Thursday, May 22, 2014

Denim Bleaching DIY {for YOU mag}

{jacket & dress - St. Vinnys (thrifted), jeans - Forever 21}

Hello friends! Our latest issue of YOU mag hit stands yesterday so I thought I'd share the style feature with you today. It's a DIY this time and I put together a tutorial on how to bleach denim and make it fresh and new again for summer, one of my favorite beachy looks for the blazing summer air. It's a really fun experiment really and best achieved on a old something or other, just in case of a mishap. The good news is this, if you make a mistake it's not all over. You can continue on with the dipping and dying to create a really cool ombre effect (my personal fave) or instead, immerse the entire piece of clothing for a complete white out. So here we go!
Supplies:

-  Denim of choice. For this DIY I selected 3 pieces. A denim dress, cut from its original longer length, a denim jacket, and a pair of full length jeans that I cut into shorts.
-  Clorox Bleach
-  Gloves
-  Ruler or skirt hanger
-  Bucket or deep sink
Directions for dip dying:

1. Grab your denim! I suggest starting with a pair of shorts, perhaps even an old pair of “blah” jeans that you can freshen up for summer, cut to your desired length. Just be sure to use a sharp scissors.
2. Pop on a pair of gloves to protect your skin.
3. Mix two parts water to one part bleach to create your bleach solution.
4. If you’re working with a bucket, try threading a ruler through the belt loops of your shorts to suspend them over the bucket while dipping just the ends. If you’re using a sink, try hanging them from the faucet on a skirt hanger (folded over at the waistband to shorten the length if need be).
5. Dip the shorts into the liquid, immersing to the length you desire. You’ll notice that the bleach will run slightly so try to leave an additional inch out of the solution. Soak your denim for approximately 30 minutes or longer, depending on how dark the original color is.
6. Once the bleach has whitened your shorts to the shade you like best, remove them from the solution, wringing them out carefully (grab those gloves) and finally hanging them to dry.
7. Wash and dry your newly bleached denim alone for that first time and then they’ll be safe to include in regular loads for future washes.
Fun Tricks and Helpful Hints: 
If you’re going for an ombre look, simply repeat steps 5 - 7, lowering your denim just a little more into the solution while cutting the bleach time to ensure a less faded color. Repeat again for a third shade of blue, again cutting the bleach time and eventually creating just a slightly lighter blue shade from your original color, one that will fade out effortlessly into a stark and clean white. If you desire an entire white out, as I did with the denim jacket, place the entire piece into the bleach immersing it completely. Here’s the best part, if you’re less than impressed with your attempt at this DIY fashion statement, don’t worry! You can repeat this process a couple of times, creating a color and fade that you’re most happy with. 
And there you have it. Now grab your supplies and give it a try. I'd love to see your results! Just post to instagram and tag me @kirstyg. Have fun!

And thanks to my beautiful sisters for being my models for this article. Mwa!

1 comment:

  1. Its really fantastic effort!! I was thinking to make my denim wears new for next summer and just in the right time you have provided me the right way and I will surely follow your way. Thanks mate :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading!
xx Kirsty

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