Turn a pair of plain canvas shoes into colorful works of art with this easy tutorial for Sharpie Tie Dye sneakers!
I am hooked on Sharpie tie dye you guys. HOOKED. I made a custom mermaid tote bag a few weeks ago and I’ve just been itching to try this fun tie dye technique again, so today I made these colorful, happy tie dye canvas sneakers!
I bought a boring pair of white sneakers on clearance at target several months ago and I’ve just been waiting for the right idea to come along to customize them.
Materials
- Plain White Canvas Sneakers
- Sharpie Markers
- 91% Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol
- Medicine Dropper
You can use a lower percentage rubbing alcohol, but the ink will not spread as much, so I do recommend getting the 91%. It’s available at almost every drugstore or grocery store.
You can buy medicine droppers in the medicine section of the store too, if you don’t already have one at home.
Instructions
Step 1: Remove the laces from the shoes so they don’t get ink on them.
Step 2: Use the Sharpies to draw a design all over the canvas part of your sneakers.
Step 3: Fill a medicine dropper with rubbing alcohol and drip it onto the design. This will make the colors spread and run together and look like tie dye!
It’s that simple! You can customize these in so many different ways just by how you draw the design on, what colors you choose to use and how much alcohol you drip on.
I love this tie dye technique because it’s WAY less messy than traditional tie dying and is much easier to control the design and outcome.
This same technique can be used on any cotton or canvas fabric item… shoes, bags, shirts, hats, and bandanas would all be adorable!
Watch the technique in action in this short craft video:
I’ve gotten a few questions about if the dye is permanent. Yes! It’s permanent once it’s dry. I haven’t had any problems with it bleeding onto my socks. If you are worried about the dye running or fading, you can try soaking the shoes in a vinegar/salt water bath to “set” the ink.
Other brands of permanent markers may work, but I haven’t personally tried them, so you’ll have to experiment at your own risk. You can always try it on a piece of scrap fabric.
I used the same technique to make this awesome pillowcase:
You can watch the video tutorial for the pillowcase over on my Facebook page.
Happy Crafting!
Comments & Reviews
Those are super cute!
Thank you Teresa!
Can’t wait for grands to come over for us to do this! They will love it!
You must be a pretty awesome grandma. That sounds like so much fun!
Did you have a problem with the ink staining your white socks? How did you solve it?
No. Once the ink is dry, it’s permanent.
Do you have to wash after the acohol
Nope! After they dry, they’re ready to wear!
Where did you get the sneaks?
Target and Walmart both have them.
Did you use permanent or wet erase sharpies?
Permanent!
What happens when you wash them?
The ink may fade a bit, but they should hold. The marker is permanent once it dries.
Does it have to be sharpie? I can’t seem to get that brand of permanent marker in Zambia
I think any permanent marker would work, but you’ll have to test them on a scrap of fabric to see if they bleed like Sharpies do.
Kyra, pm me your address in your country and I would be happy to send you some!
What happens if they get wet?
Once the alcohol dries, the marker is permanent.
When I tie-dye I always rinse with vinegar?
What a great idea and each person can make their own design. Love these
Can yu use fabric markers ?
I’m not sure that fabric markers will bleed and blend together like Sharpies do.
My daughter did this to a pair of her canvas sneakers. They looked great once they were done. However, the colors transferred to her white socks and bled when they got wet. They even stained my husband’s hands when he washed dirt off the bottoms of the shoes. If you have any suggestions on what to do since that has happened, that would be great. Side note: She used Sharpie markers and cotton canvas shoes.
Oh no! Maybe try “setting” the dye with vinegar. Some people have had good luck with that.
Will this work on any other type of material, such as polyester?
I don’t think it would work very well on polyester, but you sure could give it a try!
Do you let dry first before doing the vinegar treatment?
Yes! Let the alcohol dry first.
When You put the Rubbing Alcohol on the Shoe won’t it soak thru and get the inside of the Show wet.
It really didn’t soak through to the inside.
I have a pair of shoes that have dirty spot on them. This would be a great cover-up! Can’t wait to try!
A great solution!
Thanks for this idea! Going to try this with my Saturday Bible Study Class (Children and Teens).
Great idea!
Do you let the marker colors dry on the shoe before you set the colors with the alcohol? Then you let the alcohol dry to set it all so it doesn’t fade on your socks correct? I think that maybe a step some are missing.
That’s correct!
You mentioned a mermaid tote, I would LOVE to see it!!!
https://www.thecraftpatchblog.com/diy-mermaid-hair-tote-bag/
Did you let the ink colors dry before you drippered the alcohol onto the shoes, or does the ink need to be wet for the colors to run together?
It doesn’t matter either way.
Hi! Trying this tomorrow is there a ratio of vinegar and water? I’m not sure how to set the dye
I didn’t do anything to set the dye at all and my shoes have been great. But I would just squirt them with some vinegar in a spray bottle, then let dry.
What fabric is best for the tye dyed pillow case??? Knit or cotton or ???
Cotton is best
Is there a certain recommended pillowcase (material, etc.) to do this on?
Cotton works best. I would avoid microfiber.
Do you have to color both sides of the pillowcase? Or you we try to allow it to bleed through?
It’s up to you! I put waxed paper inside of my pillowcase to prevent bleeding and only did the design on one side.
hmmm, I’m thinking on doing this BUT.. making will change one thing… I will put the alcohol in a spray (mist ) bottle… I will you all know how that works out…
I’ve found that if you use a paint brush (old or new) to apply the rubbing alcohol, you can follow your spirals for an amazing blended effect!!
Made my first pair this morning. They’re cute but I have the primary colored markers. So it looks like a hot blob mess. You don’t need to mark up the entire sneaker (like I did 🤦♀️). I’ll still wear them though. Next pair will be with lighter colors and less markings. However…the plunger style medicine dropper is hard to work with. You can’t get just a drop or two. It plunged the alcohol all over the place. I would suggest using a dropper that has a rubber tip on it to control the drops (like the ones you use for essential oils). Wish I could post a picture of them.
So when I put the alcohol on my shoes, it did absolutely nothing to the marker. They look terrible and idk why.
Did you use Sharpie brand markers? And isopropyl rubbing alcohol?