can unsubscribe at any time
Rainbow Striped Tie Dye Socks
These are definitely may favorite! I love how vibrant they are and how the dyes beautifully blended together to make the gorgeous rainbow pattern.
Fold the socks up long ways and add the rubber bands in sections an inch or two apart.
Then start with the second section and add yellow dye.
Then skip to sections and yellow dye to the next.
If you have even more segments than I have, add yellow dye to every 3rd section.
Then add red dye to the sections to the left of the yellow ones.
Then add blue dye to the remaining sections.
Tip: Squeeze close to the rubber bands to make sure the colors blend together slightly. This is what helps create the rainbow tie dye pattern.
Wrap each sock by rolling it in the plastic wrap and folding over the ends.
Since there are so many colors in these rainbow tie dye socks, you want to wrap them up separately so the colors don’t bleed in ways you don’t want.
Tip: If you want the socks to be even more identical, make sure the rubber bands are spaced equally for both. You can see with mine, I wasn’t as perfect and so the stripes are slightly off.
I don’t mind it though, since to me that’s part of the fun of tie dye – you don’t always know how it’s going to turn out!
Get the latest DIY tutorials, reviews, and crafting updates
You'll never be spammed and can unsubscribe at any time
Spiral Tie Dye Socks
Yes, you can even get the classic spiral tie dye look on socks! They’re a little more subtle than doing it on a t-shirt or sweatshirt, but you can see the center of the spiral on this sock.
Then from the sides they simply have a fun colorful tie dye pattern.
To make them, decide where you want the spiral to start – I flattened them so the top of the sock was on top.
Then pinch from the center and twist. Keep twisting until it’s a tight spiral, then wrap perpendicular rubber bands around them.
Add yellow dye to one section. Be sure to flip it over to add dye to the other side.
Then add red to the next section.
Then blue to the other side.
I left one section blank so that there was more white space, but you could also fill that in with a little more blue and red. Keep in mind, if you do, the blue and red will mix to make purple.
You can either wrap them separately or arrange them so that the same colors are touching. As you can see, I had the white spaces and then the red touching so that colors wouldn’t mix where I didn’t want them.
That extra section of white gives the socks a bit more white in the finished pattern.
Faded Rainbow Tie Dye Socks
These tie dye socks are fun and unique since they fade from super vibrant to almost compltely white.
Start by folding the socks in an accordion fold longways.
Then twist it into a spiral and add perpendicular rubber bands.
Then similar to the spiral socks, add yellow, red, and blue to each section.
Squish the sections so the dye goes in and the colors blend slightly.
Tip: Use a paper towel to wipe up the dye between colors so the dye doesn’t go anywhere you don’t want it to.
Then wrap each sock individually so the colors don’t mix across the socks.
Because less dye gets to the middle of the spiral, you get the faded look!
You could make a whole bunch of different ones and make your own advent calendar for adults or kids as a fun holiday gift!
More Tie Dye Crafts to Try
- Tie Dye Sweatshirt
- Tie Dye Crocs
- Tie Dye Shoes
- Tie Dye Shorts
- Bleach Tie Dye
- Ice Tie Dye
- Tie Dye Shirts
- Tie Dye Heart
- Tie Dye Star
- Black Tie Dye
- Pastel Tie Dye
- Tie Dye Patterns and Designs
Get the latest DIY tutorials, reviews, and crafting updates
You'll never be spammed and can unsubscribe at any time
Tie Die Socks
Materials
- White Cotton Socks
- Tie Dye Kit or Tie-Dye Dye and Soda Ash
- Water
- Rubber Bands
- Plastic Wrap
- Latex Gloves
Equipment
- Bucket or Plastic Bin
Instructions
Prepare the Socks for Dyeing
- Soak them in waterWater
- Fold, scrunch, and twist the socks however you would like.There are a bunch of different tie dye patterns you can make on socks and they all depend on how you scrunch them.White Cotton Socks
- Wrap with rubber bands and repeat for the other sockRubber Bands
Prepare the Soda Ash Mixture and Socks for Tie Dye
- If your tie dye kit is a one step tie dye kit such as Tulip One Step Tie Dye Kits, you don’t need to do this section.However if your kit uses soda ash, mix 1 cup of soda ash with 1 gallon of warm water. Mix until the soda ash dissolves.Tie Dye Kit or Tie-Dye Dye and Soda Ash
- Place the wrapped socks into the soda ash mixture and soak for at least 20 minutes.
Mix the Dyes
- Follow the instructions on the kit, but typically they want you to add warm water up to a line and shake. Make sure the dye powder is completely dissolved.Tie Dye Kit or Tie-Dye Dye and Soda Ash
Add Dye to the Socks
- Place a piece of plastic wrap on the table.Plastic Wrap
- Place your socks on top and then start with one color at a time. Be sure to dye both sides and try to get the dye between the folds. You really want to soak it with dye, but not too much so that it’s dripping.Latex Gloves
- If you want to use another color, add it next to it.
- Push on the socks to help spread the dye or mix the colors together.
- Wrap the tie dye socks in the plastic wrap and leave them to set for a minimum of 8 hours.
Wash the Dyed Socks
- Use warm water and run the sock under the stream while it’s still tied together.
- Once the water is less colorful, you can take off the rubber bands. I like to save them, but you can also cut them off if that’s easier.
- Then wash them in the washing machine. Wash them with other tie dyed socks or other tie dyed clothes just in case there’s a bit of dye that didn’t wash out.
2 thoughts on “Tie Dye Socks”
Really interesting post!
Thanks, glad you like it!