How to Bleach Pants

Clorox Bleach Pen

Are you tired of paying $100, or even more for a pair of jeans? With just a few simple household products and some regular bleach, you can easily create your own designer looking jeans. Here is a quick and easy way to get bleach pants to have that designer jean look, without the designer jean price.

Things You'll Need

• A good pair of dark colored jeans
• Bleach
• Bleach Pens
• Paint Brush
• Spray Bottle
• Stencils
• Rubber Gloves
• Dingy Clothes

Instructions

How to Bleach Pants

1. Go through your closet and look for that perfect pair of jeans. You can really use any wash or color, but the darker the color, the more dramatic your final look will be. If you really want to you can buy a pair of jeans specifically for this project, but either way a good run through the washer is a necessity before you begin. For your bleach solution, fill a bucket (those big ice cream tubs work great) half-way full of water and put in 2 cups of bleach.

2. Now that you have your freshly washed and dried jeans and your bleach solution prepared, it's time to make a game plan. Do you want to go for the "modern art" look and just randomly splash bleach everywhere? Or, do you want to go for the professionally designed look? If you are looking at the latter, you will want to take a quick run to your local craft store (or even your local Wal-mart) to pick out stencils and grab a couple Clorox Bleach Pens. If you want to just go with the flow and go modern all you will need is a spray bottle and a paint brush.

3. For the modern art look, lay out either a plastic tarp or newspaper on your work surface. Place your jeans in the middle of the work surface and let the creative juices start flowing. There are essentially two main methods for this look. The first is to take a paintbrush and dip it in the paint solution. Then you just flick the bleach off the brush onto the pants. Be extremely careful to direct the bleach forward onto the jeans and not backwards into your face (if you have safety goggles around, I would recommend wearing them). You can also fill a spray bottle with 3/4 water and 1/4 bleach to spray the jeans. Adjusting the nozzle can either give you an extreme blast of white, or you can adjust it to mist to give it more of a weathered look.

4. To achieve the designer look, just like for the modern look, you will need to first cover your work surface. Next, using masking tape, tape your stencil to the jeans where you want the design to go. To keep the bleach off the rest of your jeans use newspaper around the outside of the stencil. Take a spray bottle that is 3/4 water and 1/4 bleach and spray the area you want to be bleached out. You can also use a sponge, but be careful as this method - just like with paint - can cause bleeding to occur outside the stencil. Repeat this process as many times as you want until you have achieved your desired lightness. You can also draw your own designs by using a Clorox Bleach Pen.

5. Add finishing touches. If you really want that designer look, take a sponge and wipe it down the seams and around the pockets and belt line. Be careful not to use too much of the solution or you could over-bleach the material. You can always use the spray bottle and lightly spray the pockets and legs to give it more of a weathered wash.

6. You do not want the bleach to sit on the jeans for more than about 5 minutes. Once you have bleached your jeans put them in the washer by themselves on a normal cycle (without detergent). Machine Dry and you should have a great pair of designer jeans that you can be proud of, without breaking the bank.

Tips & Warnings

• Cookie Cutters can work well as stencils, as long as you hold them down well while spraying your bleach solution.

• If you want that worn tattered look, take a cheese grater and run it over the pockets or knees or wherever else you feel the need to.

• Make sure you are wearing clothes that you don't mind getting bleach on since bleach will bleach anything it spills on, not just the jeans.

• Don't ever mix pbleach with anything but water! Toxic fumes can develop if mixed with household products like Windex.

• Always wear rubber gloves, as prolonged contact with the bleach solution could burn your skin.