Tie-Dyeing

I found some really cheap white t-shirts from The Children's Place a few weeks ago and picked them up so the kids and I could try tie-dyeing.  I think I only tried tie-dyeing once as a kid and had to look up directions on the internet.

The results this time weren't perfect, but most things take a little trial-and-error and I think we'll do much better next time.

First the boys helped me to put rubberbands around the shirts (next time I won't do so many and make them a little looser so more dye gets into the folds of the shirts).  Then I soaked the shirts is soda ash solution for about 30 minutes (this is supposed to make it easier for the dye to bond to the fabric).

I used Tulip brand dye and made a bucket of green and a bucket of blue dye with water I heated on the stove.

Carter held his shirt at first but got tired of it quickly so I finished up.

My mom held Rylan's shirt in the dye.

We held the shirts in the dyes for about 5-6 minutes per color.  Then I let the shirts sit overnight.

The next day I rinsed the shirts and washed them once in the washing machine.  The color faded some but turned out okay.  There is a lot more white than I expected but I'm guessing that's from my rubberband placement.  Still, the boys love them and that's all that really matters!

And another easy and cute project we did the other day was make these pussy willows for my mom.  I drew in the brown branches with marker and the boys added finger prints to complete the pussy willows.  My mom is planning to frame them and hang them on her wall.  I think they turned out pretty cute!