in 2 days!!! what can I do??

Oh, my, that's a bad one. The true answer is that you must TEST your crafts ideas several weeks in advance of the class. It's not much use to you to be told that now, though, is it?

Your shirts are the big problem. Polyester should NEVER by subjected to chlorine bleach, because the hypochlorite in the bleach will permanently damage the polyester fiber. The same is true of all synthetic fibers, as well as animal fibers such as silk and wool. The dye in the polyester will often be unaffected by the bleach; it is only the fibers themselves that will be damaged. This means that only half of the fibers in the shirt are even potentially bleachable. Even the dyes in cotton are often unbleachable, however. Never embark on a dye discharge project without testing the specific dye/fiber combination you intend to use. Good results, as you have unfortunately seen, are not always possible.

Even overdyeing the shirts is not a good idea. 50% polyester shirts do not take dye at all well; at best, you will get only pastels.

What I would recommend is that you switch to a project that involves the use of fabric paint. Have the children write their names or a bible verse or something. Unlike dyes and bleach, many fabric paints work on synthetic as well as natural fibers. Go to your local crafts store or sewing store and find out what kinds of fabric paints are available. Be sure to buy enough bottles to go around. Transparent fabric paints will not show up well on a dark background; only darker colors will shiow up, unless you buy *opaque* fabric paints. Metallic fabric paints, pearlescent fabric paints, and glitter fabric paints should work on any color of fabric, as should "slick" or "puffy" fabric paints, or else find plain fabric paints the specifically say "opaque" in a prominent place on the label.

Note that many fabric paints require heat setting. The easiest way to do this is to let the shirts dry throughly after the paint is applied, then run them in an extremely hot commercial clothes dryer for half an hour. "Slick" or "puffy" fabric paints must not be placed in a hot dryer, so be sure to follow the instructions on the label carefully.

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