I waited for the perfect day - one breezy, warm and sunny - to experience this happy craft with my grandkids. Everybody's fascinated with this unpredictable art, even grandmas like me who will dye (but probably never wear!) a shirt exploding with vivid tied and dyed neon color. I just love the twisting and tying and waiting in wonder to see what we've got after fabric has dried and anxious fingers tug and pull to open bands, revealing joyful, one-of-a-kind splashes of excitement.
My high school students looked forward to this ancient art every year, even though I led them through a maze of authenticity. We experimented with vegetable dyes alongside a selection of bottled colors. The results were spectacular and well worth departure from the gimmicky kit I'm using today. It's different working with young kids, though. They don't want to wait, dipping repeatedly for saturation, or bothering to come back a second or third day for additional colors.
I carefully considered the merits of many commercial kits before deciding on this one. I have no doubt that everything on the shelves at the three major craft stores would work, but I found my favorite locally at Hobby Lobby alone, or here on page 13. Some sets called for an eight hour wait before opening the bands. Sorry! We're seven and five years old over here. Do we look like we want to wait for anything (except bedtime)? Other kits required the traditional water bucket dye and rinse bath. Yeah right. That too. No thank you! I settled on this product mainly because the dye is sprayed directly on fabric, allowing maximum control. No rinsing needed. Air dry, open, then set with a short spin in a hot clothes dryer. Perfect!
This isn't a sponsored post. I buy up a storm at the stores I like and then rant about exactly what I think of my purchases. Just ask grandpa if you don't believe me!
Now back to the art studio!
Grandma tightly twisted rubber bands on each shirt, but the kids did the rest. Shirts dried in an hour. Once they were opened and admired, it was time to twist and spray again. This product allows kids to just freestyle it - bold and bright splashes of everything!
I probably should have titled this post "Tie Dye Trio and a Half." We also made a pint size t-shirt for Marshall, Sae's normally friendly little pet. My fingers are "dying" to type that the little guy was "purr-fectly" happy with his stylin' new look, but that would be a departure from what really happened when we pulled it over his furry little head!
"Sorry, humans. Totally. Not. Amused."
