The academic year is always a busy time, so much so that I don’t get to do all the fun things that are available in Eugene, but summer break is completely different. With more downtime and fewer people in Eugene, I was able to do an activity that I have been interested in for a while now—Tie-Dying at the Hippie Closet!
If you don’t know, at the corner of 18th and Willamette is a business called The Hippie Closet. The store windows are adorned with groovy flowers, tie-dye shirt window decals, and hanging tie-dye clothes. While the store carries hand-dyed tie-dye clothing, it also features a Color Lab where you can make your own tie-dye, and that is absolutely the perfect high-activity option, if I do say so myself.
I went to the Hippie Closet to make a tie-dye sweatshirt, and every step of the process was easy peasy, mac and cheesy thanks to the folks there. If you have ever wanted to tie-dye or have done it before and want to do it again, the Hippie Closet is the place to go.
When you walk in, you can choose from multiple clothing options to tie-dye. I opted for a sweatshirt, but they have t-shirts, onesies, skirts, bags, and so much more to choose from. From there, you choose a tie-dye pattern from any of the examples they have hanging. Don’t worry, they walk you through how to make the design, including rubber banding and bunching. Once you’ve chosen your article of clothing and the pattern and secured all the rubber bands, the real fun begins. You choose your colors from the different dyes available. I opted for a purple, black, yellow, and orange color scheme, but they had so many different color options. With the colors selected, it was time to get my dye on, and it was a blast! It felt like I was a little kid at summer camp again—and even more so with the lab coats they have available for you to wear so that you don’t get dye on your outfit.
I figured I would have to come back to pick up my tie-dye sweatshirt in a few days, but they actually wrap your piece and place an instruction label on it so you can take it home and do the final step on your own. The final step is to rinse, wash, and dry your article of clothing. I will admit, the sweatshirt required much more patience than I anticipated for this step. You have to rinse your dyed item until the water runs clear, and with a sweatshirt that takes a little more time, so keep that in mind. I spent about a good 30 minutes in my bathroom rinsing the sweatshirt, but once I was finished and it had dried, I was so happy!
While I wasn’t elevated during this excursion to the Hippie Closet, I know that enjoying a little of the green goodness beforehand would only make this even more fun of an activity, and with the majority of the messy part being done in the store, you don’t have to worry about the clean up afterward—a perfect high activity if you ask me. It gives you the fun of creating and making a mess without having to clean it up! If you are looking for a fun summer activity, I highly recommend checking out the Hippie Closet and their color lab. They also do private parties, so you and your friends can enjoy the devil’s lettuce together beforehand and then go as a group to tie-dye your own pieces!
