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SUMMERTIME FUN!  Who hasn’t heard the requisite “I’m bored” from children on summer vacation? With endless opportunities for fun before them, they may need a little help narrowing down an idea to fill the lazy summer days. Why not try tie-dye? Tie-dyed clothing was popular during the era of the flower child. With every item of clothing a unique work of art, tie-dye showed the creativity of the wearer and his or her free spirit.Making tie-dyed items is a fun summertime activity — one that can be done right in the backyard. It’s like dying Easter eggs, but on a grander scale. Here’s what you’ll need.* white cotton T-shirts or dresses* powder fabric dye in chosen colors* rubber bands* rubber gloves* water* buckets* large plastic bags1. Mix the dye in buckets according to the package directions and set on the lawn for the least amount of mess from dripping.2. Have the kids scrunch the fabric of their T-shirts or dresses in various locations and secure with rubber bands.3. The children then put on the rubber gloves and old clothing, where it won’t matter if it gets dye drips on it.4. Then the kids can dip the items into the dye color or colors of choice until the areas of the fabric are adequately colored.5. Place the dyed clothing into individual plastic bags, seal and allow to set for 2 to 3 hours.6. Once the colors have set, remove the rubber bands and allow the garments to dry flat.7. Wash and dry the items and allow the kids to wear their homemade fashions. Once you’ve dyed your shirts, many professionals soak the shirts in a soda ash solution for 20 minutes to help the dye bond to the fabric more easily. (You must wear a dust mask and gloves when mixing the solution: 1 cup/8.oz of Soda Ash fixer/gallon of warm water.) You can order soda ash fixer from this website: http://www.dharmatrading.com/fix.html

…a little bit more about Soda Ash

http://www.purewateroccasional.net/wtmsodaash.html

“The chemical name for soda ash is sodium carbonate, chemical formula Na2CO3. It is more basic, that is, less acidic, than sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), whose chemical formula is NaHCO3. The purpose of sodium carbonate is simply to increase pH.”

“Its use in water treatment is to increase the pH of acidic waters. The trick is how to do it and how much to use. Below are some suggestions and comments from a variety of sources.”