Tie Dye Project for a Crowd

[YatesNM]

Ok, here's the thing.
I'm on the student activities board at my college, and each officer on the board can have one activity per semester when they can plan and do whatever they want. My project is a 1960's-themed weekend - tentatively named Merry Prankster Weekend.
On that Saturday, I'm planning for a huge tie-dye fest. The students will be able to purchase and wash their own t-shirts from the student activities board in advance.
I've never tie-dyed on such a large scale before and am wondering about the best way to put this all together. Cool water dyes would be easiest, logistically speaking. I'm just looking for any help, advice, tips, or plan ideas you may have.
I'm just trying to spread the tie-dye love to my campus!
Thank you so much!!

Peace & Recycle,
Nancy

[ecilA]

ahh Nancy, wouldn't painting the trees with dayglo paint and...eh never mind

I'd suggest preordering and having all the shirts prepped and ready for attendees.  Alternately, big bucket of soda ash water ready for people to dunk them in.  Prepare gallons of dye in old water jugs if you can get enough of them and set up tables for folding, tables covered with plastic for dyeing and have a hose ready for rinsing down the dye tables and the dyers.

The biggest issue (imo) with this type of activity is that it's really best if you can have them tagged (maybe somehow affix tyvek labels to each shirt in a way that won't come out in the wash but will be removeable by them when they pick up) in some way and a pick up date.  Someone might get upset at the introduction of numerous dyes being washed out in campus machines.  I'm just envisioning a big mess and a lot of unwanted stains.

Don't mean to be a big downer to your idea, I think it could be alot of fun, it's just a little difficult logistically speaking and I really had to comment because when you say merry pranksters I don't think of dye...(so of course I had to comment)

[steve]

Use pfd t-shirts so you don't have to scour. Make sure you have disposable aprons (very cheap). Use rubberbands because most won't know how to handle string. Forget the soda soak--I've been there with a crowd and it is too much trouble. Premix loads of dye and make a soda ash concentrate to add to the dye bottles immediately before dyeing--this cuts out the soda soak hassle and mess. Use safety pins to attach tyvik labels (they can stay put through the dyeing, washing, and drying).

I've done tie dye with about 100 kids--it's tiring but rewarding. Bring your sense of humor.

Like Alice said about the tables and hoses. Do it outdoors where you can hose the numerous disasters into a drain quickly. Have a patrol ready to IMMEDIATELY pounce on spills. When I do it indoors--I have at least one full time mopper!

You aren't serving any Kool-Aid are you?

Have a blast! And have a refreshing relaxing beverage ready when you are done!

Feel free to ask away!

Steve

Oh--I had to append this. I did do a tie-dye with our whole k-12 school with staff. All told, around 250 people. It was over the course of 2-3 days--but we had to do education at the same time. I had the help of the art teacher and many others. We also did it without many of the suggestions offered here that would have made it MUCH easier. Let this picture serve as motivation (I know--I have it posted elsewhere):

[ecilA]

not to argue the soda soak, but did want to say that we've done large group dye activities and we did include the soak.  The way that we managed it was to know the numbers in advance.  We did the large bucket (actually a clean trash can) and put all of one size in then the kids with that size each pulled a shirt, squeezed and moved to the folding table at which point we put in the next size to soak while we worked with the first group.  For such a large crowd (if you went with the soak and had preorders) I'd probably set up cans for each size and just direct them to pull one shirt from the bucket of their appropriate size.  We also asked them to pick their design and then had group folding lessons, for example: all who want hearts come to this table now where the technique was demonstrated and then we walked around to give individual help to those that needed it.

Your best bet is to have a crew of people trained in these methods so that you aren't the only knowledgeable dyer on call (so to speak).

But Steve's suggestion to avoid that step would work as well of course.

[ktaltre]

Oh Steve,
That's such a wonderful picture - your whole school in tie dye!
k. taltre