Matching Girl & American Girl Tie Dye Dresses #tiedyeyoursummer #tdys #ad

5:30:00 AM

Disclosure - I wrote this post as part of a sponsored campaign for Tulip and Blueprint Social. 

Want to know a secret? Until recently, I had never tie dyed anything before in my life. I was intimidated by the whole idea. But this summer, I was invited by Tulip to " Tie Dye Your Summer " and I just knew that this was the summer to conquer my fears!



And I had the perfect project to do it with. My biggest girl is all about the American Girl doll that she got this past winter, and she loves the idea of dressing the same as her doll. We decided to use tie dye to create outfits for her and her doll. The sewing was simple--we just used a single large adult t-shirt and the only sewing was 2 straight seams! And I think you're going be amazed at how simple tie-dying is with Tulip's One-Step Tie Dying so that you can make your own doll & me matching outfits!



In order to make the matching outfits, here's what you need:


Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye in the colors of your choice
1 Adult Large White T-shirt
1 ribbon, about 1 yard in length
Thin elastic (I used an elastic string)
scissors or other cutting tools

We chose to keep things simple since my helper is a 6-year-old and only use 2 colors for this project. But since we were at it, we did some more experimentation. But really, I couldn't believe at how easy it is to make tie dye now! I now know why Tulip is America's favorite tie-dye! All I did was pick the colors and take those bottles, run warm tap water, and add it to the bottles to the recommended lines and shake!! We were ready to roll.


For the shirts, we took sections of the shirt and just bunched up the handfuls and wrapped with a rubber band.


To add some dimension, I added some additional wrapping with string in a pseudo-shibori technique to get some added lines.


Then we added the red on one side of the rubber bands and blue on the other! Simple! My little girl had loads of fun applying the dye (with my help, of course!)


After we were done dying, I wrapped the shirt up in plastic wrap and put it in a zip top back for about 24 hours to make sure we had vibrant colors. (The longer it sits the brighter the colors). Then, I rinsed out the dye in cold water and then washed the shirt by itself in my washer. Once it was dry, we were ready to customize!

I cut off the sleeves right at the seam and cut off the top of the shirt in a straight line under the collar. Save all the pieces! (The green lines below are where I cut)


I measured my daughter to make sure we didn't need to cut any more off. She's a tallish 6-year-old, and we didn't need to cut anything off. I folded the top of the front of the shirt down to make a casing and pinned it, and then matched that casing on the back. Then I just sewed a single straight seam to finish the casing. That's all the sewing involved in this whole project! Thread a piece of ribbon through both casings and tie on one side! The child dress/shirt dress is completed.


For the doll outfit, you'll need both sleeves. For the first sleeve (which will be the skirt), make a slit on the back side of the them on each side of the seam. Run elastic thread through the hem and tie in a knot tight enough to fit the doll's waist. Easy! (See the green lines below for where to make your slits.)


The second sleeve will be the doll's top. Make a slit on the back side of the hem just like the skirt. Then, on each side of the sleeve, make a small slit that is just large enough for the doll's arms. Run the elastic through the hem like you did the skirt, and make a not that is tight enough to hold the top on the doll's shoulders. (See the green lines below for where to make your slits.)


The great thing about the knit t-shirt is that the cut edges don't need to be hemmed for play clothes like this! So after an easy dye session and sewing 2 seams, you have matching tie-dye outfits for your American Girl doll and that doll's best friend!


Do you want some more inspiration to create your own tie-dye masterpiece? Check out this video:


Or you can check out Tulip on the web:


And you can also check out how some other bloggers have been using tie-dye this month in these awesome projects!



I hope this has inspired you to conquer your fear of tie-dye! I know I'll be trying out some other techniques this summer!

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Disclosure - I wrote this post as part of a sponsored campaign for Tulip and Blueprint Social. 

I love to party! Sometimes I link up my posts to Organizing Junkie, RemodelaholicTidy Mom and these link parties! You should come party with me and check out some awesome new bloggers!

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