Tie-Dyed Socks on our Feet

Nobody, and I mean nobody, matches socks around here.

A giant hamper of clean socks lives in the closet. When Matt and I need clean socks, we dig through the hamper until we find a matching pair--it's very annoying. The girls are far less troubled, since when they need clean socks, they simply dig through the hamper until they find two socks that fit--no matching necessary, apparently. Well, Sydney, who is our clothes horse, does tend to search until she finds two "pretty" socks, but again, they definitely won't match.

For a long time it's been my dream to make sock matching an occupation of the past. To that end, for the past year or so I've allowed our sock supply to dwindle drastically, neglecting to replace holey or outgrown socks, until we each have just a few left. Then, I restocked us all with plain white socks from Dharma Trading Company.

Then, I set up the fabric dye in squeeze bottles--

--and spent an afternoon on the living room carpet with the girls tying off socks with rubber bands, and then we dragged them all outside and off we went:

The girlies each also tie-dyed white turtlenecks, hand-me-downs from an acquaintance that had just a couple of light stains on them:

Yes, I accept free stuff even if it's messed up. That's how my kids will be wearing tie-dyed turtlenecks this winter!

Poor Matt arrived home from work that afternoon to the horror of a backyard full of fabric dye and mess and just more mess. I won't say that he was thrilled to jump in, but he let himself be persuaded, taking just long enough that we wouldn't know that he was secretly going to enjoy himself:

Did I mention that tie-dye is messy?

I know you're supposed to wear gloves and all, but I don't like the feel of them, and what am I supposed to do with the girls? Encase them in head-to-toe plastic aprons like serial killers wear to chop up their prey?

Eh, we were just colorful for a while:

I let them fester in plastic bags in the yard for 24 hours, then gave them a good rinse--look how pretty!

And after a wash and a dry, we have a new season of socks!

To try it for yourself, you can check out my tie-dye tutorial over at Crafting a Green World--if you dare!!! Be forewarned that once again, I horrify my fellow green crafters by not using butterflies and flower petals for dyes--green crafters can be so cute with their righteous indignation.

P.S. Love family-friendly crafts? Then you'll love my Craft Knife Facebook page!