Upcycled Bleach Tie Dye Turban (that's a mouthfull!)

 photo courtey of: helpmystyle.ie

photo courtesy of: honeymag.com

I am seeing turbans everywhere in magazines and fashion websites. I think that they are so cute and stylish! I came across this video on Burdastyle.com and it got my DIY turban fire burning!

 After doing some looking around, there are so many different types of ways to DIY (Do It Yourself) a turban. I am focusing more on a headband turban. My dreads are in an in-between stage right now, and I am always looking for a variety of headbands to pull them back. I decided to use an upcycled t-shirt turban tutorial.

Image source: GetCraftee.com

But First....

The tutorial calls for any type of stretchy fabric, but the Burdastyle video upcycles a black t-shirt. I am queen of old tees, but really didn't want a plain black turban. I decided to bleach tie dye the black t-shirts instead to give them a different look! If you don't know how to bleach tie dye, it's super simple.

All you need is:

-Any dark fabric (preferably cotton)

-Bleach

-Water

-Bucket or big bowl

-Old clothes (for you to wear in case there is any splashing)

-Rubber Bands or string

When you have chosen your fabric, you can either twist rubber bands or tie string to get the desired effect after bleaching. With my t-shirts, I did the accordion fold on one and just balled the other up and put rubber bands around it.

Then I took a big mixing bowl and put it in my bathtub (for less chance of bleaching anything I don't want bleached). I set the t-shirts in the bowl and poured the bleach over the top and then flipped them over and did the other side. I then added cold water* to the bowl and poured the rest of the bleach in the water.

*You can put any amount of water to bleach that you like, or no water at all, depending on the sturdyness of your fabric.

I left the t-shirts in for about 15 minutes,but you can leave them in any amount of time. The longer you leave them in, the more the fabric will get bleached out. I dumped out the bleach water mix and rinsed both t-shirts really well with cold water. This is what they looked like after.

I cut the rubber bands off and washed and dried them. They turned out really cool!

Accordion technique

Balled up technique

Now I am ready to begin my turban headband!

First, You will need:

Stretchy fabric

Ruler

Scissors

Marking Chalk/Pencil/Pen

Pins

Sewing machine or ability to hand sew (which also calls for needle and thread)

Begin by cutting two strips 8" wide and 24" long. With my t-shirts, one was bigger and one was smaller. I had to go with the bigger one to get the right measurements. No need to worry about cutting super straight You won't see the finished cutting at the end. When I cut my t-shirt, the logo was on one of the strips, but no worries, you won't even see it when it is finished.

Sew the strips together by folding them in half lengthwise, pinning and sewing up the side.

Turn them inside out (this will be the sides that will show on your finished project)

Take the finished strips and fold them over each other making a cross.

Next, take the horizontal strip and fold across the top strip so the ends of the horizontal strips are together, pin.

Do the same to the vertical strip connecting it's ends and pinning.

Sew the ends with pins together. Should look like this after sewing.

Take the two ends you have just sewn, pin together, and sew.

You are now DONE!

Check out the finished project!

Click on the pictures below to go to the websites named and try some other fun ways to make a turban or create a no sew version.

  Despising life is so passe'

Twitch Vintage

 Julia's Poppies Design