My friend and I want to tie dye scarves.

Don't try to make your own scarves. It's an unbelievable pain to get all the hems even, and it takes forever, when, if you know where to buy them, they cost only few dollars apiece.

Dyeable white scarves are very expensive when purchased locally, either that or they are made of non-dyeable synthetics. The crafts stores tend to sell polyester scarves that are no good at all for dyeing. Your best bet is to buy natural fiber scarves by mail-order. Don't worry if you don't have a credit card; you can order your scarves and mail in a check to pay for them.

You can order excellent dyeable scarves from Dharma Trading Company, or from SilkConnection.com, which is part of the same company as the dye suppliers, Jacquard Products. They have cotton scarves, rayon scarves, and all weights of silk scarves, from flat crepe silk to thick silk velvet. The cost ranges from 99 cents to $8 per scarf, depending on size and material. You can also order good Jacquard Products silk scarves from art supply stores such as Blick Art Materials, in the ad to the left on this page.

Silk, cotton, and rayon all dye up beautifully with any good tie-dye kit. Even silk satin tie-dyes wonderfully, in contrast to polyester satin. If you are ordering your scarves from Dharma, order your dyes there, too, as their prices and color selection are much better than you can find locally. Don't try to tie-dye with an all-purpose dye, such as Rit dye, because, since it's a hot water dye, it's a pain to use; worse, the dyes fade quickly and bleed badly in the laundry. If you want to buy your tie-dye kit locally, go to a good crafts store and look for a kit made by Dylon, Jacquard, Rainbow Rock, or Tulip. These kits all contain Procion MX dye, which can be used at room temperature, and, if you follow the instructions, will stay bright for years and won't bleed in the laundry at all (once you've washed out the unattached excess dye).

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[Portions of this answer were first posted, by me, on Yahoo answers, on September 30, 2008.]