Name: Amy

Message: my daughter is doing a science fair project (she is in 6th grade) and we need info. on the 7 steps of the scientific method of tie dying shirts because she found it interesting..... So, we need answers to the 7 steps.... Could you help??? Thanks

I believe you will find the seven steps of the scientific method on a handout supplied by your daughter's science teacher. Please contact him or her first. Or, try a web search with the phrase "Seven steps of scientific method". (This link looks like one good source.) Different teachers may divide the scientific method up into more steps, or fewer steps, and it is important to follow the assignment. Your daughter will need to follow the steps as given in the handouts for science fair projects at her own school. If necessary, call the science department at her school to ask.

I can help with ideas on tests to run, or with how to digitize the results, once your daughter has translated her teacher's information to a specific question she's interested in. For some ideas of questions others have investigated, see here, and scroll down through the questions:
Questions About Schoolwork in the All About Hand Dyeing blog
For example, she could buy a Jacquard Products brand tie-dye kit, which requires a cotton shirt, and compare how well the dye works on cotton fabric to how well it works on polyester fabric, or she could soak one shirt in the soda ash dye activator supplied with the kit, as the instructions indicate, but skip this step for another one.

I recommend against using all-purpose dye, such as Rit or Tintex dye, for tie-dyeing. All-purpose dye is not satisfactory as a dye on cotton, and it is highly unsatisfactory for a science project because you cannot specify what chemicals were used. Instead, use specific fiber reactive dyes (for cotton or rayon) or acid dyes (for wool or nylon), preferably in single-hue unmixed dye colors. If you use a good tie-dye kit, such as the Jacquard brand tie-dye kit, I can tell you exactly what dye molecules are included, which will make for a vastly more satisfactory science project.

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