Making a Summer Flag

My daughters love flags. With the fourth of July coming up and with summer in full swing, I thought "we should really make some flags this year!" After some searching on the internet I found Dharma Trading sells small nylon flags. I purchased two flags ($1.50 each) and we were ready to go. Nylon dyes the same as silk so we followed the same kool-aid process we used to dye our playsilks.

To dye the flags, I purchased different colored packets of kool-aid and each of my daughters chose a color. My oldest daughter wanted to tie dye her flag using rubber bands to create decorative circles. My youngest daughter chose a solid background and wanted to decorate her flag using permanent markers.

I heated up the water in the microwave until "very hot." I added a splash of vinegar and my daughter added the packet of kool-aid.

I have never tie dyed anything in my life, so we just knotted the fabric with rubber bands in different places.

The flags were added into the kool-aid, water, and vinegar solution and stirred around until it was the desired shade. I rinsed the flags in cold water until it ran clear (not very long).

The flags were then hung up to dry.

We purchased some 3/4 inch dowels from the hardware store that fit perfectly (if they hadn't fit I was planning to hot glue them on but it wasn't necessary).

The summer flags are posted in front of the sandbox. They pull them out of the ground when they want to play with them and I simply put them back into the ground, hammering it down with a rock, when they are done!