Marble Tie Dye Shoes

In today’s post: Turn plain white sneakers into a work of art using tie dye and shaving cream to create kicks with a cool marbled look! This is a fun summer craft project for teens, adults, or kids.

Marble Dyed Shoes

Tie dyeing a pair of sneakers is a fun summer craft – and an easy way to make a pair of custom shoes. Using shaving cream allows you to create a beautiful marbled effect that’s a little more sophisticated than standard tie dye. Plus it keeps the mess of the dye contained and very easy to clean up!

Supplies

Here’s what you’ll need to marble tie dye a pair of shoes:

• White canvas sneakers. White canvas sneakers take dye beautifully and work well for this project. You can use something like Converse if you want, or you can find inexpensive sneakers at Walmart (these are the ones I used) or Amazon. I used slip on sneakers that don’t have laces to make the design stand out on the top of the shoe.
• Shaving Cream: You’ll need a can of regular shaving cream – not gel. You can use the cheapest kind you can find. One can should be enough for two dyeing projects like this.
• Electrical Tape: If you want the soles of the shoes to stay bright white, you’ll need to tape them off. Electrical tape works MUCH better than masking tape or painters tape, and you can find it for about a buck at stores like Walmart.
• Tie Dye: Most craft stores now sell tie dye kits that come with dye powder in a bottle. This is super convenient! All you have to do is add water and shake up the dye. I only used one color of dye for this project, but you could use multiple colors if you like – just make sure they will mix well. Walmart sells a variety of tye dye kits; I used one of the individual colors that only cost $2.
• Foil Pan or Plastic Tub: You’ll need a container that’s large enough and deep enough to fit both shoes with some room to spare. I used a disposable foil baking pan to make clean up easy, but you could also use a plastic tub that you’ll wash out. Just be aware it will probably get some dye on it. If you are dyeing large shoes, you can use one pan for each shoe.

How to Marble Dye Shoes

This is a great project for teens, and is even easy enough for kids if there is adult help and supervision to make sure dye doesn’t get anywhere it shouldn’t. It takes about half an hour to prep the shoes and dye them. After the shoes are dyed you’ll let them dry completely (6+ hours) and then rinse them and allow them to dry again before wearing.

Tape the Soles

Dyed shoes look much more professional and less like a craft project if the sole portion on the sides of the shoes does not get any dye on it. To do this, you’ll need to tape off the soles. You *can* use masking tape, but electrical tape works much better to ensure not even a drop of dye gets on the soles. Cut short pieces of tape and cover the entire sole area that’s visible on the sides of each shoe. Optional: if you want the elastic area to stay bright white as well, cut tape to fit over it.

Prep the Dye Tub

Make sure both of your shoes will fit in the foil pan or plastic tub you plan to use. Fill it with shaving cream as deep as the shoes are tall, then use the back of a spoon to level out the top of the shaving cream.

Add water to your dye bottle and shake well to combine. I did not fill the bottle up all the way; I wanted to make sure to get concentrated color. They dye kit will come with plastic gloves – it’s a good idea to use them! Also, make sure you have covered your work area with a cheap plastic tablecloth or something else to protect it from errant drops of dye. Keep paper towels handy and use them when you are holding the dye bottle.

Start dropping dye onto the shaving cream in small dots. The dots don’t need to be even, but they should be pretty well distributed over the entire surface of the shaving cream. Carefully put the lid back on the dye and set it aside.

Now, grab a skewer, toothpick, or even a plastic knife and drag it through the shaving cream to marble the dye. You can do this in any way you like to create a design. Pay attention to how much white space is left in the shaving cream, because that will determine how much white space there is on your shoes. If you are using multiple colors, you may end up with less white space.

Dip the Shoes

At this point, it’s time to place both shoes face down over the shaving cream. Try not to move the shoes around too much as you are doing so. Just tilt them slightly from side to side if needed to ensure some of the shaving cream gets all the way up to the soles. Leave the shoes in the shaving cream for 2-3 minutes.

Reveal the Design

After just 2-3 minutes, you can pick up one of the shoes (be sure to wear plastic gloves!). Use something like an old gift card (I used a 3×5 card) to scrape the shaving cream off the shoe, revealing the design. Place the shoe down on a covered surface and repeat with the other shoe. Once you’ve scraped most of the shaving cream off, you can use paper towels to wipe off any excess shaving cream. The let the shoes dry COMPLETELY, at least 6 hours.

Rinse

The final step is to give your new marbled shoes a good rinse, and remove the tape. Rinse the shoes in the sink in warm to hot water until the water runs completely clear – maybe as long as 10 minutes. Remove the tape and give them one more rinse. Be aware that the color will lighten and the edges of the marble pattern will soften a bit as the dye gets rinsed. However, rinsing them now will prevent the dye from bleeding onto your socks the first time the shoes get wet! Then set them aside to dry completely, about 24 more hours. At that point, the shoes are ready to wear!