Whether it be shibori or with bleach, warm weather brings out our utmost desire for tie dying – especially when it comes to bleaching as working outdoors for this project is a necessity. Inspired by Isabel Marant‘s tie dyed sweatshirts, shirts and jeans, we grabbed our favorite denim shirt and a bottle of Clorox for one of our favorite summertime projects.
You’ll need:
- a denim shirt
- bleach
- rubber bands
- rubber gloves
- plastic container
If the shirt hasn’t already been pre-washed, run it through the washing machine first. Start binding the sleeves first. There is no right or wrong way to do this but try to keep it somewhat in an accordion-like fold so the exposed areas stay consistent.
After the sleeves are tied, crumple the body of the shirt. Bundle and reinforce with extra rubber bands.
Pour 3 quarts of bleach and 3 quarts of water into a plastic container. Using rubber or plastic gloves, place the shirt into the bleach mixture.
Let the shirt sit for approximately 15-20 minutes. If the shirt isn’t completely submerged, give it about 15 minutes on each side. Watch it carefully after the first 15 minutes – as soon as the color starts to lighten, remove it from the bleach. Snip off the rubber bands and rinse thoroughly with water.
Throw it in the dyer and your denim tie dye shirt is ready to wear!
(Paige Paloma Leggings $299, Madewell Denim Shirt $78; all images by HonestlyWTF)
I LOVE IT. So creative!! I want tomake this too <3
That does look pretty awesome.
Thanks for the idea guys!!
xoxo
~Natasha Fatah~
~Natasha Fatah~
Ha! I used to do this when I was in high school {I had tie-dyed overalls & a denim jacket too}. Love that its coming back!
http://aclosetintellectual.blogspot.com/
love love love this! great idea!! so cute on you!
xoxo Meagan
caseofcouture.com
It turned out amazing, great job! 🙂
xoxo
Fashion Agony blog
I remeber how I did such stuff when I was younger, man that was fun.
Nice idea how you use that old method to make such a modern piece of clothing.
Three Angles
want! must trye this one something
I have to try this with a denim dress I recently got! Thanks!!!
Pssst: Check out my giveaway
xoxo
http://touchkajal.blogspot.ch/
What a cool tutorial and shirt, Nice Way to upcycle the denim. Have a wonderful Day!
This looks amazing, I want to try this so badly!! xx
Love it, beautiful!
http://aurelieandangelo.com/
WIF Great Idea!! Totally brings me back to grade school…love it!
xox
amanda
http://www.lovenycstyle.com
I love it! It looks like the sun is hitting you through the trees with patches of light. So pretty!
Genius!
http://celerycarrotonion.blogspot.it/
This bleached denim look is really trending right now, looks really summery
When I first saw this post I thought those were shadows! Love this.
Collections
love it!! 🙂
xo, Hanna
http://whoishanna.blogspot.fi/
GOnna give this a try!
backtofive.blogspot.com
Genius. Of course, bleach the denim, how did I not think of this before? On the other hand, bleaching my favorite denim shirt sounds scary, I think I’m going to have to go shopping for a new one and bleach that. Maybe chambray would work too…
http://nomadic-d.blogspot.com/
The shirt turned out great!! At first I thought you where standing in the shade of some tree and the sun was creating this pattern!! looks amazing! 🙂
xo Andrea
Wonderful and Marvelous
the effect of this DIY is cool! definitely have to try this 🙂
http://style-xyz.blogspot.com/
The post is awesome!
ilaktionova.blogspot.com
Love that. Totally fun!
VERY cool. Looks badass.
Kate
http://www.thrillofthechaise.com
I loved this DIY!
look my new DIY “Neon Rope Necklace”: http://detrasdellabial.blogspot.com.es/2012/06/diy-neon-rope-necklace.html
xoxo
I love this – looks awesome! xo
Such a cool DIY – Definitely trying this!
x
http://www.iloveublank.blogspot.com
This turned out beautifully! And I am definitely feeling you, hard not to want to bleach (and also to distress, in my case) this summer!
Paola
http://www.ThePvdHJournal.com
I recently posted about my love for tie dying with bleach! Love your post and love that we love similar things!
Liz@ http://www.thelvibe.blogspot.com
Great DIY post as always! The process of it looks fun to try. xoxo
http://www.hellohellofriday.com/
it seems like this trend has been in style forever, but i still love it!
xxx
http://www.anabstractnoun.blogspot.com/
came out great!
This is brilliant! not I have something to do this weekend!
So beautiful!
xx
biskvittka.blogspot.com
I love it! It really turned out amazing. I think I have a pair of shorts I will test this on 🙂
http://www.stylingmylife.com
I’m becoming such a huge fan of tie dye, but I don’t know if I can part with my perfect chambray shirt!
Great idea! we love this!
Great DIY!
XO
awesome!
It came out really well! I love the shibori DIY! – Aliya:)
http://marantphiles.com
absolutely great!
http://www.rollolollo.com
Great idea! I’m so bored of my denim shirt
p.s. HAPPY JUBILEE!!!
