Tie Dye

I have tied dyed for years, back in the 60's until now. The rubber banding is the fun part. You should let them each have a pillow case and shirt to rubber band. You can use wax from a candle before you give it to them to put their name on it. It acts like a resist on the dye and will make each one personalized and stop some arguments. Melt the wax in a double boiler and use a paint brush to put it on the shirt/pillow case. When the dying is done, use paper towels and an old bath towel on top and under the wax. Then turn on the iron and iron the area with wax until the wax is gone. If you don't want to do the wax, then you can use a permanent marker to put the names on. I would let them rubber band it and also paint with dye on the items. Be sure they do not have on any clothes that their mothers would be upset about getting permanently stained. They can use the dye to paint something before tying up the stuff. Be sure they put vasoline on their hands before the actually start to play in the dye. Not a thick layer, just enough to block the dye from staining their hands and around their fingernails. I would dye the shirts outside, it will get spilled, slopped, sprinkled, flung, and accidentally dribbled all over the place. They won't do it on purpose, just part of the age and excitement. Outside will have a little more freedom and will make it more fun. Dye them then let them dry before taking them out of the bundles. If you buy one of the tie dye kits it will give you all the individual instructions like making sure you use vinegar so you set the color etc. Let the kids cut the rubber bands off outside as long as they have protective eye wear on to protect their eyes. You can make a game of cutting the bands, set it up to see who's bands go the furthest, straightest, highest, etc. They have their turn one at a time and that way you can control the pandemonium and have some fun also. If you have any more questions, please let me know and I will help you out.

I did this for my son's 9th b-day party. I had the shirts soaked in soda ash & twisted & rubber banded, used the tulip die that comes in a squirt bottle & let them squirt outside on the driveway. The kids all wore rubber gloves so their hands wouldn't get colored. I flipped the shirts over & had them do the other side. Then they all went in plastic bags for the night (it was a sleepover party). The next morning I rinsed them & put them on the grass to dry. They came out great & the kids wore them on the last day of school.

I do a lot of tie dying, but have never tried it for a party... so my tips are basic ones...

It is MESSY, so definitely either have the kids wear "play clothes" to the party, or provide large old shirts for them to cover their clothes. And DO NOT have them do it anywhere you are worried about having dye dripped on something. Definitely consider the basement, or outside, or a patio or something... and provide gloves... the dye takes a while to wear off the skin.

I've done both squirting and dunking, and squirting probably allows more color options on one shirt, but dunking is probably simpler, and quicker.

I would highly suggest if you have never tie dyed before, doing some yourself before the party, so you REALLY know what to expect. You will see exactly how to prepare the dye, and how the items turn out using the various methods. This will give you a better idea of how long the whole process will takes, and help you to figure out some of the logistics about where you will want to set up, and just how you want to structure the activity, having a better idea of exactly how things go.

Best of luck to you... no doubt it will be a blast, and a very momorable party with a great party favor!

As a scout leader for too many years, and doing shirts every year at several camps I have found the following:

Out side or basement in best.

Dip dying is messy and sometimes with shirts it doesn't get into centers.

I like the spray dye I think the best. - Band pillowcases (easier than shirts becuase everyone get the same size)
then using liquid dye in spray bottles (dollar stores sell them) they can spray heavy or light.

Another one I have done - is using fabric paint - hand prints of everyone on a shirt or pillowcase. Use 5 or 6 favorite colors - have each child write their name on a piece of paper and hake a handprint there, then one on each item. You can then add the names in another color when they are all finished. Makes a great keepsake - being I worked with girls, we added beads to ours.

Hi J.,

I did this for my god daughter's 10th birthday and it was A HUGE hit! We did it outside in the grass b/c of all the drippings. I highly recommend dipping outdoors. Also, wear an apron! The week before I tie-dyed an apron I got from AC Moore, they loved it! OK, here's how we structured the party:
Kids arrived and made individual pizzas (tie dye theme) by putting their desired toppings on them (very colorful choices), while those were baking, they were rubber banding their shirts (we just did t-shirts). My friend and I helped them make sure the bands were super tight and there was some sort of twirl going on. We demonstrated on 2 how you can do it: individual circle designs or one big swirl. Then they went outside and we had 2 large mens shirts (old of course) that they wore. 2 girls at a time could dip into the 3 color choices (keep it simple!). Then we clipped them on a drying rack outside to drip dry. When all 10 girls were finished, their pizzas were ready and waiting! They ate dinner. After dinner they made fimo clay t-shirts. It was a great activity! They rolled the fimo into their own tie-dye pattern, then rolled it out flat and used a plastic knife and used the cardboard little t-shirt we pre-cut to trace and cut out their fimo shirt. While they ate cake, we baked the fimo shirts and then put a magnet adhesive on it. Oh, the cake was made into a t-shirt and we used spray paint icing to make that tie-dye too! While they were eating cake, we took the t-shirts and brought them inside, soaked them in vinegar to set the dye. Then the girls watched a movie and during that time we used the washing mashing and dryer to wash and dry the shirts so they could take them home at 9pm when the party ended. It was a huge hit, by far, my favorite party we threw for my god-daughter!

Best of luck and let me know if you need me to clarify any of my rambles! :o)

I did this for my daughter's birthday one year and it was a hit. Some of the girls were really into it and took their time to get it just right - others rushed through it to just get it done. I presume boys will be similar. Just make sure that you have a couple of activities that you can have the early-finishers move on to while the rest of the group completes their shirts. Kids at a birthday party with free-time on their hands are kinda like the ocean - you don't want to turn your back on them......

Heres my .02...I did 52 shirts last year for a Kindergarten parade. INSTEAD of rubber bands we did the pie plate technique. Using a disposable plate you twist from the center out until the entire garment is twisted on the plate. You then use your colors in a squirt bottle, instead of dunking the garment into a bucket. We did the squirt bottle colors in a x type design and when they are dry it is a swirl pattern. Very easy to find online. I must add it the draw back is the shirts do have to dry on the plate before they are washed. Another suggestion is to do the "activation" process twice as long as is recommended. Sure it will be GREAT fun anyway you go about it!