Tie Dye Pencil Cases * Moms and Crafters

Let’s craft some super easy (and fun) tie dye pencil cases – perfect for back to school or teacher appreciation gifts! When you’re done, try making these back to school shrinky dinks! This post contains affiliate links.

Here I am swinging in at the last minute with some fun tie dye pencil cases! My kids have this odd two weeks between when day camp ends and school starts and we’re always looking for fun things to do. My 9 year old son asked to tie dye something for school – and yes, they have a dress code – so we chose pencil cases!

Turns out my kids took turns being sick during that off-time so we anyway needed at home activities to do! There is something so satisfying about tie dye and even kids (and adults) who aren’t crafty just love squirting the dye out of bottles!

Tips for making a tie dye pencil case

Tie dye pencil cases are similar to shirts, but there are some differences – including with size and the materials you might be dying. Here are some tips to help you nail it the first time!

Working with such a small canvas

When it comes to tie dye styles, you’ll be a bit more limited when making tie dye pencil cases. Depending on how soft the fabric of your pencil case is, and how large it is, you may need to stick to simpler methods.

We did an accordion tie dye. We definitely could have gone tighter – tie dye does improve with experience! My son’s had more white spaces than mine.

The general idea is: choose your technique well, and make sure it’s one that’ll work with your size canvas! The accordion method was also so easy for my son to do.

Fabric differences

Natural fibers work best with tie dye. My pencil case was made of thinner cotton fabric, and Y’s was made out of canvas of unknown origin – I suspect it’s synthetic.

For more vibrant colors and better dye retention, choose a natural fiber.

Getting the colors right

When doing tie dye, the colors sometimes run together. So remember your color wheel as you choose! On my pencil case, you can see that on the top half, we have some complementary colors that become a bit muddy when they blend. On the bottom they’re all analogous and blend together beautifully.

You an also figure which colors will make new ones (if you put blue and red near each other, you’ll have purple between them).

Ways to finish off the tie dye pencil cases

We left our tie dye pencil cases as is, but you can definitely add in more details!

Try cutting a large name from white HTV (on a completely dyed one) or a darker color (on a partially dyed one). Make sure you have good contrast between the name and the case.
Embroider a name! Use adhesive water soluble stabilizer to draw or print your design and do a simple backstitch.
Add fun patterns over it with a white paint marker
Of course, you can make a fun keychain to go on the zipper!

How to tie dye pencil cases – step by step

You’ll Need

Tie dye, squeeze bottles, rubber bands, gloves, a surface protector – I had all of these in one kit.
A pencil case to dye – choose one with natural materials.
Paper towels
An iron (I keep this mini Steamfast one in my craft room)
Butcher paper
Something protective to iron on (I used my Cricut heat mat)

Watch the video

Watch the full-length video on YouTube if you prefer to learn that way! Or scroll down for written instructions with photos.

Step by Step Process

1. Wet your pencil case. Fold it into an accordion and tie rubber bands tightly in increments. My son did three, I did four.

2. Place your tie dye on a protected surface, such as tarp or tablecloth.

3. Mix up your dyes to your preferred intensity. I mixed the full recommended dye packet up with the full squeeze bottle of water.

4. Squeeze your tie dye on, fully soaking your pencil case. You don’t NEED to cover every spot (my son didn’t) – you’ll get more white spaces that way, but I do recommend covering everything fully exposed to highlight the pattern.

My son evenly dispersed the colors but I put it in “stripes” with different colors between each rubber band.

5. Leave it in a zip-sealed bag overnight or for 24 hours for more intensity. Rinse off as much excess dye after the 24 hours are over as you can. And then snip off (or otherwise remove) your rubber bands!