Thursday, November 21, 2013

DIY: Dip-dye/Bleach your old flannel!

I was on the urban outfitters website the other day and saw this adorable flannel shirt that was bleached at the bottom.
I love plaid and flannel, and once the weather starts to cool down I get absolutely giddy knowing its time to bring out my flannel!  The only thing... the shirt was $40 on the site!!  And even though that's a lot as is, its even more because I am too lazy to actually shop at a store, so I would have to pay shipping costs... Cue cheap-o brain!

Bleaching your flannel is the EASIEST project ever! And it takes less than 10 minutes to do so! Most of it is set up time!  Here's a quick tutorial that I did to show you how.

What you will need:
  • Gloves
  • Three buckets
  • Water
  • Bleach
  • Vinegar
  • FLANNEL/PLAID SHIRT!
  1. Fill the first bucket with water.
  2. Fill the second bucket with a solution of 1:1 water and bleach.  I did about 3-4 cups of each because I only wanted about 1/4 of my shirt bleached.
  3. Fill the third bucket with 1:1 water and vinegar.  The vinegar will stop the bleach from seeping further up.
  4. Dip your shirt into the bucket of bleach-water solution.  You should almost immediately see the color begin to change.  Continue to submerge your shirt until you reach the level you want your bleach out to end.  *Again I only wanted to do about 1/4 of my shirt.
  5. Wring out the bleach area - be careful not to touch the other areas as it will begin to fade the color. And dip into the bucket of water only.  
  6. Wring out again and now dip into your bucket of vinegar-water solution.
  7. Wash and dry as normal and ENJOY!
OPTIONAL: For some extra artsy points, dip your your gloved fingers into the solution and flick on  the top portion of your shirt.  It will create small bleach bubbles/circles.