Upcycle Your Old Shoes With Tie Dye!

Do you have an old pair of canvas shoes that have seen better days, but you just can’t part with? Instead of tossing them or turning them into play shoes, we’ll show you how to use the Tulip Tie-Dye Color Mixing Kit to create upcycled tie-dye shoes with one-of-a-kind colors! Now these old, tired shoes just may just turn into the favorite pair of kicks in your closet. As a matter of fact, Tulip has several fun ideas of how to upcycle your shoes!

Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Color Mixing Kit

Pair of white or light-colored canvas shoes

Wire rack + sheet tray

Small disposable cups (optional)

Plastic bag

1.    Clean shoes and decide on your color

Before you get started on your upcycled tie-dye shoes, wash and thoroughly clean the pair of shoes that you plan on using for this project. Open up your Tie-Dye Color Mixing kit and choose which colors you want to use— there’s over 50 unique color formulas to pick from!

2.    Mix powdered dyes to create custom colors

Follow the recipes provided on the Color Mixing Chart to mix your colors. Each kit includes big scoops and small scoops to measure the dye powder, plus clean bottles to pour the dye powder into. When you’ve finished adding the dye mixture into your bottle, fill to the line with water and shake to mix!

3.    Dye shoes

Now it’s time to dye the shoes with your custom colors! Place the shoes on a wire rack over a sheet tray to catch excess dye. Remove the shoelaces if necessary and pull the tongues out of the shoes so that they are more exposed. Apply dye to the shoes by touching the tip of the bottle to the surface, and slowly squeezing to saturate with color. You can dye the shoelaces too, if you’d like!

4.    Let dye set

Once you’ve finished applying the dye to your shoes (and laces), place them in a sealed plastic bag and let them sit for at least 8 hours or overnight. Your upcycled tie-dye shoes are almost finished!

5.    Rinse and wash shoes

Rinse, wash and dry the shoes. Lace up your kicks, and your upcycled tie-dye shoes are ready to wear! It’s time to start thinking about the pair of shoes you will select for this transformation with Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye and kick it up a notch with your shoe wardrobe! Browse more colorful ideas in vibrant tie-dye colors before getting started.