• Rit All-Purpose Liquid Dye in Royal Blue and Tangerine
• Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative
• Wire Rack and Tray
• Squeeze Bottles
• Cotton Duck Fabric
• Dried Corn Kernels or Plastic Resin Pellets, 8 lbs
• Heavy-Duty Thread
• Sewing Machine
• Measuring Cup and Spoon
• Scale
• Microwave
• Rubber gloves
• Paper Towels
• Dish Detergent
• Salt

Time: 2 Hour

Difficulty: Intermediate

Instructions:

1. Prewash fabric in warm, soapy water. This helps to remove any finishes that may interfere with dye absorption.
2. Lay fabric out on a flat surface. Scrunch randomly and place on top of wire rack with a tray underneath. This will prevent dye from puddling underneath and catch any drips.
3. Wearing rubber gloves, mix 2 tablespoons of well-shaken liquid dye or 1/2 teaspoon of powdered dye with two cups of hot tap water.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of salt.
5. Pour into a squirt bottle. Shake well. Repeat for each color.
6. Squeeze dye onto fabric in random sections. Flip over and repeat.
7. To set the dye, apply Rit ColorStay Dye Fixative with a squeeze bottle, which will enhance the colors and reduce bleeding. Mix 2 tablespoons of well-shaken ColorStay Dye Fixative with water and apply liberally to both sides of the fabric.
8. We strongly recommend using your microwave, as long as the fabric does not have any metal parts on it. After applying ColorStay Dye Fixative, place fabric in microwave tray and heat for 2 minutes .Once the microwave is done, remove the fabric and open the tray, letting it cool down.
9. If a microwave is not available or feasible to use and it is a hot sunny day, place the microwave tray out in the sun for an hour.
10. Rinse in cool water until rinse water begins to run clear. This is very important to prevent unabsorbed dye from bleeding into any white areas. If possible, rinse with the fabric bundle sitting flat on the wire rack. If it is held vertically, some of the unabsorbed dye could run into white areas as it is rinsed off.
11. Wash in cold water with a mild detergent, rinse and dry.
12. Repeat to create another scrunched fabric panel in a secondary color.
13. Once dry, iron out any wrinkles and cut eight 7” squares from each panel for a total of 16 squares
14. Place two squares right-sides together and sew along three sides using a ½” seam with heavy duty thread. For the fourth side, sew half way, leaving a 3” opening.
15. Flip bag right side out and fill with 16oz of dried corn kernels or plastic resin pellets.
16. Once filled, fold opening inward and sew closed.
17. Repeat for the remainder of the bags until you have 4 blue bags and 4 orange bags.