WEAR IT
Tie-Dye Topology
Learn how to plan your spirals and swirls when
dyeing your favorite Ts. BY EDWIN WISE
Tie-dye, glorious tie-dye! The bright swirl of colors can
lighten the drabbest day. But when you start to make
your own patterns, questions emerge. This project
explores what really happens inside a tie-dyed spiral.
I lived in Oregon for 20 years and Austin, Texas, for another
handful before I ever owned any tie-dye. The only reason
I succumbed was because I made my own; there’s a wonderful
satisfaction in wearing something you created with your own hands.
After making many shirts in many patterns, the question arose
amongst our little group of how to better control the pattern.
Here I’ll show you how to make classic spiral and radial patterns,
illustrating the tie-dye process while unraveling the twisted
topology involved.
