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Field card 153

Tie-dye day: a shirt of many colors

A coffee filter, a marker and a spray bottle show how colors run. Then fold, band and dye a shirt, and rinse to see what you made.

Dad Field Manual editors · Drafted with AI help · Published Oct 15, 2026

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Time
1 hr, plus the kit's wait
Cost
About $15
Ages
5 to 12
Where
Outside, or over a tub

01What you need

  • A tie-dye kit with squeeze bottles and gloves, marked "Conforms to ASTM D-4236"$15
  • A white cotton T-shirt per person, washedHave / $5
  • Rubber bands (most kits include them)Have
  • White coffee filters, washable markers and a spray bottle of waterHave
  • Trash bags or plastic to cover the table, and old clothesHave
  • Zip-top bags or plastic wrap for the waitHave

Where: A picnic table or patio is easiest. Indoors, work over a bathtub or on a table covered in trash bags, with the window open.

Dye safety: read this first

  • Follow the kit's label, every line. A grown-up mixes the dye. Gloves on everyone, including any mask or open-window advice on the box.
  • Store it like a cleaner. Dye stays in its original bottles, out of sight and reach of kids, locked up if you can. Mix it in the kit's bottles, never in a cup.
  • If someone swallows dye, call Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222. Call 911 if they're not breathing, unconscious or having a seizure.
  • Check for the marking. CPSC says to use only art supplies marked "Conforms to ASTM D-4236."

02Steps

  1. Set up the dye station

    DadCover the table with trash bags or set up over the tub. Everyone in old clothes. Read the kit's label out loud before anything opens, and put the gloves on now.

  2. Warm up with a coffee filter

    KidFlatten a coffee filter and scribble rings and dots with washable markers. Spray it lightly with water and watch the colors run into each other. Ask, "Which two colors made a new one?" Under 7, this can be the whole project.

  3. Fold and band the shirt

    Dad showsKid copiesLay the damp shirt flat. For a spiral, pinch the center and twist until it's a flat round bun, then put three rubber bands across it like pizza slices. For a crumple, just scrunch it into a ball and band it tight.

  4. Mix the dye

    DadAdd water to the kit's bottles exactly as the label says, cap them and shake. Kids watch from across the table. Put the caps and any powder packets back in the box when you're done.

  5. Pick a color for each person

    KidName one color for each person in your family, then squeeze each into its own wedge of the shirt, front and back. Don't flood it: a little white between colors makes them pop.

  6. Wrap, wait and reveal

    TogetherSeal each shirt in a zip-top bag and leave it for as long as the kit says. Then rinse in cold water until it runs clear, cut the bands and open it up. Wash it alone the first time.

03If it stalls

  • If they want every color everywhere, let them do it on a coffee filter first and see it turn brown. Then they'll choose.
  • If a little one loses interest at the shirt, the coffee filter is a finished project. Hang it in a window.
  • If you're short on time, dye socks or a bandanna instead of a shirt. Same steps, less waiting to fill it.

04Variations

Ages 5–6

Coffee filters only, as many as they want. Clip them on a hanger to make a mobile. Save the shirt for when they're older or let them pick the colors while you squeeze.

Ages 7–9

The full plan with a crumple fold, which forgives a heavy hand. You mix, they squeeze with gloves on.

Ages 10–12

Let them choose the fold and plan the colors on paper first. Try a second shirt with a fold of their own design and compare.

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05Optional story

Joseph's coatGenesis 37 · 5 min

Jacob, also called Israel, had twelve sons. Joseph was one of the youngest, and his father loved him in a special way.

"Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours." Genesis 37:3 (KJV)

Joseph's older brothers saw the coat and got jealous. Joseph also told them about dreams where they all bowed down to him, which made it worse. One day, out in the fields, the brothers took his coat and sold Joseph to traders headed for Egypt. They told their father a wild animal had killed him.

That's not the end. Years later, in Egypt, Joseph became a leader who saved many people from a famine, his brothers included, and he forgave them. He told them, "ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good" (Genesis 50:20).

Ask while the shirts wait: How do you think the brothers felt when they saw the coat? What do you do when someone else gets something you wanted?

Plain-language retelling. Quotes from the King James Version (public domain).

06Sources

  • Art supplies marking. CPSC says to make sure kids' art supplies are marked "Conforms to ASTM D-4236" to protect them from toxic ingredients, and not to use art supplies without the marking. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Checked Oct 15, 2026
  • Storing household chemicals. CPSC says to keep household chemicals in their original child-resistant containers and to store chemicals in a locked cabinet or box, out of children's reach. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Checked Oct 15, 2026
  • Poison Help and when to call 911. The AAP says to keep products in original packaging and in locked cabinets out of sight and reach of children, to call 911 if a child is unconscious, not breathing or having seizures, and otherwise to call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222. American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org) Checked Oct 15, 2026

Filed under: Indoor & Rainy Day · Faith (optional)

Dad Field Manual · Field card 153 · Indoor & Rainy Day

Tie-dye day: a shirt of many colors

A coffee filter, a marker and a spray bottle show how colors run. Then fold, band and dye a shirt, and rinse to see what you made.

Time
1 hr, plus the kit's wait
Cost
About $15
Ages
5 to 12
Where
Outside, or over a tub

What you need

  • A tie-dye kit with squeeze bottles and gloves, marked "Conforms to ASTM D-4236"
  • A white cotton T-shirt per person, washed
  • Rubber bands (most kits include them)
  • White coffee filters, washable markers and a spray bottle of water
  • Trash bags or plastic to cover the table, and old clothes
  • Zip-top bags or plastic wrap for the wait

Dye safety: read this first

  • Follow the kit's label, every line. A grown-up mixes the dye. Gloves on everyone, including any mask or open-window advice on the box.
  • Store it like a cleaner. Dye stays in its original bottles, out of sight and reach of kids, locked up if you can. Mix it in the kit's bottles, never in a cup.
  • If someone swallows dye, call Poison Help, 1-800-222-1222. Call 911 if they're not breathing, unconscious or having a seizure.
  • Check for the marking. CPSC says to use only art supplies marked "Conforms to ASTM D-4236."

Steps

  1. Set up the dye station. Cover the table, wear old clothes, read the kit's label out loud and put gloves on.
  2. Warm up with a coffee filter. Draw on a coffee filter with washable markers, spray it with water and watch the colors run.
  3. Fold and band the shirt. Pinch the center and twist into a flat spiral, then band it into wedges. Or scrunch and band it.
  4. Mix the dye. A grown-up fills the kit bottles with water as the label says, caps and shakes them.
  5. Pick a color for each person. Pick a color for each family member and squeeze each into its own wedge, front and back.
  6. Wrap, wait and reveal. Bag the shirt, wait as long as the kit says, rinse until clear, cut the bands and open it.

If it stalls

  • If they want every color everywhere, let them do it on a coffee filter first and see it turn brown. Then they'll choose.
  • If a little one loses interest at the shirt, the coffee filter is a finished project. Hang it in a window.
Colors used · favorite fold
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date

dadfieldmanual.com/plans/coat-of-many-colors-dye · Sources: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, American Academy of Pediatrics (HealthyChildren.org)