I love the 4th of July. Besides being a former Air Force Wife and loving this country and all those who have fought for it, it's a special holiday around here for many reasons. For as long as I can remember, Mr. Devilish Dish has played in an annual July 4th golf tournament. It lasts for three days. Usually golf is about as exciting as watching bumpers rust on cars, but this tournament is different. Normally golf tournaments are stiff and structured and quiet (golf clap) and basically BOR-ING. But not this one. It's lots of beer, hot dogs, loud music, bug spray and out and out FUN! Folks that we see only once a year come from all over the state to play in it. We have very good friends that come from the East Coast this time every year. So it's a little like a mini-vacation for us. We get to see lots of family and friends and have a good time. I don't play. But when it comes to riding in the cart, drinking a cold one and having a good time, I'm in the Masters Flight. (That would be golf lingo.) Since it is all about staying cool and being casual and fun, I decided to try my hand at tye-dyeing a festive 4th of July shirt to wear!
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| Isn't this the cutest??? I'm feeling super patriotic already. |
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| What you'll need for this project: red dye blue dye (I found red & blue dye in a kit at Michael's with the bottles, rubber bands and gloves included...) white 100% cotton shirt (I got mine at Kohl's for $6.00!) rubber bands gloves plastic wrap or bags old sheet or something to lay under your project |
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| Get the shirt totally wet. Then wring it out. |
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| Scrunch it up and rubber band it so you have three sections. NOW: Set up a place outside to do this. Even if you think you are being super careful, it is a little messy. And you don't want your craft space to look like a scene from Dexter. (Don't tell Mr. Devilish Dish but I tye-dyed part of the deck and patio table.) |
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| Put on your gloves and mix up the dye according to the manufacturer's directions. Hopefully you will remember to put the gloves on. Unlike me. I put them back on for the pictures. I forgot at first... |
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| Saturate the top section of your shirt with red dye. If you like the look where some white is showing in there, leave it all scrunched up. If you want it more solid, then spread out the shirt and get the dye on there. Be sure and get the sleeves. Stop dyeing when you get about an inch away from the rubber band. The dye will bleed to that point. That's how you get the cool tye-dye look. |
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| Do the same thing on the bottom half of the shirt using the blue dye. If I had it to do allover again, I would have wrapped the white middle section with plastic because I splashed on the white part a little bit. Don't panic if you do though. IT WILL STILL LOOK GOOD! |
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| Now wrap the sections carefully in plastic. I used Saran Wrap. Use a garbage bag or Wal-Mart sack or whatever you have. I placed it on a towel just in case. So it wouldn't get on my counter. Let it sit for 6-8 hours. This allows the dye to set in. |
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| See what I mean about the gloves? I swear this is dye. I did not just finish acting out a scene from Criminal Minds. |
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| When the 6-8 hours is up, rinse the shirt. Rinse and rinse and rinse. Until the water runs clear. I left the white section wrapped and just rinsed one end at a time. |
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| Now put the shirt in the washing machine. Set it for a large load, even though you are just washing 1 shirt. Leave the rubber bands on. Use a small amount of detergent and wash it. Wash in HOT water with a COLD water rinse. |
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| When it has finished washing, remove the rubber bands. Now you can dry your shirt. I will continue to wash mine by itself, just in case it decides to bleed. Don't need my other laundry to be red, white and blue. (NOTE: I took an old white cloth, with a bit of bleach on it, and dabbed at some of the spots that were on the white section of the shirt. Then I washed the shirt a second time in cold water, with a little bit of OxyClean. It really lightened those spots and made the white section brighter!) |
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Wear your shirt with pride! I hope you enjoy this little project. Remember it's not truly about the popsicles, fireworks, watermelon or golf tournaments. It is America's Birthday. It represents the Freedom our Founding Fathers wished for us to have, and the Freedom so many have paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to enjoy. Have a Fabulous Fourth, |
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