DIY: Tie Dye Shirts for Bullying Prevention

Every year, National Bullying Prevention Month is observed in October. We want to show our support for the victims of bullying, raise awareness for the epidemic, and do our best to come together and make #ZeroBullying sweep the nation. There are so many ways to show your support from acts of kindness to reporting bullying that you witness to making and wearing an orange tie dyed shirt. Why orange? “Orange provides a powerful, visually compelling expression of solidarity,” said Paula Goldberg, executive director of PACER Center. “Whether it’s hundreds of individuals at a school wearing orange, store owners offering orange products, or a community changing a landmark to orange, the vibrant statement becomes a conversation starter, sending the supportive, universal message that bullying is never acceptable behavior.”

DIY Tie Dye Shirt Supplies:

  • White shirts (make sure to wash and dry completely beforehand)
  • Water
  • Tie Dye Party Tub (the kit above included miniature bottles, protective gloves, a plastic tablecloth, and rubber bands)

DIY Tie-Dye Instructions:

Step One – Prep your work space! Lay the plastic tablecloth down where you plan to tie dye, and put on a pair of gloves.

Step Two – Tie fabric for desired technique. We wanted to create a bullseye to represent #ZeroBullying in honor of National Bullying Prevention Month, so we gathered the material in the center of the shirts and tied a rubber band about three inches down. Continue to tie material every 1 to 3 inches depending on the size of your shirt and the number of circles you’d like to see. Note that you can gather material from any area on your shirt where you want the circle to begin, and continue tying from there. tied shirts

Step ThreeREMINDER: If you have not already put on a pair of gloves, now would be a really good time to do so. Mix the tie dye. Add water to the orange (or other desired color) bottle and fill to the neck. Replace cap tightly. Shake until dye is dissolved.

Pouring water into tie dye bottle

Step Four – Apply dye to fabric. Be sure not to over-saturate the material, and to leave some white space around the rubber bands. This is what will create the tie dye effect! Orange dyed shirts

Step Five – Wrap in plastic, and let set for 6–8 hours, rinse, wash, and dry.

Step Six – Show your support for bullying prevention by rocking your orange tie-dye shirt throughout October (and throughout the year!) and using #ZeroBullying on social media. Report bullying that you witness. Be kind!

For more resources in the fight against bullying, check out these Learning Liftoff articles.


As with many crafts and DIY activities, you can turn this into a learning experience with your kids by talking about why such simple ingredients turn into slime. The activator (in this recipe—laundry detergent) creates a chemical reaction with the polymers found in the glue, binding them together to form the “glob” of slime. Taking a few moments to stop and enjoy this craft and conversation with your child might just help to make the dreaded slime a bit more bearable!

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