T-shirt Designs with Stencils and Bleach (updated with robot image for download)

Make your own awesome t-shirt designs using stencils and a simple solution of bleach and water.

This project requires minimal tools, and it comes together fairly easily.

**update**
The robot stencil shown is now available for download

Enough talk, let's get started!

Step 1 Gather materials

Here's what I used for this shirt (really you can use just about anything for the stencil):

- Sharp hobby knife
- Sheets of cardboard (flattened cardboard boxes work well)
- Spray bottle (got mine from the Dollar Store, though they charged $1.67, what a crock!)
- Bleach (again Dollar Dollar, but was more. Seriously guys, change your name)
- A fun shape (any object will work so long as its silhouette is easily recognizable)
- Plain t-shirts

Mix the bleach and water 50/50, you're going to need a bit so I'd recommend a minimum of 250ml (1 cup) of each. Now is a good time to wash your shirts to get the shrinking out of the way.

Comments

[JazzCannibal]

I took your idea and ran with it into the mountains of madness... http://digitalerosion.blogspot.com/2012/02/tentacles.html And some nice happy places also... http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluebeachglass/tags/bleach/

[ComplacentBard]

Could you use fabric spray paint instead of bleach?
(i dont even know if such a product exists)

[heartart]

go to dharmatrading.com They have all kinds of fabric paints you can use in spray bottles...and you can now get spray fabric paint at Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Oh and Joanne shop. Hope this helps ya.

[thatchbigred]

I've never seen commercial fabric spray paint, but I found an idea in Family Fun magazine (June/July 2011) where you can make your own. Mix 3 parts fabric paint to two parts warm water in a spray bottle and shake to mix. Slip a piece of cardboard inside a pre-washed t-shirt to prevent paint from bleeding through to the other side. They suggested using a design cut out of Con-Tact paper. Firmly adhere to the t-shirt, especially at the edges, and smooth out all wrinkles. Spray the paint onto the fabric all around the cutout. A light spray is less likely to seep under the stencil. When the paint is dry, remove the Con-Tact paper stencil and the cardboard, then set the paint according to the label directions.

I haven't tried it yet but would like to see how it turns out. :)

[pdubs]

anyone know whatd happen if you add fabric dye to the bleach-water solution?

[scoochmaroo]

ZOMG! I LOVE MY SHIRT!!!!
pictures coming soon. . .

[grooooovy]

This is so neat!

[rix_101]

thats such a cute design ^-^

[Whales]

O_O whale.....

[krian13]

I totally stole your design for my project, but here's what I got.

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh265/dark_reaper13/017.jpg

I'm still looking for a good whale stencil or image to make into a stencil, because it looks really cool(and my last name happens to be Whalen), but the fabric paint is probably a bit out of my artistic ability....

[mikeasaurus]

Looks good so far, krian13! 

By the looks of your design and the artistic flair of the moon you're more than qualified to attempt some fabric paint, you should reconsider not using it. To give you some idea I applied the paint shown here with little effort. Some blue wave peaks and dots for bubbles, easy. Try it, it'll take your shirt to the next level I promise.

When you're done make sure to post your results here, I want to see the finished product. Good luck!

[krian13]

Sorry for the super late response, but i finished it and it turned out really good. Unfortunately, i forgot to take a picture before giving it to my ex girlfriend for her birthday, (It was kind of awesome, she asked me where I bought it. Needless to say, she was impressed) and I still haven't had my camera with me while she's been wearing it

[scoochmaroo]

I love this.
Should you ever make a brains shirt for sale, let me know.

[bngbrd]

is there set bleach solution ?bleach is some pretty scarey stuff .it`s pretty easy to go overboard with it.ayway loved your instructable.plan to try it sooooooooon.peace.

[mikeasaurus]

I agree, bleach is kinda scary stuff. While not as dangerous as some chemicals it can ruin almost any fabric it touches, so be careful! The bleach solution I used was 50% water with 50% bleach. You can play around with that ratio if you like and probably achieve some interesting results, I figured to keep it simple. Glad you want to try it out, make sure to take some photos when you are done and post them back here so we can all check out your design! Good luck!

[bngbrd]

thanks for your time.hopefully this will be a good way to sponsor our free food kitchen.peace bng brd

[jimihendrix4753]

This is pretty cool I'm going to try tie-dying with this method. To avoid underspray (Bleach under the cardboard), use some spray adhesive. It's expensive but it lasts awhile and is worth it. Good job!

[t1ber1um]

cool ! I'll try to do sth with this method (t-shirt with robot is awesome)

[cutekitten]

neat :)

[stinkymum]

Also check out
http://www.instructables.com/id/Transforming-a-boring-old-black-t-shirt-using-blea/
and
http://www.instructables.com/id/Sons-of-Boring-Black/
and
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-do-the-lightning-fold-when-bleaching-old-bl/

[DELTA3X9]

badass.......

[Illuminati]

Could you post the stencil for the robot? I'd really like to try this out.

[solo.card]

Thanks for sharing! I'm looking forwards to playing around with this!

[sheepishlion]

Mmmm! Brains! Robot good! +1 RRRRAAAAARRRR!

[DaNerd11]

This is awesome! im totaly doing the whale one, WHALES ROCK!!! SAVE THE WHALES!!!

[Shut Up Now]

this is really cool. i am going to make a shirt of the LP logo of Linkin park, my favorite band

[RFilyaw]

Hell yeah! Shave the whales!

[DaNerd11]

ahem... shave???? SAVE THE WHALES!!!

[mightywombat]

That is an excellent robot design! RAR indeed!

[lordofthedonuts]

Nice Design! I have a ton of old black T-Shirt, I'll try it soon.

[coconut guy]

nice design

[jaysbob]

haha I'll have to try this as soon as I get a chance. I've done screen printing and such in the past, but its a ton of work. this looks like something I could do in an afternoon and still get great results. thanks for sharing!

[mikeasaurus]

The best part about this method is that the results are pretty fast. Screenprinting has some huge benefits also, but there is definitly a place for this 'quick & dirty' way. I look forward to seeing your efforts!

[Pyrowuzzup]

I never thought of that. It seems to give good results. I bet you could minimize bleeding with a heavier fabric. A new tshirt might work better than a old one.

[mikeasaurus]

The shirts I used were new ones, but I thought of doing this so some shirts that I could grab at a thift store, maybe turn that thift store staple 'obligatory work team softball jersey' into something interesting.

[Weissensteinburg]

Nice! It's funny you put this up...my friend spilled some bleach on her purple jeans a few days ago, making part of them pink, so instead of tossing them, she tie-dyed them with bleach. She just wore them today, and now they look awesome.

[GorillazMiko]

That's awesome! The robot one is the awesomest, great job! +1 rating.

[solo.card]

I like a lot! Especially the robot. I think I will experiment with some cheap shirts over the weekend. :)

[TheCheese9921]

The robot one is pretty B.A., this is cool

[Kiteman]

Very nice. Where did you get the toothy robot monster thingy image? Is there a "best" fabric for this method? Oh, I think I have an old pair of jeans...