DIY Network

Bleached Rocker T-Shirts Bleach pens make new T-shirts look vintage. From "Creative Juice" episode DCRJ-202L

Don't worry if you threw out all your old rock-concert T-shirts: here's how to make new ones look like you've had them forever.

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Bleached Rocker T-Shirts

Tools:

100 percent cotton T-shirt (medium to dark color, pre-washed)
clear vinyl self-adhesive shelf paper
bleach pen
permanent marker
craft knife
masking tape
folded newspaper, several inches thick

Figure A

Outined Template

1. Place a printed image or a design of your own on top of a piece of vinyl shelf paper and trace with a permanent marker (figure A). Cut out this template.

2. Remove the paper backing and stick the template down on the T-shirt in the desired position. Press the vinyl adhesive carefully to the T-shirt, making sure that there are no air bubbles or loose areas.

Stencil Template

1. Place a piece of shelf liner (vinyl side up) on top of a printed image or a design of your own. Secure the image to the shelf liner with masking tape (figure B). The image must be high-contrast black and white so that it's visible through the shelf liner. Trace the image using a permanent marker (figure C) and cut it out with a craft knife. Be sure to cut out and save any inside areas of the design.

2. Carefully peel the protective backing from the shelf paper and place in the desired position on the T-shirt (figure D). Remember to add the inside areas of the design. Press the vinyl adhesive stencil carefully to the T-shirt, making sure that there are no air bubbles or loose areas.

Figure B

Figure C

Figure D

3. Insert the stack of newspaper inside the T-shirt, separating the front from the back. This step will ensure that the bleach applied to the design does not bleed to the back of the T-shirt.

4. Using the bleach pen, trace around the edges of the outlining template (figure E). You can do a straight line or polka-dots (figure F).

5. Liberally apply the bleach to the cut-away portions of the stencil.

6. Allow the bleach to sit and soak into the fabric. You can visually see the shirt bleaching. When the shirt reaches the desired bleached amount, run it under cold water (figure G). Pull off the vinyl stencils. Wash the T-shirt in a washing machine with mild detergent to remove any residual bleach.

Figure E

Figure F

Figure G