Back to the 70s!

                           

        Today in class, we did a really fun experiment where we actually didn't blow anything up...!  We learned how to tie dye shirts using chemicals that make the cotton fibers of our t-shirts open up, thus absorbing more color.  Since the cotton fibers absorb more color, the shirts, after having been rinsed and washed alone many time, will be vibrant as the day we made them.  WE started the experiment by soaking our shirts in a mixture of cool water and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda).  After having let the shirts rest in the mixture for a few minutes, we each took our shirts and wrung out the liquid trying to make them as dry, yet damp, as possible.  then, we went crazy!  We had jugs that were cut open at the top--as you can see in the picture below--that we filled halfway with water and then mixed a different dye into each jug.  We poured the colors we wanted to use in solo cups and used pipettes to draw up the color and apply to our shirts.  Though, some chose to just pour the color from the cups.  Of course, we each were attempting different versions of tire dying.  Some were doing spirals, some were doing fish scales, but I chose to do diamonds. When we had finished our "artwork" we placed our shirts in Ziploc bags to set.  Three days from now, this upcoming Saturday, we will all rinse our shirts and wash them and see what we have each created!!