This week we had a combined art and science project, with a little math thrown in for good measure!You need a white T-shirt, permanent markers, isopropyl alcohol (we used 70% though 90% would be fine too,) a dropper bottle (we used a non-medical syringe,) a large plastic cup, and a rubber band. Here you see the boys posing with their new T-shirts ready to start the project.
Slip the plastic cup inside the T-shirt so the opening of the cup faces towards the front panel of the shirt. On the outside of the shirt, pull the shirt tightly over the cup and put the rubber band around the top to secure it.
Put spots of various colors on the section of the shirt secured to the cup. You can put wavy lines, too, if you like the effect.
Here's the science part. Permanent markers are not soluble in water, but they are in alcohol. Fill your dropper bottle with the isopropyl alcohol and drop in onto the decorated section. Because the permanent marker is alcohol-soluble, the ink "runs." Capillary action moves the ink along the fabric.Because the syringes are graduated, the boys made up math problems as they went along, like, "Mom, if I had 30 mm of alcohol to start and now I have 10 mm, how much did I use?"
Here are the boys with their finished projects.We did have a PROBLEM though. I rinsed the shirts in water before washing them, but all the ink washed away. Next time I am going to rinse them well again, then run them through the dryer to evaporate off all the alcohol (it is very volatile, which is why it has such a strong odor) before washing it. The boys have been bugging me to get more shirts ever since.
9 comments:
Could soaking the shirts in vinegar before rinsing work to set the colors or would the alcohol and vinegar not be a good combo? I'd love to see this project in October's Gallery Carnival!
There's no problem mixing vinegar with isopropyl alcohol (people do it to treat swimmer's ear) but I don't think the vinegar would displace the alcohol any more than water would, whereas heating it until dry before washing it should mean all the alcohol is gone.
Meanwhile, I got a Sharpie mark on one of my good shirts. I think I'll spot treat it with alcohol before the next wash...
Very pretty results! Sprite would LOVE this activity!
Very Cool, I have been meaning to try this. I am glad you shared this, it reminded me I need to do it! Be Blessed, Angie in GA
Oh yes, we'll have to try this one! Just a question...did you lose much color when you rinsed them with water (but before you washed them)?
Thanks again for a great idea!
Do you need 100% cotton shirts or will a mix do?
I did not lose any color when I rinsed it with water because these are permanent marker and because the alcohol quickly becomes diluted, just not enough to withstand a wash.
I don't see as there would be any problems using a poly/cotton mix as I don't know of any problems with isopropyl and polyester; in fact, the former is sometimes recommended to clean the latter.
HTH!
What a fun idea. We are going to give it a try.
Oh, this does look like a lot of fun!
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