Hello again lovely ladies. My first project is Bleach pillows, but don’t let the title full you . This method can be used on any cloth material that bleach reacts with. Such as t-shirts, bags, bandanas, etc. In addition you don’t have to use it just on black either. Feel free to use on any color that can be bleached out. Use those awesome imaginations I know you have.

The first thing you need to do before you get started is gather your materials. You will need:

A Spray bottle filled with ¾ bleach and ¼ water

Freezer paper (Can be found at most grocery stores) cut down to

Scissors

X-Acto knife

Iron (preheat before starting)

Gloves are optional

First Step:

Cover your Project table to keep it from being ruined, and yes I speak from experience. Let’s not SPEAK of that dark day. Theses days I usually use plastic wrap, but wax paper, cardboard, or old newspapers can also be used.

Second Step

Here comes the hard part for me. Decide what design or words you want on your project. Once decided you can either free hand it or use a printer to put it on your freezer paper. Which ever way you go make sure the design is on the dull side of the paper. The shiny side will be the side adhered to the pillow case. Usually when printing you’ll place the shiny side up in your printer so that it prints on the dull side. Also if you are using a black material it will be easier to see it against the black background if you print it in gray scale or color.

Third Step

Cut your Design out. You can use scissors or the X-Acto knife depending how intricate the design is. BE CAREFUL. Scissors and X-Acto=Sharp. Yes I Have experience here as well. But my Hello Kitty Band-Aids are pretty.

Fourth Step

Position the design on your pillowcase . Once it is in the spot you want, take your iron and press down on the design for 5-10 seconds. Just long enough that it sticks. If you do it to long the freezer paper can become very difficult to remove. Warning HOT. No explanation needed.

Fifth Step

Grab your Bleach/Water spray bottle and begin to spray. You just want to give it a few sprays, you don’t want to soak it. The idea is to still see black through parts of the bleached area. Let it set for a minute or two, long enough that you can see a difference in color. Once you wash and dry it, it will be much lighter then you expect.

Sixth Step

Wash it with cold water. You can either use your washing machine or wash it out in the sink. If you use a washing machine remove the letters before throwing it in. If you use the sink you only need to wash it for a few minutes. Long enough to get the bleach out. Most likely in this process the letters will begin to fall off. Go ahead and remove them. Once done washing you will notice it may look like you can’t see a difference in the bleached part and the unbleached part. DON’T FREAK OUT. It is just because the material is wet. Once dried it will be fine

Seventh Step

Dry

Once dried you pillow case is done. However if you would like to add more to the project, such as adding a an actual picture feel free. My favorite is to use Avery’s Dark T-shirt transfers. They are very simple and come with complete instructs on how to use. I have added a link to my you tube video that shows my bleach process as well as an example where I used the t-shirt transfers. Remember all you need is imagination.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKZuPwbdvzw

Written by: Anglhededhpster on 2010/08/31.
Last revised by: theboondockbetties on 2010/09/29.