“Does the shirt dry wearable and permanently colored?” · Connie
Author No. The color seems to fade after a week or so, so the author calls it a fun process art activity rather than a permanent dye.
The story behind it
By TurkeyMom · October 2013
Ages3–8 yrs
Prep10 min
Activity20 min
Levelmedium
MessHigh
Works for1:1 · Small group · Class
Soak a white t-shirt in red cabbage water and let it dry, then drip and pour acids and bases onto it and watch pink and blue-green patterns appear. This is process art: the colors fade within about a week and rinse out in water.
⚠️ Safety first
- An adult makes the red cabbage water. Handle any hot water or stovetop work away from kids.
- Washing detergent is not taste-safe. An adult pours it into the cup, and kids should not mouth it or get it in their eyes.
- Lemon juice, citric acid and vinegar sting eyes and cuts. Wash hands after play.
- Nothing in the experiment cups is for drinking, including the soda.
- Supervise closely while kids pour and drip the liquids.
- Red cabbage water can stain clothes and surfaces. Wear old clothes and work outdoors or on a covered table.
Before the kids arrive
- Make a large batch of red cabbage water from chopped red cabbage.
- Pour the red cabbage water into a flat container, soak each t-shirt for about 3 minutes, wring it out and dry it flat. Allow drying time before the activity.
- Pour each liquid or powder into its own labeled cup.
- Tell kids ahead of time that the colors fade and rinse out, so this is about the process, not a shirt to keep.
Steps
Adult: make a big batch of red cabbage water, our magic potion.
Pour the cabbage water into a flat container and soak the white t-shirt for about 3 minutes.
Wring out the excess water and let the shirt dry on a flat surface.
Lay the dry shirt out and set the labeled cups of lemon juice, vinegar, detergent, baking soda and soda beside it.
Drop the liquids onto the shirt one at a time. Acids turn pink, and bases turn blue-green.
Pour bigger amounts for big, dramatic color changes.
Let the shirt dry flat again for a few hours.
Enjoy the colors while they last. They fade after about a week and rinse out in water.
Tips
- The red cabbage water is the pH indicator. Acids turn it varying shades of pink, and bases turn it varying shades of blue-green.from the author
- Ours immediately moved on to larger quantities of the liquids, since kids LOVE big dramatic reactions.from the author
- My 3 year old couldn't get enough of pouring soda on the t-shirt.from the author
- The color seems to fade after a week or so, and it rinses out if it touches water. I'd say this is a fun process art.from the author
- A reader who did this with a group of kids loved the process, but the kids were bummed that their shirts rinsed out. Set expectations up front.from readers
Make it your own
- Do the same process on heavy watercolor paper for 'magic painting'.
- Add citric acid or cream of tartar as extra acids to test.
Questions readers asked
Does the shirt stay colored? Is it wearable?
No. The color fades after a week or so and rinses out if it gets wet. The author calls it a fun process art.
What readers say
💬 5 comments ✍️ 2 answered by the author 🍎 tried with 1 classes or groups
Answered by the author
🍎 In the classroom
Group loved the process, not the fading
A reader did this with a group of kids. The process was amazing, but the kids expected to keep their shirts and were sad the color rinsed out.
“I loved doing this project with a group of kids but they were pretty sad that the color all rinsed out.”
🛠️ Troubleshooting
Color fades: treat it as process art
The author says the color fades after about a week and rinses out with water, so set expectations that the shirt isn't a keepsake.
“The color seems to fade after a week or so.. I'd say this is a fun process art.”
✨ Readers' twist
Try it on watercolor paper
The author later did the same process on heavy watercolor paper, and the kids did "magic painting."
“we did the same process on heavy water color paper and the kids did "magic painting"”
Read all 5 comments
TurkeyMomAuthor · Feb 2014 · replying to Terri Beth Chun
Yes, the process was really fun! The color stays for a little while but does get faded out eventually. If it comes in contact with water, it does rinse out. I'm gonna edit the post to add this. Thanks for the heads up :) Please visit out recent post.. we did the same process on heavy water color paper and the kids did "magic painting"
Terri Beth Chun · Feb 2014
I loved doing this project with a group of kids but they were pretty sad that the color all rinsed out. The process was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about the process- but they assumed they'd get to keep their "science meets art" shirts and they were bummed. We have enjoyed exploring your page and looking for great ideas!
TurkeyMomAuthor · Nov 2013 · replying to Connie
The color seems to fade after a week or so.. I'd say this is a fun process art. Thanks for reading :)
Connie · Nov 2013
Does it dry "wear-able"? Permanently colored?
Stacy Rhodes · Nov 2013
Did you mix the dry things like baking soda and cream of tartar with water? Did you use liquid laundry detergent?