Firecracker Popsicle T-Shirt for 4th of July

Step 2:

5. Shake all dye bottles before measuring dye. Wearing rubber gloves, measure and mix ½ cup Aquamarine dye with 2 gallons very hot water (140◦F). Stir well. Note: If your tap water is not hot enough, heat some water in a tea kettle or in the microwave.

6. Immerse the bottom third of the T-shirt in the Aquamarine dye bath. It’s okay if the dye goes over the rubber band a little. It will be covered by the white ruffle in the middle anyway. Allow to soak for 10 minutes then rinse thoroughly until water runs clear. Set aside.

Note: If you prefer not to create a ruffle, make sure you leave adequate white space between the red and blue dyed sections of the shirt.

7. Prepare Cherry Red dye bath: Wearing rubber gloves, measure and mix ½ cup Cherry Red dye with 2 gallons of very hot water. Stir well.

8. Immerse the top third of the T-shirt in the Cherry Red dye bath. Allow to soak for 10 minutes then rinse thoroughly in cold water until water runs clear. Remove from dye and squeeze out excess dye.

9. Carefully cut away the rubber bands. Hold the shirt in the middle and rinse under cold running water, keeping dye from running into the white area or contrasting dye color. Rinse until water runs clear. Wash shirt in warm water with mild detergent, rinse and dry.

Step 3:

To Create White Ruffle

1. Cut white jersey knit into a strip measuring 9” x the width of the T-shirt multiplied by 2.5.

2. Fold the strip of white jersey fabric in half lengthwise. Sew a long basting stitch along the cut edge through both layers. Leave long thread ends hanging from each side. Carefully pull threads to create a ruffled effect.

3. Pin the ruffle around the entire middle of the T-shirt. After it is adjusted to fit, pin cut ends, right sides together, and stitch a ¼” seam to finish ruffle. Then machine stitch ruffle to shirt, ¼” from cut edges.

4. Cut the red polka dot ribbon to the width of the T-shirt, front and back, adding ½” for overlapping ends.

5. Pin the ribbon over the cut edges of the ruffle, overlapping ends of ribbon. Machine stitch ribbon to shirt. This will hide the cut edges of the ruffle.

6. Pin a festive, patriotic pin to the shirt.