Family Fun Blog

A great outdoor sunny craft activity is splash-dyed T-shirts (or other wearables). This is a fun (and messy!) outdoor project for kids, which lets them break a lot of “rules” and can be a great release of energy now that they are out of school. It’s also great to do with a number of kids, since the supplies can be shared among them. It’s most cost-effective to have as many kids as you have dye colors available, at any rate.

A clothesline isn’t mandatory, but makes things easier. It should not be near any structures or anything that would be damaged by the fabric dyes. If you don’t have a clothesline, you can stretch a line between two points, or even do this with the clothing spread on the grass.

Start with white clothing, and prewash everything (use soap, but no fabric softener). Choose however many colors of fabric dye you wish (sometimes it’s more economical to purchase a kit with a number of dyes included). You will also need a spray bottle for each color of dye.

Simply mix the dye according to directions (adding extra water if you want paler colors, which looks great with this craft).  Mix it directly in the spray bottles if possible. Otherwise, pour the dye into the spray bottles after mixing. Dress kids in clothes that won’t matter if they get dye all over them, give them each a spray bottle of dye, and let them start working on their t-shirts! Expect a lot of splattering and a mixed-color effect … that is why added water for lighter colors produces a good effect.

For a variation, you might like to cut masking templates out of contact paper, masking tape, etc. and place the masking shapes on the fabric so that, when peeled off, they will reveal white shapes within the splashes of color.