where has all the cotton gone?

[Nat]

hello all
I've been getting more and more into tie-dye lately.. but my major stumbling block is that I can't find all-cotton shirts ANYwhere.  I've checked out all the craft stores/thrift stores in the area... to no avail.  Of course, that doesn't include an AC Moore.. there's not one around here. 
So.. does anyone have suggestions as to where I can find (afforable) all-cottons? 
(Also- what are everyone's thoughts on the tie-dye kit by jacquard?  good/not the best?)
cheers
-nat

[Sarah]

I've bought most of my cotton goods from Dharma (what I haven't found on sale or at thrift shops.)  I used the tie dye kit from Jacquard when I was first dying and I liked it,  you will have everything you need for a few shirts and other things.  But, if you plan on dying a lot, you are better off for the money to buy in bulk (again I have bought all of my supplies from Dharma.)

[tiedyejudy]

I agree with Sarah... Dharma is a great resource for dyeing supplies, and they have a very good selection of cotton clothing blanks.  If you are looking for basic cotton T's or tanks, there are a number of clothing distributors who have very good prices.  Depending on where you are located, there may even be some where you can pick up your order instead of having it shipped!  If you want more info, e-mail me and I will send you names of some I have used that I can recommend.

Judy 

[pburch]

Craft stores around here never have been reliable. They've been selling 50% polyester shirts next to their tie-dye kits for years. Target or JCPenney have been good sources for flimsy cotton underwear-type t-shirts, for those occasions when you want it NOW and not four days from now, but now you have to be careful to avoid any that are labeled "stain resistant", because they are also dye-resistant. It's on the package label.

Paula

[ktaltre]

I've had good luck dyeing men's and boy's all cotton Hanes and Fruit of the Loom shirts that come in packages of 3 or 5 from Walmart, Target, etc. And they go on sale sometimes.  Of course they aren't sewn with cotton thread. And I agree that we should buy from Dharma.
k. taltre

[steve]

For the best buys in cotton Ts you are best off creating an account with Broders, Alpha, or San-Mar (or some other distributor). If you don't have a tax number, there are a lot of little companies that drop ship their products, but the prices will be slightly higher (shirtsupplier.com comes to mind). Nonetheless, the prices and quality will be better than what you can get at a retail store.

The kits are fine, but an extremely expensive way to buy supplies. I like ProChem better than Dharma as their tech support knows what they are talking about.

Steve

[ktaltre]

It's true that ProChem has excellent tech support, but it may also depend on which side of the country you live in (shipping costs); I buy from Dharma because I live in the west and they do have the extensive inventory of blanks.
But I do buy from ProChem too. If one is a beginning dyer, maybe it would be wise to buy from ProChem. Then you could call them and ask questions.
k. taltre