Our middle school has their annual “Grizzly Games” at the end of the year. It’s a big deal, and the kids always get decked out for it… including decorating their shirts.
My daughter had three friends sleep over, and they wanted me to tie dye their shirts for them… including bleach tie dye. I had never done tie dye with bleach before, and to be honest, it made me very nervous! I did a fair amount of research, and wanted to show you what I did… in case you’re in the same boat as me.
The shirt– cotton shirts tend to take the bleach better, according to my research. Darker colors will have a better contrast when bleached. Bleach tie-dye won’t work on synthetic fabrics, like polyester or silk.
Getting ready– put on some rubber gloves, wear some old clothes, and be sure to put out a blanket or tarp that you don’t care about!
Bleach mixture– mix bleach and water with a 1:1 (bleach to water) ratio. This means half of the solution is bleach, and half is water. You can decide how much you would need depending on how many shirts you are tie-dying. Put this mixture into a container that would be deep enough to cover the shirt.
*You can also use a spray bottle to spray bleach the shirt. Use the same ratio as above and spray the areas you wish to bleach.
Designs– before bleaching, use rubber bands to wrap up your shirt into whatever tie-dye pattern you want. Here are some great ideas to check out.
Tie-Dying– after putting on the rubber bands, set the shirt into the bleach solution and leave for 5-10 minutes. If you want it to be lighter, you can leave it in for up to 15 minutes. Let the shirt sit out on your blanket/tarp for 8-10 minutes. Don’t leave it out much longer than that!
Washing– Be prepared to head straight to the washing machine. Wash the shirt in warm water and detergent. *I left the green shirt out too long before washing it and the bleach made it a yellow color!
The bleach makes every shirt very unique. Check out the shirts! The two left were the bleached ones, and the two on the right were traditional tie-dye.
