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St. CHARLES, Mo.—Let the wild side of your creativity express itself and expand your wardrobe. The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering Patterns in Nature-Plant Press and Bleach Tie Dye, this Friday, Sept. 10 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in St. Charles. The program is free and open to ages 10 and up.
Bleach tie dyeing is a classic twist on a time-honored classic way to bring new life and flair to clothing like t-shirts. Instead of colored dye on white, this method utilizes bleach on darker clothes—especially black—to create unique, high contrast patterns. MDC’s fun and educational take on this process is to look to natural items for ideas and patterns—in this case, leaves.
“Nature provides us with many things, including inspiration. In this class participants will learn how to identify different types of leaves, by shapes and growth patterns,” said MDC Naturalist Emily Crawford. “We’ll examine basic leaf shapes, arrangements, and margin textures, and provide examples of Missouri trees for each one,” Crawford explained.
Attendees will then use leaves to help “design” their very own plant patterned bleach tie dye t-shirt. All supplies for the craft will be provided. MDC will even supply the t-shirts. Upon registration, participants should contact Crawford at Emily.Crawford@mdc.mo.gov or 636-441-4554, ext. 4135 with their shirt size. Attendees can also bring their own shirts if they choose.
Patterns in Nature-Plant Press and Bleach Tie Dye is a free program, but advanced online registration is required at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZC2. As this is an in-person activity, MDC asks all participants to observe current local social distancing and masking guidelines. Bringing and wearing face coverings is encouraged when appropriate.
The August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area is located at 2360 Highway D, about two miles west of Highway 94.
Program registrants should note that families now have the option to link their children’s accounts to their own which will streamline the program registration process. Once a group account is set up, parents will be able to register their children to an event without having to logoff and login for each person. This allows parents to register an entire family or select family members to an event at the same time.
Stay informed of MDC latest programs by going to the MDC St. Louis regional events page at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZP6.
