Transforming a Boring Old Black T-shirt Using Bleach!

Do you have a few boring old black t-shirts that you are sick of? Here's a way to transform them into "something else". It's sort of like tie-dying, but using bleach to remove the dye, instead of adding dyes. It's also a much quicker process, which I am sure "the have-it-nows" will appreciate!

Step 1: Purloin Your Boring Old Shirt

I have kidnapped an old black shirt from my son! You can also use boring old dark blue shirts for this transformation too! It is really cool! Be sure to use 100% cotton for this. First you need to wash the shirt (for who knows what perils lurk within its folds!) Once washed you can spin it dry and you are ready to begin!

Step 2: You Are Now Spoiled for Choice...

Now that you have boring old you know what, you have so many choices ahead of you. How are you going to transform it into something amazing (with bleach.
Choice One: You can pretend you are doing a rainbow swirl tie-dye https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-tie-dye-an-old-white-shirt-or-a-new-shirt-/ and place the shirt face down, place a dowel rod in the center and twirl it anti or clockwise to achieve "pie", and put rubber bands on to hold its shape

Step 3: Second Choice

Choice Two:
You can scrunch up your shirt in an irregular pattern and then keep in shape with rubber bands back and front.

Step 4: Bullseye Choice

Third choice:Hold the shirt by its middle (back and front together) and let it free fall while you are holding the pointy end.  Then put on rubber bands round it, as many as you like and fairly tight.

Step 5: Choice Du Jour!

This is the method I quite like! Take boring old you know what and lay it face down, upside down, sideways down, any old down you like and beg borrow or steal marbles, stones, small rocks, or those litte weird glass shape things that you can buy to decorate vases or whatever! You are going to tie these into the shirt with rubber bands in either a regular or random pattern, whichever you like (by the way you can also do this with tie-dying)

Step 6: Band the Foreign Objects!

Now you have chosen your design and picked out some assorted foreign objects, start putting the marbles, etc. on the t-shirt and fix rubber bands around them. Make the rubber bands very tight and insert your marbles from both sides of the shirt as it makes a more interesting effect on the back and front. These pictures are over exposed so you can see the effect more.

Step 7: The Bleach Solution - Be Very Careful!

Prepare a mild bleach and water solution, using common household bleach. BE VERY CAREFUL, YOU ARE DEALING WITH BLEACH! Do not get bleach in your eyes or on your skin, accidental splashes rinse off immediately. Do not splash on your clothes as you will bleach them. Wear rubber gloves and old clothes (instead of old clothes you could wear a strategically adapted trash bag!) When you have mixed your bleach solution (about 1/3 bleach to 2/3rd cold tap water) place your bobbled, banded shirt into it and make sure it is completely submerged. This is the hard part, as depending on the dye used in the t-shirt when it was manufactured, there is really no hard and fast rule as to how long you should leave the shirt soaking in the bleach. I suggest that after 10 minutes, check the shirt by looking to see if it looks less black, and if there is dye in the water. It's not very scientific I'm afraid, but....... on no account get bleach on your skin or clothes.

Step 8: Yes! It Is the Same T-shirt

I have un-banded my shirt, rinsed and washed in the washing machine, and here's what it looks like. It's brown with black splodges! Now all I have to do is to tell my son what I have done with his shirt! Ooops! The last pictures in this step are of a couple of shirts I bleached last year. They were both black to start with, but the bleach has made them very different colours. They were tied in what they call "the flower fold". The first picture is of the fronts and second the backs.

If you use a dark blue shirt, you will get pink with blue splodges! With black it depends on the dye of the original garment as to whether you will get brown or grey. Bottom line, it's not boring and it's quick!

Quick Note: for more bleach dyed effects go to https://www.instructables.com/id/Sons-of-Boring-Black/