I would like to tye dye a white shirt green and yellow in a spiral design (this shirt is for a school spirit presentation I am giving in Germany and green and yellow are my school colors). I've only tye dyed before at a girl scout weekend, so I am not experienced at all. I bought a yellow and green dye from Micheal's, so could you give me instuctions?

Michaels Arts and Crafts sells both good dye and bad dye. The instructions for using the two are very different. What exactly does the label on your dye say? What brand is it?

The yellow is [all-purpose] liquid dye, the green is labeled Rainbow Rock Fabric Dye.

Okay, since what you want to do is room-temperature tie-dyeing, the best thing to do with the all-purpose dye would be to throw it away. Seriously.

Either that, or put it in a cooking pot with water, and put your shirt into it, and cook them together for half an hour or longer, at a simmer (190 degrees Fahrenheit, or just under a boil, with little bubbles at the edges). Oh, but never use that cooking pot for food again, as all-purpose dye, like most dyes, is not safe for use in equipment used for food preparation!

You cannot use all-purpose dye in cool water. Hot tap water won't work at all well, either. It takes a lot of heat for an extended period of time to get the dye to attach to the cotton. Even then, it will still bleed in the laundry forever. It's horrible stuff.

In contrast, the Rainbow Rock dye is high quality stuff. It's fiber reactive dye. You can use it at room temperature. You can use the recipe given on my web site under "How to Tie Dye" and "How to Dye". Basically, you mix soda ash with water, pre-soak your shirt in it, wring it out, then squirt on your Rainbow Rock dye which has been dissolved in water. Leave it damp overnight, then wash it out, first in cool water and then in hot water. You'll end up with something that is brightly colored and that will last for years without fading.

I would advise you to go back to Michael's and buy some Rainbow Rock yellow dye, or mail-order some Procion MX dye (which is the same stuff) from any of the suppliers on my "Sources for Supplies" page. (For example, here is a direct link to yellow MX dye at Amazon.com.) The packages are slightly more expensive than the ones at Michael's, but they will typically dye five or ten times as much fabric, so they're a much better deal. Don't forget to get soda ash (also called dye activator) at the same time, and urea is a good idea, too, though optional.

Your shirts should be 100% cotton, and should not have any stain-resistant or permanent-press finishes, in order for it to accept dye readily.