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Rolled tie dye pattern

A tie dye pattern created by starting at one side of the shirt and rolling it up before applying liquid dye.

A tie dye pattern on a cotton shirt using the rolled technique, dyed by Corky Lorenz.

Rolled tie dye patterns can look like these shirts. When you roll the fabric, it makes a pattern that starts small and then gets gradually bigger.


This style is sometimes referred to by the name cosmic egg tie dye. 


You can roll the shirt, and dye it without tying. Or, if you want more detail and lines, like these shirts, you can use sinew to bind random bunches of fabric.


These are dyed with fiber reactive procion dye. This is the kind of dye used for professional, permanent color. It won't fade over time, as long as you don't bleach it.


Procion dye comes in a powdered form, which you have to mix with water. You can mix it with water in a normal tie dye squirt bottle, or get creative and use alternative methods. One of the most popular alternative methods is to sprinkle the powdered dye over ice, which melts and pushes the dye into the shirt.

This page was last updated on

Oct 6, 2026

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