1904, from tie (v.) + dye (v.) in reference to the method. Related: Tie-dyed.
Entries linking to tie-dye
tie v.
Old English tigan, tiegan "to tie, bind, join, connect," from the source of tie (n.). Meaning "to finish equal to a competitor" is from 1888. Related: Tied; tying. To tie the knot in the figurative sense "form a union" is from 1707. Tie one on "get drunk" is recorded from 1944.
dye v.
"fix a color or colors in the substance of by immersion in coloring matter held in solution," Middle English deien, Old English deagian "to dye," from the source of dye (n.). Spelling distinction between dye and die was not firm till 19c. "Johnson in his Dictionary, spelled them both die, while Addison, his near contemporary, spelled both dye" [Barnhart]. Related: dyed. For dyed in the wool (or grain) see wool (n.).