Fourth of July
**Stars & Stripes**
Tie Dye T-Shirts
I love getting my kiddo into the holiday spirit with fun arts & craft activities! Crafting with my son has been a great way to create memories & help spark his imagination. This year, for the fourth of July- we made these “stars & stripes” tie dye shirts and they turned out awesome! Here is how we did it!
Supplies:
100% cotton white t-shirts
Tulip one step tie dye in Red & blue
Zip ties
Cookie cooling rack
Plastic table cloth
Bucket of warm water
Grocery bags
For larger tie dye parties:
Red and blue mini kit
Rainbow kit (includes blue & red)
15 bottle kit or 24 bottle kit
Link to the entire supplies list on Amazon HERE! >>
Supplies List
Step by step instructions:
Step No. 1: Soaking Shirts
Start by Soaking your 100% cotton t-shirts in a bowl of warm water & wring out to get started.
(warm water will help the dye set better)
Next, lay your wet/wringed out t-shirt on your plastic covered table. Be sure to protect the area & surface you will be doing this project on to prevent staining.
STEP NO. 1: Folding Shirts
Gather the shirt diagonally as pictured below to accomplish the “stars & stripes” pattern.
Pull the bottom right corner of the shirt and the top left shoulder to begin the gathering process.
Then, scrunch the shirt along the line.
Step No. 3: Adding Zip Ties
The first zip tie should be placed under the sleeve and collar- then add a zip tie every 2-3 inches until you reach the bottom. (leave a couple inches at the bottom.)
If starting from the bottom- zip tie every 2-3 inches until you have approx. 4 inches from the shoulder.
Step No. 4: Preparing & Applying Tie Dye
The 4 inch portion of the shirt (collar & shoulder) will be the blue portions.
The 2-3 inch portions spanning to the bottom of the shirt will alternate red & white for the stripes.
Fill the dye bottles to the marked line with warm water and shake well to mix. (follow package instructions)
Place your zip tied t-shirt in a line on top of your cookie cooling rack. Wearing gloves is recommended.
First, add blue dye to the top section of the shirt (pictured below)
Then add the red dye in the section directly next to the blue and then alternate until finished (leaving the shirt white between the red sections to create the stripes)
Next, flip the shirt over and fill in the colors so that the pattern continues to the back of the shirt.
Step No. 4: Store Shirt in the Sun (16 hours)
Wrap the shirts in individual bags (you can use grocery bags or gallon zip lock bags) be sure that the colors don’t touch each other- to do this you can wrap the shirt in plastic wrap before placing it in the larger storage bags.
Then place them in a warm area- full sun on a porch works well- leave them 16-24 hours in the full sun.
This step is important to get the dye to set into the fibers of the shirt. If you rinse the shirt too early, the colors can bleed and fade. Let it dry in the sun as long as possible. (16 hours is recommended)
Step No. 5: Rinsing & Washing
Once your shirt has been allowed to sit for a minimum of 16 hours- carefully, cut the zip ties off the shirt & give them a cold rinse.
Either use a garden hose or rinse with cold water in the sink until the water runs clear.
Next, run on a cold cycle in the washing machine.
OPTIONAL STEP: Add a few cups of vinegar to wash cycle to aid in setting the colors and bleed prevention.
(Be sure to wash the shirts by themselves unless you want all your socks to be pink!)
You can then dry in dryer & they are ready to wear!
I hope that you found this tutorial helpful! Our kids loved making these on our fourth of July trip to Colorado this year!
HAPPY 4th of July!
MERICA!
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