HOW TO MAKE A TIE-DYE SHIRTDRESS

Adapted from Gregory Parkinson

Time: 30 minutes, plus drying time

Materials: A white cotton shirtdress (we used H&M;’s $24.90 version), 8- or 12-quart cooking pot, two bottles of Rit liquid dye (one in a light, vibrant color and one in a darker color), 36 inches of muslin fabric cut into 14-by-4-inch strips, a large spoon, salad tongs, rubber dish gloves.

1. Fill the pot with water, bring to a boil and remove the pot to a deep sink or metal wash tub (do not pour the water out). Add the entire bottle of the lighter Rit dye to the pot and stir until completely dissolved. (This lighter color will become the “stripes”; the background color will be the darker shade.)

2. Using tongs, submerge the dress in the pot. Stir for one minute, making sure the dress stays completely covered in water.

3. Using tongs, remove the dress and rinse excess dye under a stream of cold water. Wearing rubber dish gloves, tightly wring the dress until it is free of excess water. Hang the dress to dry. Thoroughly rinse the pot, making sure it is free of dye.

4. Fill the pot with fresh water and bring to a boil. While waiting, lay the shirtdress flat and fold it in half vertically, along the button front. Decide where you want the “stripes.”

5. If you want horizontal stripes, loop one muslin strip around the bottom of the dress and continue looping until you have just enough muslin to tie a double knot, as tightly as possible. Repeat the looping and tying for each horizontal line. For a stripe running up the sleeves and across the shoulders, loop the muslin from sleeve to sleeve.

6. If you want vertical stripes down the side of the dress, loop one muslin strip through the sleeve and down to the hem. Again, continue looping until there is just enough muslin to tie in a double knot. Repeat on the other side.

7. Place the pot of boiled water back in the sink or tub. Pour the entire bottle of the darker Rit dye into the pot and stir until completely dissolved.

8. Using tongs, submerge the dress in the dyed water. Stir for one minute, making sure it stays completely covered.

9. Using tongs, remove the dress from the pot and rinse excess dye under a stream of cold water. Wearing rubber dish gloves, tightly wring the dress until it is free of excess water. Untie each muslin strip, and voila! The dress can be worn once dry.

THE 15-MINUTE VARIATION: Skip steps 1 through 3, and use only 1 bottle of dye. That will give you a dress with white “stripes” after a single dye process.