I’m ready to hop on the DIY bleach and tie-dye apparel moment that is currently trending worldwide. What about you?
Dearest D-RAVEL Traveler,
My name is Alyssa (@alyssabrascia), and I want to teach you how to make DIY bleach and tie-dye apparel. If you’ve been on Instagram, TikTok, or have even browsed online in the past three months, you’ve probably noticed the recent bleach and tie-dye phenomenon taking over the world of fashion. From Prada to Urban Outfitters, all of our clothes seem to be spotty and spunky nowadays.
For my birthday this March, my sister had ordered me a tie-dye set from Mad Love for about $130. Though we love our sky blue sets so much and arguably wear them more than we should, we realized we could replicate this same look at a much prettier price point.
Since this trend primarily blossomed during quarantine for it being an easily achievable DIY trend, I decided to try my hand at both bleach and tie-dyeing while on lockdown. I was so happy with the results and decided that it wouldn’t be fair to keep this knowledge to myself. So, while you’re home quarantining or social distancing, why not give this nostalgic trend a shot and turn something from drab to fab? Cheers to DIY bleach and tie-dye apparel!
TIE-DYE
@alyssabrascia
An ode to the ’60s has never been so chic (and easy)! Making your own tie-dyed pieces at home is simple and will save you a lot more money than buying them from a store. Why spend $65 for a pastel tie-dyed sweatshirt when you can replicate your own for less than half of the price?
You’ll need:
- Gloves (We found some cute rubber reusable gloves you might want for this project)
- A squeeze bottle—I used an old, clean NetiPot that we would have replaced anyways
- Fabric or all-purpose dye—this is the bottle I purchased to achieve my lavender look
- A white sweatshirt (or whatever you plan to dye—but make sure it’s white!)
- Rubber bands
Where:
A countertop or hard floor that you can lay down garbage bags on to protect from dye
Steps:
1) Wash first to get rid of any stains or finishes that could hinder the dye
2) Prepare dye:
- fill a squeeze bottle with hot water
- add 1 tbsp of dish soap
- add the dye slowly and stir, testing water for color on a scrap piece of light-colored or white fabric until you get your desired color
3) Screw lid onto squeeze bottle tightly
4) Twist or scrunch your garment to obtain the swirls or random placement desired (there are tons of YouTube videos and tips on Google on how to twist to obtain different designs)
- I scrunched to achieve a casual splotch look; this is the most commonly seen trend as well
5) Rubber band to hold the garment together in scrunched or twisted form
6) Start squeezing dye onto the banded clothing, front and back, until you see no white (cover your work area in garbage bags to avoid dyeing things that shouldn’t be dyed)
7) Wrap the rubber-banded garments in individual garbage bags, tie off so that no air is left in the bag
8) Let sit overnight
9) Take rubber bands off
10) Wash and dry separately from other clothing because the dye can run (regular warm wash & dry, and yes, use detergent or soap!)
You’ll never want to take off these cozy and colorful pieces, so snap some Insta pics and stunt in style with your quarantine creation!
BLEACH DYE—or the reverse tie-dye, so to speak
@alyssabrascia
You’ll need:
- Gloves (plastic or rubber work fine)
- A squeeze bottle
- Liquid bleach (I used Clorox)
- Rubber bands
- Whatever clothes you want to dye!
- I purchased this pair of black joggers to bleach
Where:
A bathroom with a shower
Steps:
1) Swirl or scrunch (I scrunched in random patterns) your garments and rubber band to secure
2) Put on gloves! We’re dealing with bleach; you can’t be too careful.
3) Prepare your bleach mixture in a squeeze or spray bottle by mixing:
- half bleach
- half water (for dilution)
4) Place your banded garments onto the shower/tub floor and begin to squeeze the bleach solution onto your garment, completely dousing it
5) Flip to the other side and repeat (get in those crevices!)
6) Let sit for 8-10 minutes
- Make sure to monitor the clothes and don’t let them sit for over 10 minutes, as the bleach can eat away at the fabric!
7) Rinse your clothing (make sure gloves are on) until the water runs clear
8) Throw in wash machine with detergent and wash however you prefer (I went with warm)
9) Dry on warm, or hang dry if the garment is more delicate
10) Wear everywhere!
Tag Us!
These bleach-dyed styles are a fun way to spice up old tees, plain sweatpants, or any piece that needs a facelift. Try this method with any cotton or cotton-blend garment (jeans turn out awesome like this) and watch your boring clothes become this season’s hottest item.
Tag us in your quarantine tie-dye & bleach apparel @the_d_ravel