Maker Monday: Dye Your Own Mask

Just like artist Sam Gilliam mixes and blends paint colors on his draped-canvas artworks, you can combine colored dye on a cloth face mask.

Materials

The Dye-Your-Own-Mask kit includes:

• White cotton face mask
• Two squeeze bottles of fabric dye (red and blue, blue and yellow, or red and yellow)
• Printed instructions
• Felt eye mask

You’ll also need:

• Small container of warm water
• Plastic bag
• Something to protect your work area, like a paper or plastic table covering
• Plastic or latex gloves, if you don’t want to get dye on your hands

Activity

Use two colors of dye to make new colors, and create a one-of-a-kind mask that’s a work of art.

1. Cover your work area with paper or plastic to protect it. If you’d like, wear plastic or latex gloves to protect your hands.
2. Wet the face mask with warm water, and squeeze out any excess water.
3. Carefully squeeze small drops of dye onto different areas of the mask until you’re happy with the result. Experiment by dropping one color in an area, then add the second color to see how the two colors blend to make a new color where they overlap. Remember: Yellow + blue = green. Yellow + red = orange. Red + blue = purple.
4. To help the dyes blend together, fold and press or “smoosh” parts of the mask together.
5. Cover the mask in plastic, like a plastic grocery bag, to keep it damp while the dye sets. Let it set for 6–24 hours for brighter colors.
6. Thoroughly rinse the mask in cold water until the water runs clear. (This step can take several minutes if there’s a lot of dye in the mask.) Dry the mask in the dryer before wearing. The dye can bleed onto other clothes, so wash separately or with dark colors only.
7. Wear your mask to display your work of art, and to protect the people around you!