Coloring "Books" for Grown-Ups

Coloring books offer children hours of fun staying inside the lines (or not). Black and white clothing, while nice, can be a canvas for colorful creativity. Over a few months time I picked up several examples at thrift stores to explore six different methods to brighten up the monochrome. Trips to the craft store and quilt shop provided many possible methods:

1. A white on black cotton dress is dyed with a tie-dye kit from Tulip.

Rainbow Dress Before





Rainbow Dress After

I read the instructions on the Tulip Tie-Dye Kit box. I lined the bathtub with plastic bags, dampened the dress, inserted a plastic bag between the front and back, and laid it on the plastic. I applied the dye from the squirt bottles randomly, starting with yellow, then blue, then red. The blue created greens where it touched the yellow, and the red created some oranges. Turn the dress over and do the other side. Cover the dress with another plastic bag, and let the dress restfor 6-8 hours or overnight. Rinse it out and dry it. I found a pretty rainbow hued ribbon to use as the belt.

2. A white on black cotton sun dress is colored with fabric markers.

This one is easy. Just buy a colorful selection of fabric markers and color away.



Marker Dress Before

Marker Dress After

I have more to show in future posts.