Inkblot/Rorschach Splatter T-shirts

A fun project with the kids, making splatter or inkblot T-shirts!

We wanted to make something both fun and useful, and it was a nice way of introducing the kids to methods like those used by Jackson Pollock (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Pollock) or folding over to make "Rorschach" blots.

Supplies

• T-Shirts... or any clothing
• Fabric paint or dye
• I used Tulip soft paints but many others will work well:
• Tulip Soft Black (Affiliate links: US , UK )
• Tulip Soft Neon green (US , UK )
• Cardboard to help with folding

Step 1: Splatter!!

Method:

• Spread the t-shirt flat and place a piece of cardboard inside, this should stop dye colouring soaking through to the back.
• If you want to make the the spatters symmetrical/inkblot then crease it in the middle to help with folding.
• We stood up on a chair over the t-shirts, this was both because it's fun to have the challenge of dropping paint and also because it makes some finer impact spatter.
• We used two colours, some of the inkblots in the original Rorschach test used three or more (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rorschach_test) and I think out next ones will have more rainbow!
• Once you are happy fold over if you are going for the blot type - you can always add more ink if you feel it's not enough.
• The ink has a kind of solid feel when dry, not like a dye, and it will stick together when wet so keep them unfolded to dry.
• The paint I used wanted an overnight to dry then a cold wash to check it's stuck.

Step 2: Method in Action!

Here's a quick video of us making some.

Wear old clothing or some of the t-shirts to be dyed.

Step 3: After a Few Washes

Here's some close ups after a few washes!