I've discovered a new art form!

So, one day C and I were talking on the phone and she mentioned that she was sending me the link to a tie-dying supply co-op, as a sort of hint, I suspect as her little ones seem to be quite fond of brightly colored, tie-dyed clothes.

"Hmmm," I thought, "here's something I've never done before." So...I joined the group and sent off for an assortment of industrial fabric dyes, some supplies, and a book of directions. When the packages came, I tucked them away to wait for a more propitious time. That time came this week. So, after doing more research with the internet and a library book, I gathered my courage and an old tee shirt, mixed bottles of dye and did a first, experimental trial. And .. it actually worked!

Tye-dying is a rather lengthy process involving prewashing, careful folding, a presoak, applying the dyes and wrapping the dyed bundle in plastic so the dye can soak in overnight. Then comes the "unveiling" with lots and lots and lots of rinsing to remove excess dye...and you finally get to see your new creation...for better or for worse.

Well, that first shirt worked so well that I decided to dare to take a go at dying new shirts--the child-sized ones I'd picked up in a package of five in the boy's underwear department...starting with a shell-like Fibonacci Spiral.




Folded bundles of little shirts don't make as big a canvas as "big" shirts so, to get a different effect, I tried the next two shirts with a mono-color scrunching technique.

The pink scrunch shirt turned out nicely enough, but I really, really like how some of the blues separated out of the lilac dye.

Well now, that was fun! Hmmm, what else can I do with little white shirts and squeeze bottles of fabric dyes? Hmmm, we need something appropriate for a boy. Hmmmm, how about something with a (surprise!) train theme? Hmmm, how about a shirt with train tracks? Yes, that's it! Train tracks. Little boys like trains...especially our little Michael boy:

Now, that leave's me one shirt left to turn from plain white into a piece of art. Spirals and all-over patterns are all very nice, but how about...about...

Ah! That's it! What if I did this...and this...and this...

Yay, it worked!

I think I'll call this one, "Good morning, Sunshine!"