Reverse Dying Black with Bleach

blackcottonshirtreversedyed1.jpgAs you may or may not know, I am not a huge fan of wearing black. I am, however, a huge fan of really cheap, natural-fiber clothing that fits fabulously.

Enter Contemporary Dyecraft: Over 50 Tie-dye Projects for Scarves, Dresses, T-shirts and MoreDye Craft Books).  This book explains simply how to use bleach to transform black clothing into a warmer and lighter neutral shade, similar to tie-dye.  Pictured here:  my first attempt.  (The shirt was 99 cents at Value Village; 55% cotton/ 45% tencel, it was faded-out solid black and features black stitching and a side zipper.)

This concept has tremendous potential!  For those on a budget, black clothing is abundantly available at thrift; for bleaching, who cares if it’s faded-out?  If the look were perfect for one’s idiom and lifestyle, indeed, an entire wardrobe could be built around this one look.

Have you ever purposely used bleach to transform a garment? 

dye craft books)

4 thoughts on “Reverse Dying Black with Bleach”

  1. with not good results. But this is wonderful. So tawny. We have very hard water here
    and cannot normally use bleach in laundry or to, say, clean a bathtub. It interacts with
    the high amount of iron in the water. Things become pink-y.

  2. You’ve just given me the inspiration to try this on a shirt I was going to toss out for being too contrast-y.

  3. Amy – actually you inspired me! lol. Can you tell I was thinking about your desire for a limited color pallette? Hope it goes really well!

  4. I have re-dyed blacks ‘really black’ this successfully. Working with dye can be messy though, and can alter the hand of the piece.

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