Bleach and DecoArt Dyed T-shirts for Father's Day

Every year for Father's Day, I try to do something fun and unique for my husband to show him how much we appreciate his love, support and encouragement. This year I decided that I wanted to make Mr. Men t-shirts for him, and....well...they didn't really turn out how I had envisioned.

Materials:
Tshirts
SoSoft fabric paint
Spray bottle
Bleach
Vinegar
Bucket

First, pick up some tshirts at Old Navy. I chose to get a black one, charcoal one and an aqua one. I loved the colours and thought that once the  SoSoft paint and bleach got on the fabric, that it would make for some really interesting colour combinations.

Next, I filled a small tupperware container with water and added in my SoSoft paint. It acted exactly as I had hoped, and dyed small areas of the tshirts. This will impact how to bleach saturates and transforms the fabric later.

Let dry.

Now, this is the step that I messed up on. If you are going to put a silhouette over an area of the tshirt before you spray the bleach, make sure that the design is on cardboard. I printed my images on regular paper, and sadly the bleach bled right through.

That being said, in a well ventilated area {I used the garage} carefully pour bleach into your spray bottle. Spray over the tshirt and watch the magic. Spray more on areas that you want to saturate and distort a little more.

I love the way that the bleach resisted on the areas that were first painted with the SoSoft paint. It gave almost a nebula effect to the shirts, which was a happy accident when I realized that the Mr. Men images didn't turn out so well.

After you are happy with your bleach saturation, dunk your shirts in a basin of vinegar and let sit for a few minutes. This will neutralize the bleach and the colour of your shirts will start to appear.

Toss in the washer, followed by the dryer and you're all set!

While the shirts didn't turn out as I had hoped, I am still really excited to give my Hubs his new nebula tee's on Father's Day!