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School glue can be used for lots of great things! But, did you know a little bottle of school glue can help make an awesome, one-of-a-kind tee-shirt? Use your imagination to create a perfectly simple DIY Dye Resist Tee Shirt. Believe me, you are going to be impressed by the dyeing techniques that can be achieved with a little bottle of school glue!
Dyeing Techniques: DIY Dye Resist T-Shirt
To make your own DIY Dye Resist Tee Shirt, gather these supplies.

For this project to work you MUST USE the Elmer’s Blue Gel glue. Regular white glue will not work!
You will also need supplies for dyeing fabric:
- A large bucket or tub
- Gloves to protect your hands
- A way to stir up the dye mixture
To begin, tape your printed graphic onto a piece of sturdy cardboard. I used the top of a large shoe box.

Next place the cardboard inside your tee shirt and move it around until the graphic is right where you want it to be. Then, secure the tee shirt onto the cardboard using pins so that it does not slip around when you are using your glue.

Saturate your tee shirt using water in a spray bottle. If you don’t have a spray bottle, you can also run some water over your tee shirt before you put the cardboard inside.

Next, trace your graphic with the glue. Make sure you get enough glue on areas for it to resist the dye. Keep track of where you’ve already traced so that you don’t trace the same place twice or forget to trace an area.

Allow the glue to almost dry. While it is still slightly tacky, remove the shirt from the cardboard. You don’t want your graphic to glue itself to your shirt! To complete the drying process; either hang your shirt, or replace the cardboard with a large plastic container lid.

Don’t start the dye process until your glue is COMPLETELY dry. You don’t want to ruin your shirt! I sped up the process with a hair dryer.

Once your shirt is dry, mix your dye according to directions EXCEPT when the directions call for hot or warm water, substitute cool. If you use hot water, the glue will melt off of your shirt and the dye will ruin your design.

Next, submerge your shirt and allow the dye time to do its thing! I let my shirt sit for 15 minutes, but you could go longer if you want the color darker.

Once your shirt is done dyeing, wring it out and set it on top of a prepared surface to dry. Once it is dry, you can toss it in the washing machine alone for a quick wash. After you remove it from the washer, check to see if the glue has dissolved. If your glue is being stubborn, you can give it a good scrub in the sink with a little soap. Dry it on hot in the dryer once you remove all of the glue.

Once your tee shirt comes out of the dryer, it’s ready to wear!
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About Emily Louise
Emily is a apron-wearing, camera-wielding, mother and pilots wife who has found her niche in discovering a reason to celebrate every day and enjoying the simple things life has to offer.- DIY 30-Minute Thanksgiving Tree - Nov 8, 2020
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Awesome features…now I’m hungry. Thanks for hosting the party!
Thanks for hosting!
I think your post is very nice.
Thank you, a great reminder to be myself. I love the thought of writing artistically vs grammar! ~ so freeing 🙂
Have a beautiful day!
That is a really neat way to spruce up any T shirt~ Thank you for the linkup, always enjoy it.
What a great an easy way to make a specialty shirt. Love it. I had no idea about that glue. Thanks for a great tutorial!
The tee looks awesome!
I LOOOVE this t-Shirt! Wow it turned out so great!!! Love the color!. Thanks so much for including my white chocolate and cherry cheesecake bar woot!
XOXO
Lovely t shirt idea, makes a change from bleach pen designs. I’m not sure if we can get blue Elmer glue in the Uk I’ll have to research it!
hi ,
What a great ideas ,
It is very good job my friend .
thank you for posting .
I didn’t know Elmer’s glue could be so versatile! But that’s a cool project though. It would be great for making a few shirts for a family reunion or going to the theme park and dressing the same!
I think I need a midnight snack after seeing the features this week. Yum! Thanks so much for hosting!
KC