Easy Tie-Dye T-shirts

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

18 Jul 2007 04:08 PM

Last weekend, my family made tie-dye shirts - the easy way. We are very pleased with the results and the ease of the spray method. I have made tie-dye shirts before where you dip the shirts in dye. The results are beautiful, but it's a messy and complicated project to do and to clean up from.

Last week I noticed spray tie-dye bottles at the craft store. We bought red, blue, and yellow, thinking that the primary colors would mix. We also bought orange, because it's my husband's favorite color. The colors didn't mix, but the results were still great. And the fact that the colors don't mix or bleed is actually a benefit. Still, next time I will see about buying a few more shades and secondary colors.

We spread a vinyl tablecloth on our outside table. We took the shirts and twisted them. The spray bottles are small and easy to handle. We sprayed our desired colors on the shirts. The dye dries almost instantly. We untwisted the shirts to admire the effects. I thought it was nice to be able to see what effect we were getting and to be able to add colors as we wanted. Our hands did get messy and colorful, but the dye washed off fairly easily. I do recommend covering your table, and I do recommend doing the project outside. The spray carries a little, so you want to protect your house and your clothing too.

Four small bottles was enough to do three adult sized shirts and two child sized, with a little dye leftover. The kids already want to make another shirt. It was such an easy project, I think it would work well for small scout or church groups. I did have to help the younger kids with the twisting and holding the shirt in place as they sprayed. So I recommend a fairly small child to adult ratio.

Also See:

Custom Printed T-Shirt

Printing T-Shirts Tie-Dye T-Shirts

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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