Final 2: Thermochromic Shirts

Im going to go through the how and why i made my shirts.

So I will start off with a timeline and give you the rundown on how it all came together.

I fist started with my idea for the gradient color. I wanted a cool way to dye my shirts and create a color changing affect. My first idea was to have the whole half of the shirt be able to change color or maybe even a graphic. I didn’t know if I could do a full color change but I wanted the aesthetic to feel like a flower coming out to bloom. I gave myself time to do some research and I realized how expensive the thermochomic powder actually is. I was only able to get 15 grams for $40 and while it wasn’t a lot to work with I knew I could come up with something.

Next I want to go over my materials:

Recently my favorite color has been mauve. It is a light purple/dark purple and actually a really interesting lesson on color theory if you look it up. To get that color/look I went with using blueberries as my base color and then when cooking down my berries to make a deeper color using strawberries and another berry mix with blackberries and raspberries. Next I decided with my limited amount of color changing pigment and not the closest colors to what I thought the blueberries would be, I decided to make my graphic the part that changes color instead of the whole shirt. To do this I luckily already have screen prints that I create for myself/selling and decided to go with white fabric dye that I could add the pigment to. While doing this I had some issues as the fabric dye didn’t take the exact color of the pigment but I was able to get 3 colors. A pink to white color changing, a green to white color changing, and a bluish to white color change. At first I did not think the color changing would work at all and I wasn’t able to see a change after doing my prints. That was until I got the graphic wet and could immediately see that the color change actually works really well and is super fast reacting.

For the dying process it was my first time trying something like this. Although I didn’t have any practice it seemed pretty intuitive and straightforward. With my newfound confidence I just went ahead and it went super smooth! I think the colors will run very quickly and fade but maybe doing it again I can add some binder to keep the dye in. I have read some about using vinegar but will need to do more research. I first started to boil my fruit and then very quickly turned off the heat. After letting it cool i left in the fruit and dyed my shirts for the first time. After this first process I took all the fruit out and boiled down the liquid until it was darker and more condensed. Then I dipped half of the shirts again and was able to create a super cool gradient.

And the final reveal:

Overall I am super happy with how the shirts have came out. I wish I found a was to make the entire half of the shirt change color but that is for a future project. I am super happy with how this came out and the idea of color changing graphics that blend in is so so cool. I will have a lot of these and also with different graphics and colors at the expo so come by one! I dont know if im allowed to but sometimes you gotta just have fun right. $25 for a cool shirt and come for a surprise of new graphics lol. I am going to keep creating more and start selling these maybe I can make it my job you never know.

In the end I want to thank this class. To reflect a little and to vent college has been crazy for me and I think this project is a perfect way for me to end this chapter in my life and start a new one. I finally am starting to believe in my ideas more and realizing that I can create awesome stuff for me and not for other people. I want to thank this class for teaching me more about myself because thats the real reason why we come to college right?

Work cited: Me