So I bleached some jeans. And they turned out aweeesooommmme! After skulking around the internet for ages reading tutorials, I finally decided to make up my own way of jean bleaching. All the tutorials I could find involved buckets of bleach or elastic bands for a tie-dye look, but I was convinced I could get the look i wanted without a bucket or elastic bands.
If you attempt this easy-as-pie project you'll need a few things:
bleach (of course)
rubber gloves
garbage bags/newspaper (something to lay down underneath what you're bleaching)
a plastic cup
jeans
notes:
do this outside. it smells gross (kind of like the pool at the community centre times a MILLION).
wear clothes that you won't mind getting a little bleach on.
PRE-BLEACH
i dabbed a bit of bleach on the inside waistband of the jeans and left it for 5 minutes to see how long they would need. the length of time you leave the bleach on your jeans will depend what kind of wash your jeans already have. mine were pretty dark, so it took an hour in full to bleach them. during the entire hour of bleaching, i
STEP ONE
first thing i did was lay the jeans out flat on the ground (on top of garbage bags). to get the look i acheived, i reached my arm down one leg and pulled them up my arm so that they were bunched up about half as long as they originally were. repeat with leg 2. i turned the legs slightly around (so that the outside seam was facing more towards the sky- but just slightly) because i wanted more bleach on the outsides than on the inside. the butt of the jeans remains flat on the ground.
STEP TWO
grab your plastic cup, (i used quite a small one) and fill it with bleach. what i did was pour the cup of bleach down the length of each leg, focusing on the outside seam. some of the bleach runs off the jeans completely and most of it gathers in puddles on the jeans. i also tossed some bleach around the waistband and pockets hapazardly. i left them for about 10 minutes (checking back every few minutes. basically hovering over them the entire time, afraid they would turn white instantaneously!)
STEP THREE
at this point i turned the legs around even more and focused on the back of the jeans (still keeping them bunched up). i poured more bleach down the length of each leg. i also picked up the jeans at the waistband (while leaving the legs on the ground) and tossed a bit of bleach on the back pockets and left that part to sit in a puddle of bleach that formed on the garbage bags. i left the jeans this way for 10 minutes, then picked up the jeans and stretched them out flat on the ground (at that point you can turn the jeans around a few times and see if there's anywhere you missed). i then left them for 20 minutes.
at this point, it may be good to start up your washing machine and throw some soap in so it will be ready as soon as the hour is up.
STEP FOUR
after the 20 minutes was up i went back, bunched them up again and poured bleach down each leg and left them bunched up for another 20 minutes. as you'll notice in the pictures, there is a bit of a two-tone affect (some super-white bleached parts, some less so). if you just want one shade of bleached-ness, stop at step three.
they were turning a bit yellow at this point, but rest assured when they come out of the washer they are white as snow.
STEP FIVE
throw (or 'place') your jeans in the washing machine.
IN A NUTSHELL: bunch up your jeans. throw some bleach on them. leave for an hour. wash.
studded tank - primark
cardigan - h&m
jeans - h&m + diy bleached
shoes - converse
i am so happy with the completed project and i hope it helps out some other DIY-ers out there. if you use this method i would love to see your results...