Name: Kayla
Message: We are tie dying t-shirts for our first graders to use as spirit shirts and I would like to know how much of the Procon stuff do I need to buy.  We have approx. 100 students.  Thanks

I would recommend that you mail-order a kit intended for 50 or 100 adults. For example, PRO Chemical & Dye sells a "Party Pack for 100 people". Alternatively, buy the same quantities that are recommended in that kit: a total of twelve ounces of dye powder in different colors; six pounds of soda ash (sodium carbonate); four pounds of urea; one pint of Synthrapol (you can use other detergent if necessary); 36 plastic squeeze bottles; two pounds of rubber bands; and dust masks for each adult who will be mixing the dye powder with water to make the dye solutions. Also, be sure to buy one pair of size extra-small disposable plastic gloves for every child. Gloves are very important. Plastic aprons are also helpful, as the dye will permanently stain the children's own clothing if they are careless or messy.

Since children's shirts are smaller than adult's shirts, you might be able to get by with half as much of each material, except for the gloves, as is called for in a kit for 100 adults. It is usually better to err on the side of getting too much of your materials, rather than too little, however.

You will find that mail-order Procion MX dye is much less expensive than the dye you can buy in a local crafts store. If you can find a Jacquard tie-dye kit in your local crafts store, buy several kits. For example, if you find the "small" tie dye kit that is labeled as dyeing up to five shirts, buy twenty boxes. If you find the "large" kit that is labeled as dyeing up to fifteen shirts, buy seven boxes. 

(DO NOT buy a tie-dye kit that contains all-purpose dye, as it requires you to immerse the shirts in boiling water for half an hour, for optimal results, and yet even then will bleed in the laundry forever. Procion MX dye will give tremendously better results.)

If you are not already an experienced tie-dyer, please tie-dye yourself a test shirt in advance, before taking on the full 100-child project, to make sure that you understand the recipe required.


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