My favorite part of camp was the craft shack. A little bungalow next to the lake where for a few bucks you could spend hours painting (ceramics), braiding (lanyards), and bedazzling (all sorts of apparel). My favorite were the items I could wear out immediately and show off at camp for the remainder of the week. I remember some fun visors especially.
When I came across this idea on Pinterest I thought it would be fun and much less messy than the traditional tie dye method.
Here’s what you need:
- White tshirt
- Permanent markers (we used sharpies)
- Rubbing Alcohol (the higher % the better, we could only find 70%)
- Medicine dropper (they’ll give them to you to for free at the pharmacy)
- Plastic cups
- Rubberbands that will fit around the mouth of the cups
First pick your colors. We chose about 6 colors that were similar shades. Too many colors and things will get muddy. Here’s Brayden ready with his markers. He thought it was hilarious to clip them to his pocket.
Next set up your cups. We were able to do 2-3 at a time. Put them inside the shirt & wrap the rubberband around the rim. Draw on one circle at a time.
You can do any design you want….your imagination is the only limit! But a few tips of what we learned. Intricate “pictures” can be disappointing since the detail gets faded with the “bleeding”. Bold shapes like hearts work well. Also, for each circle we stuck to 2-3 colors to avoid the colors bleeding together to make brown. We also discussed color blending when making selections. For instance, if the colors can be made from each other (red, yellow, orange), or they make another color when blended (red + blue= purple), then they are ok. Orange & green? Notsomuch.
Next is the magic! Using your dropper apply the alcohol to the design. Do one design at a time. Letting the marker dry too long can lessen the amount of “bleed” you get.
Here are some close ups of the magic!
Once you’re done you need to heat set it. Throw them in the dryer on the hottest setting for a full cycle. This should keep them from bleeding.
Finished product:
Brayden loved this project so much that he wanted to do it again the next day with friends….so we did! And then he did a little dance!
Let me know how this works for you!
Tara is the mother of a funny, charming and extremely handsome 6 year boy. She is revamping Tara’s Kitchen Sink a bit and getting ready to bring her readers a little bit of everything. Make sure to follow her when you’re there… you won’t want to miss any of the brilliant things she has to say!
Hannah says
July 13, 2012 at 8:03 amThis is a great idea, looks less messy than the traditional method and would be great for my younger kids, we have some plain Tshirts so. I might have to give this one a go!
Adeana says
July 19, 2012 at 3:39 pmDefinitely doing this! Outside of course! 🙂 Thanks Tara! You rock!
Diana Burress says
February 20, 2013 at 7:44 amSweet idea! I’ll have to try this with my ore school class! Just one question how did you heat set design?
Ivy says
June 14, 2013 at 8:01 amThis did not work out so well for us. I’m not sure if it’s because we used Sharpie Fabric Markers or if it’s because we used 91% proof alcohol, but the ink didn’t spread like I thought it would, it was very stinky and the shirts were so drenched with alcohol that I was too afraid to put them into the dryer. I think next time we’ll use regular tie dye, but I am very happy we tried this.
Tarap says
June 17, 2013 at 7:52 amHmmmm….I wonder if it was the alcohol? I’ve only done it with the lower concentration & it worked well, so that would be my guess. Another idea would be the markers themselves? Possibly because they are designed for fabric they won’t bleed as easily?
Becky says
August 15, 2013 at 10:27 amI did this with my 16 months to 2 year old class today and it was so much fun. What a great idea
Joanna says
June 22, 2014 at 8:07 amI HAVE MADE A LARGE NUMBER OF THE SHARPIE TIE DYED SHIRTS AND I USE A RECYCLED PLASTIC BOTTLE WITH A POINTED TIP LIKE THE ONES FABRIC PAINT COME IN TO CONTROL THE FLOW OF THE ALCOHOL. I ALSO USE GRAVITY TO DIRECT THE FLOW ONCE SOME OF THE ALCOCOL LEAVES THE TIP OF THE BOTTLE.. I HEAT SET USING A HAIR DRYER TO STOP THE FLOW OF THE ALCOHOL, THEN I IRON IT AND PUT IT IN THE DRYER. NOTE THAT WASHING IT IN BLEACH FADES IT RADICALLY.
Kristine Griffin says
June 16, 2016 at 1:16 pmI think this would be a great idea for a shirt that might be slightly stained! You could color over the stain, and no one would be the wiser! Thanks for the idea . . . I think I’ll try it with my kids soon!