While at a friends house, her mom mentioned how to create tie dye on fabric with sharpies. I did some research and found an example on Steve Spangler Science and decided to give it a try with my kids.
We had a lot of fun creating different designs and watching how the colors changed when they blended together. It's a simple, fun and educational activity.
Items Needed:
- Sharpies in a variety of colors
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White pre-washed fabric. We cut up old t-shirts.
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Rubbing Alcohol (You'll want to get one with a high % of alcohol. Ours was 70%)
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Small plastic cups
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Rubber bands
- Medicine dropper
Directions:
- Stretch the material over the top of the cup and secure it with a rubber band.
- Draw a small design (about 1/2 to 1 inch in diameter) in the middle of the circle of fabric. Experiment with different colors and patterns.
- Use the medicine dropper to put 10-15 drops of rubbing alcohol in the middle of your design.
- Watch as the alcohol gradually blends the colors together and creates a tie dye effect.
It's a pretty simple experiment, but it kept the kids entertained for quite a while. Next time we plan to make some designs on a white t-shirt so they can wear their designs. And if we get really ambitions, we'll try embellishing the shirt like Jackie did.
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