Name: Carolyn
Message: I'm coordinating a camp with 200 teenagers and they are all going to tie-dye t-shirts. How much dye will I need?! I can't find anything that says how much one jar of dye will do. Thank you for your help!

First, what kind of dye are you going to use? I strongly recommend against using a hot water dye, such as Rit all-purpose dye, when tie-dyeing. A cool water fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye, is much easier to use and will produce brighter, longer-lasting results. Be sure that the shirts you buy are 100% cotton and NOT treated with any stain-resistant or permanent-press finish, which will repel the dye.

A good way to check on how much of each ingredient you'll is to look to see what is included in a prepackaged tie-dye kit from one of the big suppliers. The tie-dye party pack for 100 that is sold by PRO Chemical & Dye includes two ounces each of six Procion MX dye colors, 6 pounds of soda ash, 4 pounds of urea, one quart of Synthraapol detergent, 36 eight-ounce squeeze bottles, two pounds of rubber bands, twelve pairs of disposable gloves, six dust masks, and six sets of directions. The only thing I'd change there (besides doubling, since you'll have 200 people) would be to get at least 200 pairs of disposable gloves.

The simplest (and probably most economical) thing to do would be to order either two packages of this kit from PRO Chemical & Dye, or order two packages of the rather similar Tie-Dye Big Group Kit from Dharma Trading Company. You'll be all set, then, with the addition of a few boxes of disposable gloves. If you live on the east coast, or outside of the US, you will want to order from ProChem; if you live on the west coast, order from Dharma, because ordering from the closest source will give you faster and cheaper shipping. In between the two coasts, it doesn't matter so much which you choose.

Alternatively, you can buy a large number of smaller tie-dye kits from your local crafts store. Check to see how many shirts a kit claims to dye, and do the math. The large Jacquard tie-dye kit will dye up to fifteen shirts, so you'd need fourteen boxes; the small Jacquard tie-dye kit will dye up to five shirts, so you'd need forty boxes of it. Jacquard is an excellent brand of dye. I recommend that you avoid the Rit brand tie-dye kit, because, as a hot-water dye, it is not suitable for parties. Tie-dye kits made by Dritz, Dylon, Rainbow Rock, or Tulip contain good fiber reactive dyes, but may be less suitable for your large project, because the dye fixer is often mixed with the dyes, so they will stay good for only an hour after water is added, as opposed to simply presoaking your shirts in a large bucket of soda ash water, and also because they are very small-scale kits.

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