Denim is a durable, sturdy fabric that can last for years with proper care. However, over time denim can begin to look faded and worn. Bleaching is a great way to refresh denim and give it new life. However, it’s important to bleach denim properly in order to avoid damaging the fabric. We will show you the proper way to bleach a jacket and jeans in this article.
How to Use Bleach Safely
When using bleach, you should always take these safety precautions. If you’re not careful, it can cause major damage to your eyes, lungs, and skin.
Above all else, never combine bleach with any other chemicals as it may be hazardous.
Wear safety eyewear and rubber gloves as protection. Wear clothing to cover up your exposed skin as much as you can.
Make sure you have enough airflow to get rid of that awful smell! Both open windows and bathroom fans are effective.
Last but not least, it’s a good idea to practice on a hidden area of the garment before you start!
How To Lighten Jeans Or Fade Jacket With Bleach:
It is possible to use this method to give your denim a dip-dyed, tie-dyed, or super faded finish. It is the most efficient technique to significantly fade your denim. As bleach fades color and can leave permanent stains if sprayed on clothing, it is useful for lightening jeans.
What You’ll Need:
- Bleach
- Water
- A bucket
- Disposable gloves
Warning: Avoid using bleach on denim that contains a lot of elastic. The elastic will be ruined by the bleach.
Method:
- Add one part bleach to five parts lukewarm water into a bucket.
- Put on your gloves. Place your jacket in the bucket. Make sure the jacket is completely submerged in the water and bleach solution. If it isn’t, there will be patches of light and dark fabric on it. To prevent it from floating to the top, you might need to use weights.
- For a mild fade, soak the jacket for thirty minutes. Rotate it in the water every ten minutes to avoid color spots developing. If you want it lighter, soak the jacket in the liquid for a period until you have the desired shade. It typically takes three hours to make denim with a light appearance.
- Take off the jacket, empty the bucket, add water, and then re-submerge the jacket. To get rid of any bleach residue, move the jacket around in the bucket.
- Put your jacket in the washer on cold, add some detergent, and hang it outside to dry when it’s finished. Avoid drying your jacket in the sun if you don’t want it to fade anymore.
Tip: Fabric always appears darker when wet, so take the jacket out of the bleach when it is almost the color you desire and wash it in the washing machine. Make sure the water is lukewarm, or if you’re worried about shrinkage use room temperature water. If you use hot water, your jacket might shrink.
Techniques for Bleaching Denim
The most common way to bleach denim is to soak the item in a bleach and water solution. There are also techniques such as spraying, splattering, salting, and using a washing machine to produce faded patterns.
Using a Bleach Soak
The most common way to fade jeans is to soak them in a bleach and water solution. It enables you to maintain an even fading and monitor the color of the fade.
1. Set up a workspace. A bathtub or sizable basin will do. In either case, cover the surrounding floor with newspapers or a plastic tablecloth.
Activate a fan or a window. Wear rubber gloves and safety glasses and combine bleach and boiling water in equal amounts.
2. Allow your pants to sit for 30 minutes. Ensure that the material is exposed evenly and check for the colors, swish them occasionally.
3. Move the jeans into a bucket and transport them to your washing machine after carefully wringing them out over the bathtub or sink.
4. To prevent fading, wash your jeans in cool water without any detergent.
5. This technique can also fade just a section of your jeans. Place the lower leg portion of the jeans in the bathtub, for instance, to fade only the lower legs.
Using the Washing Machine
This technique is easy and safe. However, it prohibits you from monitoring how much lighter the denim becomes while being washed.
1. Pour 1/2 cup of bleach into your washing machine. Fill in lukewarm water.
2. Put the denim item in the washing machine and let it run for around 30 minutes.
3. Drain the water, and then use cool water and no detergent to run the machine.
4. Let it air dry and check the denim’s lightness of fading. To make the denim lighter, you can repeat this procedure as often as necessary.
The Spray Approach
1. To completely dampen your jeans or make an artistic design, use a spray bottle loaded with a bleach solution. Use this technique like a charm to achieve the effect of old distressed jeans! It’s also the finest method for decorating or fading a specific area of your garment rather than the entire piece.
2. Follow safety precautions, such as covering the floor and waring gloves.
3. Use a large pitcher or bucket to combine bleach and water at a 1:1 ratio.
4. Pour the mixture slowly into a sprayer. Several refills of the container are likely necessary. To prevent spills, you might want to use a funnel to pour the mixture through.
5. Place the denim item that you easily access the areas you want to lighten on your covered work table. For instance, spread out the pants’ legs flat in front of you to lighten the knees.
6. Use spray to brighten those areas of the jeans.
7. Give the clothing five minutes to sit. Then put it in a container that won’t leak and hastily take it to your washer.
8. Use cool water and no detergent to wash your denim clothing. Then let it air dry.
The Spatter Approach
The most artistic look is achieved by splattering bleach on your denim garment with a paintbrush, dropper, or toothbrush. Additionally, it’s a terrific technique to make a little portion of your clothing lighter.
1. To start, secure your workspace when using this procedure. like how TV serial killers hang plastic sheets in their eerie basements. Cordon off your workspace as you’ll be throwing bleach around.
2. Combine water and bleach in an equal parts solution.
3. Insert some newspaper inside a garment if you only want to fade the front and not the back so that no moisture seeps through the back.
4. Dip your brush into the mixture and run the bristles of it over your thumb to squirt drops of it onto denim.
5. Alternately, you may pour the mixture into a medicine dropper and use it to drip patterns onto the denim.
6. Wash your finished item in cool water and allow it to air dry, just like you would with any other method.
The Salt Approach
Check out the salt approach if you want lighter jeans without using any bleach. Although salt won’t take the dye out of denim, it will abrade the fabric’s fibers, giving the fabric a worn and distressed appearance. In the end, this may lighten the denim.
The salt approach is explained in detail here.
1. Put cool water in your washing machine.
2. Add two cups of table salt. (Normal salt will do.)
3. Allow your denim item to soak in the salt water for around 30 minutes, stirring it every so often.
4. To get rid of the salt, wash the denim item as usual.
Care Instructions for Bleached Jeans
The secret to taking good care of your bleached jeans is to take a few crucial measures the first few times you wash them. After that, you should be able to wash your jeans in a typical washing machine cycle without any problems.
After bleaching a pair of jeans, wash them in cold water without fabric softener or detergent in your washing machine. This will aid in avoiding any potential fading. Do not wash any other items of apparel in this wash!
When you’re in a rush, it’s tempting to simply dump all of your filthy clothes in the washing machine at once. You must, however, wash this particular pair of jeans separately.
Bleach is used to produce a huge range of styled denim styles. A bleach soak will produce the most consistent and even results when lightening a piece of clothing completely. Bleach can be applied with a paintbrush splatter, drops, or spray if you want a more creative appearance.