Weeeeeeee! Tye Dye In Your Nuker

Good thing I didn't click on the E-harmony 3 for 1 button! Turns out I wasn't really lonely, just had a wicked case of PMS. Thank goodness. I was starting to worry.

^^^^ This is about as close to plumbing talk I will ever get, so no worries. I'm done^^^^

Well, this blog has gotten sorely off topic as of late and I apologize to all of you for it. Here is a little crafty goodness to help bring it back.

How to tie dye in the microwave with Koolaid.

The good thing about a microwave is that is super heats water very quickly. The other good thing about a microwave- most people have one, they are pretty easy to use, and they are reasonably safe.

You can do this project with kids on a snowy or rainy day, but please don't let them near hot things. Use common sense and be careful. Steam and boiling water is hot, and Koolaid stains. Be smart, and have fun.

Things you need

1. white cotton tee shirt (or nylon/cotton tights, or onesies)

2. microwave safe ceramic or glass bowl- big enough to hold whatever you are dyeing.

3. Dye- in this case sugar free Koolaid powder or water based icing coloring.

4. squirt bottles, or glasses - something to dissolve dye in and put the dye onto the shirts.

5. water

6. plastic cling film aka saran wrap.

7. 1/2 cup of baking soda

8. Tongs or someway to turn your STEAMING HOT items while nuking.

9. (optional) cotton string.

10. Kitchen sink

Here is how you do it

1. PRE WASH white cotton tee shirts, tights, onesies or whatever you want to dye. -Note Acrylic and Polyester DO NOT DYE (not even a little)

2. dissolve your baking soda in a sink full of lukewarm water and pre-soak your item(s) to be dyed for about 30 minutes.

3. While you are pre-soaking your whites completely dissolve your dyes in small containers of warm water- the more dye in the water the darker the color will be.

4. Wring out your items to be dyed and arrange them one at a time on plastic wrap. If desired tie the item up with cotton string (not rubber bands).

5. Artistically squirt or dribble your dye onto your shirt/tights/onesie.

6. wrap up the item completely in the plastic wrap and place in microwave safe bowl

7. One item at a time---Nuke it! - I would start with 2 minutes on each side at medium power. YOU SHOULD CHECK YOUR ITEM EVERY 30 SECONDS to be sure it does not catch fire. You want the item to be steaming hot, almost boiling hot and you will be able to see the color developing thru the plastic wrap. If you are seeing the plastic turn burny stop and let the item cool completely before you touch it.

8. Let the item cool completely and remove it from the microwave, rinse thoroughly and enjoy!

Important notes:

All microwaves are different, therefore you should be really careful to not catch yours on fire.

If your item is not thoroughly wet- you run the very real chance of catching it on fire, burning your house down, and melting your microwave. Don't do this. Be sure your item in thoroughly wetted.

Some onesies have metal snaps. Do NOT put metal in your microwave. Duh.

Don't try to be clever and substitute RIT or some other commercial dye for Koolaid or food dye. You should not put fabric dye in your microwave if you plan to cook food in it afterwards.

******You can also do this with silk scarves or super wash wool yarn! Simply follow the above steps but substitute 1/2 cup of vinegar for baking soda. Be sure to skein your yarn out and tie it off in at least 4 places- so you can rinse it without it getting all tangled.

Yeah! Look at you fancy dye person.

Here a couple of scarves I have dyed in my microwave. I'm not really a tye dye tee shirt kinda gal, but I love a good tie dyed silk scarf.