My daughter will soon be turning 10 and would like to have a tie dye birthday party. I am SO not crafty. I don't enjoy crafts and usually have my kids parties at venues so that I don't have to deal with it. She really wants this, and a 10th birthday is special, so I'd like to do it for her. We will be inviting approximately 10 girls.
Has anyone done a tie party in their home? Was it a success? Where did you purchase the kit/shirts etc... What other supplies will I need? Was it messy? And most importantly, is it difficult to do this? Let me say again that I am NOT crafty at all.
Any tips, thoughts, or advice would be much appreciated!!
Messy - yes... Make sure you do this outside and that the other parents will know that there child will most likely have paint on them:) Its not very hard you can go to pat catans and get a kit and its step by step instructions.
Have fun!
I would buy cheap t-shirts, like Hanes boys undershirts. You need rubberbands, fabric dye, tub containers or spray bottles water, and probably rubber gloves. Wax can be helpful too. Clothespins and a clothesline. Google/ You tube will have great tips on how to do this. Be sure to take a pic of all the girls with their handiwork on the clothesline.
read the instructions on the dye and see if you have to "heat set" the shirts before putting them in the wash.
Ditto Heather B.
Do not do it IN your home.... unless you want stains everywhere.
Or, put down plastic tarps everywhere on the floor.
You can use, by going to a home improvement store, the kind of plastic tarps/coverings that house Painters use. For example.
Tell the parents and the kids, to wear clothes that they don't mind getting stained.
You can get kits online.
Amazon, has these and the benefit of looking on Amazon is that you can see the "reviews" of the kits. Then choose.
You may want to google it and check around in some local parenting and kids' magazines for your area. Especially in a city as big as Chicago, there are probably several places that come to your house and do these for you. We have several in Atlanta. It's just like renting a bouncy house or a character visit or something. They come to your house, bring all the materials and take care of the tie-dying (and then THEY clean up!). Regardless, I would make sure you have a driveway, yard, garage or some other area that can get messy where they can set up.
Go to birthdaypartyideas.com and search "tie dye" you will get LOTS of suggestions. For sure I would do it outside, it will be messy (my daughter's volleyball team did this with tee shirts and socks in their team colors.) Have fun!
I've been to a tie-dye party and it was a lot of fun!
The best place to buy kits are http://www.dharmatrading.com/
It isn't too hard but definitely have a place set up with lots of ground coverings and table coverings for everyone to do it. Set it up so they have to take turns doing the various steps because too many people at once will cause a mess.
Its not too hard. I actually just dyed a bunch of mickey tye die shirts for disneyland.
I'd just do the prep work. Buy the t-shirts and have them soaking in soda ash (should be in kit) when the girls arrive.
I ordered a jaquard kit off amazon for $16. It should do 10 medium sized shirts.
You need a big bucket for 2 gallons of water and soda ash to soak the shirts in for half an hour or longer.
Make sure you buy latex gloves for all the girls. Buy extra rubber bands, the really thick ones.
I put a vinyl tablecloth over my table and the die actually wiped off not even staining it. Have the dye ready on the table. You should probably buy extra squirt bottles. I heard the dollar stores ketchup and mustard bottles work well.
Then there are several different techniques for tie dying. The kit i bought had a dvd showing them, but you can google them and print out directions so the grls can choose how they want it to look.
red dye is usually pink too.
HTH and have fun!
I was thinking of doing a scout activity with tie dye. Here are a couple of links to help you out. The first one is how to make different patterns on the shirts. The second is using Sharpie markers to make tie dye, certainly less mess, but I was afraid to use because of using the alchol part with 7yo boys even thought their parents would be there. I'm sure it would be better with 10 yo girls....good luck it sounds like an awesome idea!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/weavingmajor/5003067434/ligh...
http://blog.sharpie.com/2008/11/sharpie-to-tie-dye-for/
Sounds like fun!
This is not difficult at all, but very very messy- definitely an outdoors party! Make sure that the invitation clearly states that the kids will be doing this and to dress appropriately.
I would buy cheap shirts in packages (like Hanes undershirts) and just let them have fun!
I would also suggest asking your child's art teacher at school for directions. Seriously... I am sure that he/she will know the best tricks and where to get the materials!
My daughter did tie dye towels for my granddaughter's birthday (kids of all ages so she decided against t shirts). It worked out great. She used spray fabric paint. It dries really fast, sets in a couple days, and was easy for all the children to do (ages 3-11). I'm not sure where she purchased it but this is the same type of product. http://www.amazon.com/Tie-dye-Party-Simply-Spray-Fabric/d...
When I use to tie dye with my kids it was with liquid dye, rubber gloves, and lots of work. The spray method was a lot better.
