So, the boys and I were invited over to my friend, Laura’s house for a little play date! The boys were super excited, because of course they love venturing over to Laura’s house!!! Laura has lots of toys (She has 2 boys and 2 step daughters) and she has lots of crafts stuff! Some may know her as Laura Kelly from Laura Kelly Designs! But I am glad to call her my friend!
Anyways, this particular day, the boys and I stopped off at ACMoore to pick up some white t-shirts. Laura was all set up for us to tie dye the shirts with Rit dyes!
Materials needed:
Rit Dyes (liquid or powder), available where crafts are sold
White t-shirts (we got ours at ACMoore)
Rubberbands
Boiling Hot Water
Bowls
After Laura concocted the right amount of dye with hot water, we talked to the boys about the type of design they wanted on their shirts. They both decided on the swirl! So, after a little online research, Laura and I figured out how to get the swirl effect. It’s super easy. The shirt needs to be a little damp (we just used the sprayer in the sink, but a spray bottle can be used). Lay if flat and pinch the middle. Then twist and keep twisting until its all bunched.
After it is all bunched together, place a rubber band around it to hold it together and then add a couple more in different directions.
Next, put on some gloves because if not, your fingers will change colors! Because boiling hot water was used to mix the dye, a set of tongs is helpful, especially for the little ones.
Depending on how many different colors you want to use on the shirt, dip the shirt the dye, but no more than half of the shirt, unless you want it all the same color.
Once it has been in the dye for at least 2-3 minutes, turn the shirt and dip it into another color. You can also experiment with multiple colors on top of each other to see what you get!
This is what it should look like once you are finished!
After all of the shirt has been dyed to your liking, it’s time to heat set it. So, wrap it in some plastic (we used a ziploc bag) and stick in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Remove it from the microwave and then remove the rubber bands. Now it’s time to wash out all of the excess dye. Leaving your gloves on, run the shirt under running water
until there is no dye visible in the sink after squeezing the shirt.
After it is all free of the excess dye, hang it outside to dry in the sun! And the Voila, you have a tie dyed shirt!!!
Don’t these look awesome! The boys love them!
Rit dyes are super easy to use and the colors are so bright!
Thank you Laura for having us over for a Rit Tie Dye Play Date! It was so much fun!
