Fun with Bleach

My neighbor asked me to take pictures of the process, so I decided to turn it into a tutorial.  For a birthday present, we bleached a t-shirt.  On purpose.  (How many have I ruined on accident with bleach?)

First, start with freezer paper.  It has plastic on one side, paper on the other.  We used the number 7 as our stencil, but you could use anything!

 Cut out a piece of freezer paper the size of your stencil.  Put them both on a lighted table.  What?  No lighted artist's table?  Me either.  I just held them up to a window to trace.

Cut out your stencil then iron it onto your fabric.  Dry heat for about 20 seconds, until the plastic is fused to the fabric.

Because the shirt was ringed, and I wanted the color to stay true around the neck and sleeves, I covered the rings with tape.  Then give a spray bottle of full-strength bleach to your child and let them squirt away.

Once the shirt is drenched with bleach, pull off the freezer paper.  Toss the shirt in the washer.

Last year for John Isaac's 6th birthday we made a bleached shirt.  A few years ago, I used freezer paper to make some art for John Isaac's room.  It's a fun, cheap way to decorate - or make a shirt.

-Julie