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Tie-dye is typically brightly colored, patterned textile or clothing which is made from ordinary cloth, usually cotton, through a resist dyeing process known as tie-dyeing. This is the modern version of a traditional dyeing method used in many cultures in Asia and Africa.

Tie-dyeing was briefly very fashionable in the West in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of hippie style. It was made popular in the United States by in large part by Mickey Hart and the Grateful Dead, but the art of dying fabrics and specifically tie-dying goes far back in time.

China and Japan had fully developed the art of tie-dye as early as the sixth century AD, about one and a half millennia ago. Hemp and silk which are very receptive to dying had become available and made this outstanding art possible.

The basic process is to tie up the material before applying dye in such a way that the dye only reaches part of the area to which it is applied. The boundaries of the dyed and non-dyed areas are usually rather blurred, as the dye has begun to soak into the non-tied sections.

Instead of dying the finished garment some tribes in Central America, South East Asia and Western China dyed the threads before weaving. Technically this was not tie-dye but the beauty of the designs that appeared was striking as were the patterns done with tie-dying.

Sources of these dyes were roots, berries and the flowers and leaves of a variety of plants like blackberries, safflower, marigold, sage, indigo and many others. Some of these natural dyes are still used today.

During the Momoyama period, which lasted for about 30 years at the end of the 16th century, a new fiber-art form developed which combined tie-dye with ornamental drawing. In Japan this form was used to create kimonos awarded to officers by the warlords in recognition of special bravery in battle with neighboring adversaries.

The four major types of tie-dye techniques are:

• Spiral patterns, involving pleats of fabric arranged in swirls around a central point, bundled into a round bun. Different wedges of the circular bun are dyed different colors. These are considered to be the most beautiful types of dyeing.
• The ‘V’ shape, which is achieved by folding a shirt in half vertically, then a line is drawn diagonally from the shoulder area down to the center fold of the shirt. The fabric is then accordion folded along the line and bound into one or more areas to which the dye is applied.
• Random, which can hold several different patterns, the majority of which have nothing to do with each other; they can be combinations or they can be as chaotic as bundling the item to be dyed to resemble a plucked chicken.
• Random Circles, which are made by tying knots with string or elastic bands in different places. The more fabric you tie, the bigger the circles.