Bleach and Stencil T-shirt

To create this project I used:

Quilter's Freezer Paper Sheets
Cotton T-shirt
Small spray bottle
Bleach
Iron
Large piece of Cardboard
Clean rag that will not bleed color

Supply Tips:

1.  I purchased my freezer paper sheets at Hobby Lobby in the sewing department.  They were $8.95 for 30 sheets.  I like that you can run these through the laser printer.
2.  Use a small spray bottle rather than a large one meant for cleaning spray.  You will want a fine mist.

Directions:

1.  To begin, you will want to choose a stencil design.  For a first project, I would recommend you use one that you find online.  I chose one from Stencil Revolution.

2.  Print out your stencil on your freezer paper.

3.  Place the stencil on a cutting mat and use a craft knife to cut out the black sections of the template.

4.  Place a large piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt to provide a barrier for the bleach.  If you're not worried about your cutting mat, you could use it in place of cardboard.

5. Smooth out any wrinkles in the shirt with an iron.  Then, center the stencil where you think you will want it on the t-shirt. 

6.  Iron the stencil in place.

7.  Use newspaper or scrap paper to block off all the other exposed areas of the shirt around the stencil.  This will keep you from accidentally bleaching parts of the shirt you didn't mean to bleach.

8.  Spray the exposed areas of the stencil and blot with your clean rag.  Do this several times.  If the shirt does not start turning the color you want, set a 5 minute timer and check it frequently until it is reaches the desired shade.

 

 Do not over spray the stencil. The bleach will bleed under the edges of the stencil and the stencil will start to deteriorate. You can see how my bleach bled and I ended up with small bits of the freezer paper stuck to my T that were hard to remove.

 

9.  Wash your shirt and rag in hot water and dry.

Things I learned along the way:

1.  Over soaking your stencil only causes trouble.  Spray the shirt, blot the excess off the stencil and let it sit for a few minutes.

2.  Washing and drying the shirt will lighten the fabric even further, so don't panic if your design isn't quite as light as you would like it.

3.  Use a thick barrier around the edges of your stencil to protect the rest of your shirt.  This was my biggest failure.  I only used single sheets of white paper to protect the fabric and the bleach bled through the single layer of paper, leaving bleach spots where I did not want them.  Next time, I will use several layers of newspaper.