Friday, September 19, 2008

Pumpkin T-Shirt Activity

Pumpkin T-Shirt Activity

Materials:

White T-shirt, washed
Rubber bands
Orange fabric dye
Sink or bucket for the dye
Rubber gloves
Blunt-ended scissors
Cardboard (for inside of shirt)
Black permanent marker
Black fabric paint
Paintbrush

1. Pinch and gather up a portion of the T-shirt fabric, then add a rubber band 1 or 2 inches from the point of the pinch. Wrap the band around several times until it's nice and tight. Create similar sections with rubber bands all over the shirt and sleeves.

2. Prepare the dyebath according to the instructions on the package. Thoroughly wet the shirt with water. Wearing rubber gloves, submerge the shirt in the dye. Let it soak until it looks a shade darker than you want it to be.

3. Still wearing gloves, rinse the shirt under warm running water. As the rinse water becomes less orange, change the water temperature to cold.

4. Once the water from the shirt runs clear, carefully cut off the rubber bands. Dry the shirt.

5. Insert cardboard inside the shirt, then use a permanent marker to draw jack-o'-lantern features inside each circle. Fill in the shapes with the marker, or use black fabric paint (which stays black longer).