Revisiting the 60's? Let the Sun Shine!

6/22/2017

If the phrase "Let the Sun Shine" rings a bell with you, we just might both be Baby Boomers with ties to the 60's! Remember tie-dyed shirts, love beads, and Earth shoes? I had them all back in the days of macrame room dividers and patchouli incense!

Earlier this month, a good friend invited me over for an afternoon of artfilled camaraderie over tubs and squirt bottles of liquid dye in her backyard. Since my tie-dye experience to date has been very limited, I was excited about the invite!

I'd taken two fabric workshops with Cathy in the past, so I knew what to expect... a casual afternoon in the warm June sunshine, mixing a little of this and a little of that just to see what might be the result. No careful measuring, no particular rules, just playing with fabrics and dyes...kind of like being a kid again!

At the end of the afternoon, I went home with bags filled with dyed cotton fabric and yarn. The hardest part was waiting at least 24 hours to allow the dyes to penetrate the fibers before rinsing the cloth and yarn. It was worth the wait when I was finally able to untie those lusciously colored fabrics!

Later this week, I'll be heading out of state to visit with my daughter and her family. This got me thinking about how to adapt this tie-dye process for two little boys, one seven and the other not-quite-five. Soda ash and Procion dyes might be more than necessary for these two young artists, so I bought this kit at my local JoAnn's Fabric and Crafts. Looks simple enough...maybe...for a little bit of driveway art-making!

Check back next week for an update on how our tie-dye adventures turn out... and, quite likely, some tips for driveway tie-dye with kids!