One of the things I did this year for my Christmas Crafting was shirt bleaching. I've seen it on Pinterest over the past year or so, and I love the way the shirts turn out. SO I thought I’d give it the ol’ college try and decided my siblings would be the perfect Guinea Pigs :D
spent about three weeks plotting out what I was going to draw up – I used my paper app on my iPad to sketch out ideas.
In the end I came up with three simple, yet fun drawings and I decided they were the way to go. So I went in search of the perfect shirt (color and sleeve-wise) and picked up a bleach pen while I was at Target for other things… and then, it was a simple matter of drawing the design on and waiting….
The process is really simple, so I’m going to give you a quick “How To” and then get to showing you the pictures!
What you’ll need:
- Shirt (Made of natural fibers – synthetics are not going to take the color well)
- Bleach Pen (I only saw Clorox, but I’m sure there’s another brand somewhere)
- Cardboard to fit the size of your design
- (Optional) Chalk, Aluminum Foil, cardboard stencils, and Latex Gloves (These come in VERY handy if you’re at all allergic to bleach like I am!)
How you do it:
1) Lay your shirt out on a flat surface and slide cardboard underneath. (Option: taping a layer of aluminum over the cardboard will let the bleach lines bleed more than with out – regular cardboard soaks up some of the bleach, aluminum keeps it on the shirt.)
1.5) Put on your Latex gloves at this point if you have sensitive skin!
2) Shake the bleach pen thoroughly! Draw out your design (Option: If you’re not sure about your lines, make a stencil and/or use chalk to do a mock up before you use the pen.)
3) Let the bleach sit on the shirt for 30 minutes or so – you’ll be able to see the color leeching from the shirt.
4) In your kitchen sink, rinse off the bleach lines, they’ll be a little stiff, so you may have to rub them off.
5) Wash without detergent in a cycle all by itself. If you’re worried about the bleach after that, run it through a second cycle with detergent and then dry. (And then admire your handi-work!)
For my little sister, I chose a bright t-shirt and a whimsical Robot I’ve been drawing in one form or another for a long while. I think it’s adorable and fun, just like her!
The little brother’s design came from three different things: 1) his college mascot was the Vandals (basically a Viking) 2) He now works at a college where the mascot is a Viking! and 3) he can grow a mad-scruffy beard. And thus the happy little Viking was created!
My older sister always reminds me of flowers, pretty, delicate and just plain nice, so I cut out some card board stencils and chalked out a bunch of flowers down the side of a shirt for her (and one on the sleeve, because I love that sort of detail on shirts of my own).
And here's what they look like after they've been set, washed and dried!
Please note: the Viking shirt changed colors. You are not going crazy, I accidentally failed to look at the fabric notes on the tag of the last one.... and did not realize it was a synthetic until after it refused to change with the bleach!
A Close up of Zee Viking!
And that, dear readiers, is the extend of my Shirt bleaching for the holiday season... I may make myself one or two in the coming weeks.... and then, you'll get more pictures :D
Have a great Day!
Did you use foil on all the designs?
ReplyDeleteI know I already complimented these, but I still love them!
I used foil on the Robot, but not on the other two. I wasn't 100% pleased with how much it bled. And with the details in the flowers, and the Vikings face, I didn't want to risk too much smudging.
DeleteOn a bigger design, I'd totally use the foil again.