Our Ultimate Guide To Tie Dying A Canvas Backpack
If you brought a second-hand canvas backpack, or maybe you are trying to revive your old one, you might be wondering how to tie-dye a canvas bag at home.
To tie dye a canvas backpack is more simple than you think, all you will need is your canvas bag, alternate colours of dye and some rubber gloves for the job since you’ll be mixing them.
We’ve made a small guide below taking you through why you should dye your canvas backpack, how to clean it and two methods of tie dying it.
Why Dye Your Canvas Backpack?
Not only can dying your canvas backpack make a budget backpack look even cooler, but it can help revive old backpacks too, allowing you to make a custom school backpack with the kids without having to spend any money.
It’s also a great way to get creative and a relaxing art, who knows, you might even make it your side business!
Our Guide To Cleaning Your Canvas Backpack
Before we start dying your canvas backpack we first need to make sure the canvas backpack is completely clean.
We’ve listed some steps to cleaning down below.
- Step one – Take a light bristle brush and brush down the outside and inside of the backpack to remove any dirt.
- Step two – Next take a spray bottle with a mix of water and mild soap, you can also add vinegar for tougher stains and spray on onto the bag while brushing it down.
- Step three – Now let the backpack air dry in the sun, simply stretch the bag out if it starts to shrink.
How To Tie Dye Your Canvas Backpack
What You Need
- Dye of your choice.
- Canvas backpack.
- Rubber gloves.
How To Do It
- Start by pinching a section of the backpacks and placing rubber bands on each section with an inch separating each one.
- Take the bag and saturate it in cool water, take your dyes and put them all over the white canvas backpack’s surface, don’t be shy here, just make sure you’ve squeezed excess water off and you are doing it over plastic tablecloths.
- Allow the colourful backpack to dry overnight, then snip off the bands the next day and voila, you now have the coolest backpack!
How To Make A Drop Tie Dye Backpack
What You Need
- Tie dye kit.
- Gloves.
- Plastic tablecloth.
How To Do It
- Begin by preparing the bottle of tie dye according to the instructions, put the backpack under water and squeeze any leftover water out of the bag.
- Cover your surface with the cloth to protect it and spread the backpack flat on top. Hold your bottles upside down and allow them to drip onto the material, you can make your custom backpack design with different colours here.
- Place the bag in a safe place or a bin bag and allow it to sit overnight so that the leftover dye can dry.
- After drying, rinse the bag with some warm water, cool water, warm water then cold water again, then wash it once through the machine, this to make sure no leftover dye will come off the bag.
Frequently Asked Questions About Dying Canvas Backpacks
How do I make my canvas backpack waterproof?
To make a canvas backpack waterproof you can simply wax it with some beeswax, this will help to make it water-resistant, we suggest patch testing wax first to make sure it doesn’t change the colour of your canvas bag.
What’s a good colour combination for tie dye?
You could choose oranges and shades of brown or keep the colour scheme to vibrant colours like a raspberry color, the colour combo is yours to choose, but the more alternate colours you choose, the better your dye will look.
How do I avoid a muddy colour when tie dying?
To avoid a muddy colour try not to let the colours bleed and mix, this can ruin how brighter colours appear and cause a muddy effect. Try dripping paints in a more spacious pattern.
What techniques are there for tie dying canvas?
There are many techniques for creating different patterns when tie dying, you can use rubber bands as we saw above to crumple the fabric or spiral it and scrunch it up.
Last Words
To conclude, you can dye a canvas backpack easily with a tie dye kit or some fabric colours, simply scrunch the fabric together and drip the colours on in a pattern of your choice.
Always give the dye enough drying time before washing to allow the colours to set and wax it to make the bag waterproof.
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