Name: Bill

Country: USA

Message: I'm having a sleepover/birthday party for my 11 year old daughter and four of her friends, and wanted to do a tie dying activity.  Any suggestions?  I'm hoping to do something without much prep time or require too many steps.  Thanks.

Tie-dyeing is a good activity, if you buy a good tie-dyeing kit. It can be messy, so I would recommend that you do the dyeing outside. 

Buying a good kit is key. Do not buy the Rit tie-dye kit, because it contains inferior dyes, and Rit dyes are harder to use since they require very hot water. The best kit you can find at most local crafts stores is the Jacquard Products kit, or a smaller kit by the same company, called the Funky Groovy tie-dyeing kit. Other good brands for tie-dyeing kits include Tulip, Rainbow Rock, and Dylon. If possible, check for an expiration date on the kit, as I have heard of some crafts stores selling expired Tulip brand kits. You can also order excellent kits and blank clothing to dye from companies such as Dharma Trading Company or PRO Chemical & Dye.

It takes some time for dye to fully react with the fiber. For most parties, we have the kids tie the garment, dump it into a bucket of washing soda and water to soak for five minutes or so, then squeeze out excess water, using gloved hands, and apply the dye with squirt bottles. Then we let the dye react with the fabric overnight. For parties that are not sleepovers, we pop each garment into a separate ziplock plastic bag, and send it home with the kids with instructions to keep it in a warm place (70°F or warmer) overnight, then wash out the next day, first in cool water and then with hot water.

Since you're doing a sleepover, you can choose between doing it the same way, or instead washing the shirts out yourself in the washing machine in the morning. If you keep the shirts in a warm place overnight, they are then safe to all wash together in one washing machine load. One load on the cold setting, then twice on the hot setting. Machine or line dry.

Be sure to buy only 100% cotton shirts, and be sure that they are not labeled "stain resistant". If you buy 50% cotton/50% polyester shirts, the final colors will be paler, but that can work, if you know to expect it. Do not try to tie-dye 100% polyester clothing. Rayon is good for tie-dyeing.

Another good project for a party is decorating t-shirts, or other white clothing, such as hats, with good fabric markers. Jacquard's Tee Juice Markers are popular. You can use either 100% cotton or 50% cotton/50% polyester. You can see a huge range of what other people have done with fabric markers on the Tee Juice website.

Whether you use dye or markers, it's a good idea to wash all the clothing first in hot water, to remove any finishes or invisible stains that might interfere with getting the dye or marker paint to bond to the fabric.

(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)