Produce a dyed T-shirt from the best method.

Aim

To produce a dyed T-shirt from the best method.

Method

To start off with we looked at chemicals found around the house such as bleach, lemon juice and vinegar. The purpose of this activity was to provide us with a brief insight on how important chemistry really is in our life.

We then looked at different dyes for clothes because we are situated in an area where historically there has been a lot of cotton dying. This helped us decide which dyes were best and which ones we should take into consideration.

Fortunately, in the middle of our course we were given the opportunity to visit a factory, which manufactures chemical products. The factory called Vernon Carus is about 20 minutes away from our school. Here we were introduced to different techniques the company used to produce their efficient products. The experience was rewarding and provided us with a much more better understanding of how industrial processes took place. This could help us to decide how we were going to attend our dying process. After returning to school we discussed our visit and also were given the opportunity to raise any further questions or make any suggestions.

During our next meeting we were told about a Multimedia Science Quiz, which was establishing itself on the Internet. We decided to enter this quiz. Here we were competing against other schools that were nationwide. We had to answer several different questions based on science. Even though we did not win, the competition helped our team build a strong bond and also made us more confident in the company of each other.

After the competition we began our investigation. We decide to dye test cotton materials in their normal state to see what result we would get. The ...

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After the competition we began our investigation. We decide to dye test cotton materials in their normal state to see what result we would get. The results were not good. We noticed that the dye was not spreading equally. After discussing the problem we found out that because cotton garments are usually finished with starch, the starch was interfering with the dying process. The solution we thought of was to wash the starch out. So we washed our T-shirt at least three times before carrying out any other investigations.

Next we looked at batiks. Firstly we looked at two kinds of batiks:

Acro-Batik, which is a wax emulsion- we found it difficult applying this as we had to use a paintbrush and no matter how hard we tried, we could not keep within the lines of the square we had drawn. Another problem we found was that the batik was not sharp enough.
Wax-We found this even more difficult to apply as the wax constantly needed to be warm. Whilst applying the wax it settled far too quickly which meant that we had to apply it as quickly as possible. Also we found this batik was not sharp enough too.

Luckily we were given a third option, which consisted of a different method. This was much more suitable and accurate. For the main designer a photographic process would be used and any other highlights could be simply painted. To use the photographic process we would have to firstly design our designs on the computer using suitable software. The design then would be printed off on special photographic paper. To transfer the design on our T-shirt we would have to iron it on. This method would definitely be the best and also would allow the design to be sharp and easy to apply.

After completing our preliminary work, I started to design my own design using Microsoft Word. I decided to make my design simple and original. I followed my plan, which was based on previous experiments and created my own T-shirt.

Conclusion

My T-shirt turned out very well. I found out that our technique had worked and that all the preliminary work had paid off. I think that my T-shirt absorbed the dye well and definitely met my expectations. I choose to dye my T-shirt a pale blue because I wanted my T-shirt to consist of three shades of blue. I think that the T-shirt absorbed the dye well because I washed it three times which washed of the starch and therefore the dying process took place much better BUT IF I HAD WASHED THE T-SHIRT ABOUT FIVE OR SIX TIMES WOULD I HAVE GOT BETTER RESULTS?

Evaluation

During the experiment I had to be careful with the apparatus as I was handling hot irons, dyes and other equipment. Therefore I had to follow all the lab rules and make safety my first priority.

I found it hard facing problems in our preliminary work. After things went wrong we had to start again and look at different options. I also found it hard designing my design but the computer definitely did make life a lot easier.

If I were to do this activity again then I would like to have visited other industrial places, which manufacture products that have to go through dying processes. This way we might have learnt new ways of dying and also might have picked up a few more tips. We could also have washed our T-shirts more time as this would have also helped (more starch washed off). We could have ironed our T-shirts after each wash to see if this helped in any way. Also we could have carried out experiments with different dying methods to see which one was the most effective. Another thing we could have done was to try other printing techniques to see which one was the best. I also would have liked to have experimented on garments made from different materials and then would have liked to see if some dyes worked better than others on different materials.

To improve my T-shirt I could have used paint to highlight areas. I also would have like to make my design much bigger and also would have liked to use different colours and textures. Another thing I would now liked to have done is to dye the T-shirt in two different colours. HOW WOULD WE GO ABOUT DOING THIS?