Tie Dye Party!

I hosted a tie dye party for our playgroup yesterday morning and it was such fun! I didn't get any photos of the process, but have some of my finished pieces to share. I was too busy with 7 adults, 11 kids under 7, and 8 bottles of permanent dye to take time to grab my camera. :) Here's info about the process, in case you want to host one at your home!

Supplies & approximate cost
plastic tablecloth or shower curtain to cover table $5 or free if you have one
old towels to absorb spills free
several packets of different colored Dylon dye $2.30 each
condiment bottles to mix & apply dye $1 each
table salt to add to dye $2
latex gloves for each dyer $2 for 10 pairs
bag of medium sized rubber bands $2
box of plastic wrap $3
100% cotton shirts price varied from $2-$5 each

Preparation & Process
1. I asked everyone to pre-wash & dry their items at home & bring them to the party.

2. Lay plastic covering on table & spread out towels on top.

3. The bottles I found held 1 1/2 cups water and the dye instructions say to add one packet to 4 cups. We put 1/2 a packet of dye into the bottle, then filled it with warm tap water. Put lid on, cover tip & shake to mix.

4. You are supposed to add salt to the dye before mixing & I totally spaced that off! The salt open the pores in the fabric to make it accept the dye. Thus resulting in brighter colors. Our colors are faded slightly because I forgot this step.



5. Wet the shirts in cold water & wring out. Fabric should be damp, not dripping wet.

6. Determine what pattern you'd like and fold/twist shirt, then secure tightly with rubber bands. Tight bands make stronger white lines in the pattern. I watched several youtube videos to get pattern ideas: like this one for hearts and this one for spirals. There are tons of great videos on this subject.



7. If the kids wanted to try applying the dye, they donned gloves and went at it. Most of our kids were too young to care, so the parents did them instead. Be sure to dye both sides!



8. Wrap item in plastic wrap to set the dye and travel home. Wait at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours before unwrapping. Rinse under cold water until water runs clear, remove bands & rinse some more. Put in washer. I did a short cold water pre-rinse, then a regular cycle hot wash with a little detergent. Dry on hot to set colors. I recommend washing/dying 2 complete cycles separate from other clothes to make sure the dye is all out and won't run. After that, it's fine to wash with regular clothes. Dylon dye usually stays good and doesn't bleed like other dyes.



9. If you get totally into this, professional dyers use Procion Dyes because the color intensity is very strong. That process involves a couple more steps and those dye are not usually available locally. Dylon dye is often sold at hobby stores like Joanne's, Hobby Lobby, and Michael's.

10. Now your one-of-a-kind shirt is ready to wear! What says summer more than a bright tie dye!?