Tie Dye Shirts

With tie dye all the rage right now, the kids have been asking to make their own t-shirts.  We decided to make them on Max’s birthday, and it was such a fun activity!  I admit I was slightly apprehensive about tackling this with the younger girls, but it was so easy and the mess was easily contained.  And now,  we want to tie dye all the things.I used this kit, which made things really easy.  I loved the color selection, because it included each kid’s favorite color.  I already had these gloves on hand (long before corona days), which I think work much better than the gloves provided in the kit.  I used these t-shirts, which have held up very well through all the washing.  Other than that, I just laid down a plastic tablecloth and some paper towels, everyone put on a paint shirt (aka old t-shirt) and we were all set. I washed the t-shirts right before we started, and used them straight from the washer so they were still damp.  They each decided on the pattern they wanted (we went with bullseye, swirl, and random scrunching) and I helped them put their rubber bands in the right spots.  We added water to the bottles (they come with the dye powder already in them), gave them a good shake, and they started squirting their shirts. After they were good and soaked with dye, we put them in individual gallon ziploc bags and placed them in the sun.The next day (I gave them a good 24+ hours), the kids did the most exciting part: opened their bags to check out how their design turned out.  They looked so good and the kids were really happy with them!  I rinsed each shirt in hot water, then washed them individually on a quick, hot cycle and finally tossed them in the dryer.Such a fun and simple activity, and I love how each shirt its unique- just like these crazy kids.