Teeny Tutorial: DIY Dip-Dye Tee

I've been wanting a pretty dip-dyed tee but I haven't been wanting to pay for something I thought I could do myself.  SO.  When I saw these white v-necks at Forever21 for under $5 I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try it out.  Now I didn't have any dye on hand so I used paint.  Yup, you read that right!  I've used acrylic paint to screen print before so I knew it would "dye" the fabric and not wash out.  But I wasn't sure if it would work if I diluted it with water to achieve the soft color I wanted.  Good news: it did!

Here's what I did:

I diluted about a quarter cup of paint in about two quarts of water.  I then dipped in my tee shirt up to the armpits.
I let the tee dry for a bit, mixed in some more paint and dipped the bottom of the tee in to about the waist.
I let the tee dry for a bit, mixed in a darker blue and dipped the very bottom of the tee in about 3 inches.
I let it dry and washed it by hand (mainly because I didn't have any other laundry to throw in with it).

That's it.  Srsly.  So easy!  If you're wondering I used cheap-o Apple Barrel paint in Pool Blue and Real Blue that I had on hand.  I think next time I do it I'll use a dark color to begin with but just dilute it to get the lighter part of the ombre and add more paint as I moved down the shirt.

Let me know if you try this out!  You could try to do this with older kids (Margaux kept trying to stick her hands in the water) but be sure they're wearing smocks as the paint WILL stain!