Donna Malkmus’ honors chemistry classes tie-dyed t-shirts on Monday, April 15 and Tuesday, April, 16. Students had to pay $2 to cover the cost of die and provide their own shirt to die.

“It is an application of when we are looking at amplitude, frequency, and wavelength,” Malkmus said.

Before students can die their shirts, the shirts must soak in sodium carbonate for a minimum of 24 hours; this helps the fabric better absorb the dye. Next, the students chose one of about 10 ways to fold their shirt, depending on the design they want, and secure the folds with rubber bands.

“It wasn’t hard, but we had to use like 50 rubber bands,” senior Madison Hale said.

The students then use a dropper to carefully apply different colored dyes onto their shirts. After the shirts are dyed, they are placed in plastic bags where they will remain for 48 hours. The shirts are then washed and ready to wear. On Friday, Malkmus will hold a competition to see who’s tie-dye turned out the best. There may be several winners for each place: first, second, third, and honorable mention. Prizes range from three to 10 extra credit points.

“It was worth the $2,” junior Krista Burris said. “I got to transform a plain white t-shirt into a cool one.”