Sometimes you want to explore the origins of Tie-Dye or Batik and go through all the proper steps to create authentic dye experiences...

But sometimes you just want to "get it done" or need to work with a large group and you want it to go as smooth and mess-free as possible. This blog post is for the latter. I see teachers voluntold they have to tie-dye with a large group, or worse, the whole school. 

Don't bother with dye, soda ash, vinegars, salts, bla bla bla...

​Use ACRYLIC PAINT!

If you are dying for a whole school, does it really have to be traditional dye? It's challenging to just do shirts for one class of children you manage, but for a whole school? It's a potential nightmare.

You can do it VERY simply with watered-down acrylic paint. No soda ash, vinegar, bla bla bla. This is for children, not a downtown boutique... They'll grow out of it in months. Why go through all that work for a temporary item?

You can even use watered down acrylic-based house paint! I have.

In my 28 years I have never used dye, just watered down school acrylics. Colors are great, works well, students still learn the techniques, and I don't have extra stuff to order and take up space. 25% paint and 75% water works great. Ironing them or putting them in a hot dryer for 15 minutes is all that needs to be done to set colors, but even that may be unnecessary.

We all have "nearly empty" bottles of acrylic laying around. Instead of tossing them and losing the paint on the bottom of the bottle, add some water, shake, and you have dye. Consolidate that over time, and you'll have enough dye from your "scrap" acrylic to do another project. If the acrylic smells a little funky, add a bit of rubbing alcohol before you add in the water to kill off any mold. 

When I tie dye with a class or group, they tie super tight, dunk in water, wring them out so they do not drip, then they put their shirts into 1-gallon zip lock bags. They pick 2 primary colors and pour a little on one end of the shirt, and a bit of the other color on the opposite end. Zip the bag shut, remove most of the air, and squeeze the colors into the shirts. NO MESS! 

I make stickers with directions for mom and dad:

​Directions: Leave the shirt on a pile of newspaper or out on the lawn on a dry sunny day. Flip after a couple of hours. Open, let fully dry, then iron between layers of newspaper or put in dryer alone set on high for 15 min.

I wrote out my process HERE some time ago, but I thought a video might be helpful to give you a snap-shot into how I create a choice-based art exploration for my students, at all levels.