Wednesday 16 January 2013

Bleach-Painted T Shirts



Hello Friends



Satch here – a very happy 2013 to you all! I had a bit of a crafty Christmas this year so there will be another blog or two following this one in the festive vein. I know it’s January, but let’s keep the spirit alive, shall we?



You may not be aware, but Salt, Jacklin and I have, in recent years, developed a bit of a Christmas tradition where we make presents for each other, instead of buying them. Seeing as I only became employed at the beginning of December, I was very thankful for this tradition this year and they won’t mind me telling you, I did their presents on a SUPER low budget! I nicked this idea off of another blog, but it was so cool I just had to try it and I’m quite happy with the results.


To make one of these bad boys of your own you will need:
A T shirt or Vest top 
A Large Piece of Cardboard
Clothes Pegs
Chalk
Household Bleach
A Glass Bowl
A Sturdy Paint Brush (I ruined 2 of mine doing this!) 

Start by stretching your top around the cardboard and peg it in place. This will stop the bleach from leaking through to the other side, and make it easier to do your design. Then, draw your design onto the top with chalk (which will wash off later). I had a cheeky practise with my designs on paper first. You can rub out the chalk and make changes, but too many lines makes it confusing and you don't want to make a mistake. 

Then, put a bit of bleach in the glass bowl, dip in your paintbrush and go over the design. It should only take a few seconds to come through. It's hard to get it all even so simply go over the patchy bits again until it looks how you want it. However, on Jacklin's top a few of the letters just didn't show up so I over did it and now some of them are a little bit too big: 



After you've finished bleach painting, leave it outside or in a conservatory to get some sun for an hour, so the design fully sets in, and then hand wash it. Then it should be permanent and machine-washable and everything! 

As you can see, the colour of the bleach varies depending on the colour and cotton content of the top. I did another one with a camera design for my cousin Naomi (which I stupidly wrapped up before I took a picture!) on a blue top and the camera turned out pink, but the blog I got the idea from used a blue top and the design came out white, so it's really a guessing game! But the colours are always quite complementary so it works :) 

 Look out for Salt's blog about what she made for us (we ended up with surprisingly similar ideas) and we might get Jacklin in for a guest blog so she can show off about her crafty skills (I'll give you a hint, my present involved cake and darth vader - beautiful!) 

Also, Salt and I are doing a 2013 bucket list this year, which we shall post shortly and keep you updated about our progress. It's gonna be a good year :)  

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