Please take a look at my fashion illustrations and art at:
http://aliceauxpaysenchantes.blogspot.co.uk/
This turned out awesome! Looks great
FYI– the bleach will continue to eat away at the fabric if you do not neutralize the bleach when you are “done”. A simple way to neutralize the bleach at home is pour Hydrogen Peroxide over the entire affected area. Swirl it around, make sure it has covered and penetrated all bleach areas well. Then wash and dry the shirt regularly. Preferably alone at first so any stray bleach does not ruin anything else. If you don’t neutralize the bleach, sooner than later you will have huge holes in you shirt from where it has eaten the fibers. Not to mention, you also don’t want the residue of bleach rubbing against your skin for prolonged periods of time. Always wear gloves and cover your mouth and nose with a bandanna or mask, the bleach is toxic to breathe in and absorb through your skin!
i keep telling myself, i must try tie dye… and i’ve yet to do it! thanks for reminding me yet again!
january, x
jessicajanuary.com
Awesome Idea!
Great Job!
Awesome Idea!
Thanks for sharing!
smtownsnsd.com
Awesome! I want to do this to a pair of jeans
http://youngandimpressionablee.blogspot.com.au/
xx
wow this is perfect! And I’m SO into bleaching things these days, can’t wait to try this out!
XO Sahra
EffortlessCool
this is so neat-o! I cant wait to try it!
~Amy
http://www.LadyMockingbird.com
I love this tutorial! Wonderful idea!
Kate {Something Fabulous}
http://thesomethingfabulous.blogspot.com
Pretty! I am making a DIY bleached ombre denim shorts, post coming up soon at http://www.bargainblabber.blogpspot.com 🙂
this is cool, i think im going to try it
NICE OUTFITTTT 😉
VISIT http://www.trendactually.blogspot.com
thank you
xxxx
very cool!!
http://bonnieclydemarni.blogspot.gr/
I think of “tie dye” for a long time by now… This is a very nice outcome!!
http://lovelittlelulu.blogspot.com/
worked out well, looks like the sun is shining through trees on the denim shirt
This looks stunning! I will definitely try this!
http://fashiioncarpet.wordpress.com/
http://fashiioncarpet.wordpress.com/
http://fashiioncarpet.wordpress.com/
Wow! Love it!
You have been great! I love the result! My DIY this week is a jacket inspired by one of Giambattista Valli. I leave the link and I hope you like! http://www.desdetenerifeconamor.com/2012/06/diy-giambattista-valli-jacket.html
Great! Loving this – would surely try it out too!
Love this shirt looks great!
great idea:))
my DIYs —–> http://gkdone.blogspot.com/
I loved it !!!!
Take a look on my blog, I’m posting looks, windows and tips from Los Angeles :
http://www.thegavlaks.com
Awesome!! I LOVE IT!!
This is gorgeous! Great job! I will be sharing this info. @chidenim
So cool! I love how it looks like you’re standing in dappled sunlight.
Love this! You always have such great DIYs!
looks so good! it almost looks like the trees are casting shadows on it
thanks for inspiration <3
mine doesn’t seem to be changing in the bleach/water… any tips?
I dyed my denim shirts. It turned out amazing but now they stink very much 😀
Alwaysss inspired by these projects!! Check out my DIY: Dip Dye shorts on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/zuuzstyle?feature=mhee
SUBSCRIBE 🙂
this is like totally hawt! ur gorg! show us them butts
I did this, & I left in the bleach a little too long, so its like super bleached w/ slight blue denim spots, but I think it looks even better!! Oh, & does anyone know how to get the bleach smell out of it? Thanks! 🙂
Me encanta la mpdelo hasta el punto que si no la veo
perfect!
my DIYs ————> gkdone.blogspot.com
Super idea:))
Omg thats so freking awsome !
I thought they were shadows as well, i liked the original shirt, not sure about tie dye
Just FYI to people wanting to work with bleach: bleach will not stop working on your fabric just because you washed it out. It continues to slowly affect your fabric unless you use some sort of chemical to neutralize it chemically. Anti-Chlor is probably cheapest if you are using it often but there are alternatives. For more information: http://www.pburch.net/dyeing/FAQ/neutralizingdischarge.shtml
Beautyfull
http://www.modaliving.com/
I wish my mother gaved me permission to do that its awesome
=(
Fabulous tutorial!!! I hope you don’t mind that shared this link in my recent post. I thing is the clearest tutorial to show my few readers.
Mysmallwardrobe.com
Looks like some kinda acid wash to me…not really tie dye…the blue needs to be lighter and the patterns need to look more like tie dye design versus splotches imo…tweaked and this could be on fleek X-)
I want to tie dye a long denim dress. any suggestions on how to go about doing that?
I would just follow the instructions but be careful as bleach is very strong and can potentially make holes in your denim depending on how thick it is. I would try a diluted solution of bleach and water or just monitor the dye process carefully and not leave it in the bleach for very long.
I’m in love with those bell bottoms
You may find that not all denim will bleach as easily since some are heavy in polyester nowadays. Test in a spot that does not show. I found that the ones without polyester did bleach best.
https://www.madebybarb.com/2017/07/24/diy-denim-reverse-shibori/