ADD A SPLASH OF COLOUR TO YOUR LIFE

Billed as a ‘hot quarantine fashion trend’, tie-dye is having a major moment. Gayle Ritchie experiments with her own DIY creations

Fashion has been far from my mind since lockdown kicked in. Since the middle of March, my go-to attire has consisted largely of unflattering, baggy jogging bottoms, ancient hooded tops and manky old T-shirts. Make-up has been long forgotten, too. Wearing such dull, boring outfits and looking worn-out and haggard doesn’t do much for your mood, or your self-esteem.

But having spent three months in the wilderness, I haven’t felt the need to make any effort whatsoever.

However, while clearing out an old cupboard and discovering a box of green fabric dye, I had a flash of inspiration.

As a teenager, I went through a phase of tie-dyeing everything I could get my hands on – T-shirts, pillowcases, trousers and even toys.

A quick Google search told me that the psychedelic print is making a major comeback and is indeed billed as a “hot quarantine fashion trend”.

All I needed was some fabric to tie-dye and, as luck would have it, I had two old white T-shirts languishing at the back of my wardrobe, just waiting to be transformed.

The advice is to use natural fibres like cotton, and while one of my T-shirts was 90% cotton and 10% viscose, the other was 70% polyester.

I reasoned that if one design went horribly wrong, the other – if successful – might save the day.

The first step was to choose a tie-dye effect. There are loads of options – you can create swirls, spirals, spots, stripes and even a marble effect.

Following a YouTube video (there are loads), I laid one T-shirt on to the kitchen table and pinched the middle before twirling it in one