The Light of the Night

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Tie Dyeing

Our group of homeschooling buddies got together a while ago to do some tie dyeing. All being a little crunchy, we decided to use natural dyes. I've never actually used them for anything before, but the colors are so incredibly vibrant, I can't imagine why we need chemical dyes at all.

We took organic cotton t-shirts from Mountain Equipment Co-op, and tied them up with string and elastic bands. Jay scrunched up his shirt like an accordion from top to bottom, and tied it horizontally from one side to the other (his is the one on the left). Bee started in the middle of her shirt and tied it towards the outside edges. Once they were securely tied, we squirted the dye from the bottles onto the shirts - this works much better than dipping, as you can get it exactly where you want it (you might want to do this on your lawn!). After leaving them to sit for several days, we rinsed them out and revealed their designs. Considering how much dye we squirted on these babies, I can't believe how much white is still left on them!

The colors are surprisingly stable, and I haven't had a problem at all with them running in the wash. To learn more about these awesome natural dyes, click here.

Socialization

I saw this cute comic that deals with the dreaded socialization question on one of the unschooling lists that I'm on. Its creator is planning to make t-shirts and bumper stickers with it. Check it out here.