tie dying for large group

[Former_Member]

Hi! I'm a coach for an allied softball team at my school and we got tshirts this year that are white with black lettering with the intentions of tie dying them our school colors. our colors are maroon and gold. what would be the best method to do this? there are about 27 on the team so i'll say 30 to be safe. i've heard of people using powders in large buckets and dipping the shirts in. is there an easier way or should i stick with the traditional bottles. i'm also looking for the cheapest yet highest quality mixture.
thanks!

[KimmySews]

The type of dyeing you do really depends on the look you would like and age of the people dyeing. I use Fiber reactive procion dyes from Dharma trading and find they work well. With most of the dyes that are out there you will want to make sure you have a high cotton level in the fabric for the best outcome. Also if you are going to use the products that Dharma and other dye specialty places sell you will be having to wash the shirts then soak in soda ash then dye and rinse and wash. If you want to make things easier on yourself then Tulip is a good brand and still lasts long and you skip the soda ashing part. You do have to work fast with it and try to find the right colour or have a way to use up the other colours you may be stuck with. One other thing about working with the dyes make sure you wear a mask and gloves when you are working with the Soda Ash (pH+) water and mixing the powder.
I do not have all the answers but I hope that helps.

[Former_Member]

Just to add to the response above...
If you can't find your team colors in Tulip, I would recommend you try to find Dylon for hand use. They would work better than Rit for your bolder colors because the water you use only needs to be warm. Rit I've only gotten colors like the picture on the box or bottle when I kept the dye solution boiling on the stove while dying. That boiling dye isn't ideal when you are dipping your shirts in. But the Dylon I was able to use Hot water from the tap and my old tulip bottles to apply. You won't need Soda Ash with the Dylon either, but they do recommend adding salt.