Fill a plastic 1-gallon milk jug half-way with tap water 1 cup of solid urea, cap and shake to dissolve. (A visit to a fertilizer outlet, such as a farm coop, will probably give you what you need.) Fill the jug the rest of the way with distilled water, cap and invert several times to establish a homogeneous mixture.
Place a large funnel in the 2-L soda bottles. Measure out 10 tsp. of dye into a small plastic cup (mark the lever for future measurements), pour the dye through the funnel, then pour the urea solution through the same funnel, enough to fill the bottle to the 1-L mark. Cap and shake vigorously until all the dye has dissolved. (NOTE: These dyes will appear quite dark.) Wipe the funnel dry, then repeat this step for the next dye.
Distribute the dyes in labeled, plastic spray bottles or plastic water bottles on paper towels around the room. Remind students concerning proper use of the bottled dyes and the fact that they DO NOT need to cover all areas with dye. The dyes will spread even after application. Finally, have one or two plastic grocery bags or a large plastic ziploc bag available for each project.
On an area of the table that is uncovered, fold and wrap your T-shirt or item in any number of patterns and ways. Use rubber bands to hold the pattern together. Use the spray bottles to place the various dyes in the desired patterns on the T-shirt. Wrap in paper towels and place it in a gallon ziploc bag or several plastic grocery bags. NO pooling of liquid should appear in the bag.
After the shirt has soaked for at least 24 hours, open up the bag remove the paper towels, and place the tie-dyed item in a large bucket of water. Rinse it a few times, remove the rubber bands, then continue to rinse with fresh clean water until the rinse water comes out diluted enough so that you can see your hand through about 5-6 cm of water.
Wring out the item, then wash it in the washing machine by itself or with other rinsed tie-dyed items, in hot water using a small squirt of dishwashing liquid such as Dawn or Joy. Do not use laundry detergent. Dry your shirt in the dryer or on the clothesline.
