How to Bleach Your Denim
Bleached denim is forever coming back into style. If you want a bleached denim garment but cannot justify the expenditure, you can create the same effect at home with household bleach. By restricting certain parts of the garment and exposing others, you can create patterns with the bleach that look as accomplished as high-fashion denim. This is a resourceful way to use jeans that you stained and subsequently stopped wearing. Whether you want to breathe some new life into your wardrobe or pay homage to a designer creation, bleaching denim yourself is a fashionable way to personalize your garment.
Things You'll Need
- Rubber bands
- Fabric dye resist
- Paintbrush
- 4-gallon bucket
- 2 gallons bleach
- Tongs
- Water
- Washcloth
Instructions
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1
Prepare the denim to create your desired pattern, if you want one. Wrap rubber bands around pinched pieces of denim -- like 1- or 2-inch-long denim ponytails -- to create a circular, tie-dye effect. Paint fabric dye resist onto the denim with a paintbrush to keep specific areas dark.
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2
Crumple the denim into a ball. Place the ball in the bucket.
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3
Pour 2 gallons of bleach into the bucket. Push the denim down into the bleach with tongs.
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4
Watch the denim as it sits in the bleach so you can pull it out as soon as it reaches the desired level of discoloration. Dark, high-quality denim may take a while to lighten. Check the garment every two or three minutes, if you step away.
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5
Dispose of the bleach safely or save and reuse the bleach for other purposes.
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6
Wash the denim in a sink under cold running water to remove excess bleach. Wash the garment until the bleach odor is no longer present. Do not use soap. Remove any rubber bands. Remove any dye resist with a washcloth under the running water.
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Wash the item alone in the washing machine the first two or three times you clean the garment post-wear. Some bleach or denim dye may come out during washing. After a few solo washes, the denim should be safe for load washing.
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Tips & Warnings
Dye resist is a compound that blocks dye from a portion of fabric during a dyeing project. For example, if you wanted to leave a dark star on denim jeans, but bleach the rest of the jeans, apply resist to the jeans in a star shape to protect that area from changing color with the rest of the garment.
Wear gloves and goggles or work glasses to guard your skin and eyes during the project.
