DIY Striped T-Shirt in 3 Easy Steps

Jun 11

Tutorials

Barton Damer gave us permission to repost his handy DIY guide on making a striped t-shirt in your own backyard with just a spray bottle, duct tape, some bleach, and some good ole American ingenuity.

This weekend I had some fun with duct tape and some bleach making this tee shirt design. Check out these 3 easy steps. If you decide to make your own version, come back to this post and leave us a Flickr link to check out a photo of what you did!

Step 1

Use duct tape to mask off your design onto a dark colored tee. I decided to make stripes on a black tee.

Step 2

Spray your t-shirt with a bleach/water mixture. I used 70% bleach and 30% water. Let your shirt dry after you spray it to your liking.

Step 3

Wash and wear your tee. Easy as 1, 2, 3!’

DIY t-shirts in 3 Steps

Go Media is a creative agency based in Cleveland, Ohio. Besides the GoMediaZine, we also work for clients and sell stock artwork and design files on the Arsenal.

bleach, distressed, DIY, t-shirt

This post was written by:

Barton Damer - who has written 6 posts on GoMediaZine.


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  • Would the effect be different if the shirt has a different color? say, blue? :]
  • bravetheago
    I guess I'm a little late posting, but I made a couple to shirts using the technique and they turned out great, especially for a first try. Just used a little bit of spray adhesive and acetate...

    http://www.bravetheago.com/blog/?p=148

    Thanks for this one!
  • Embo
    (: thanks i'm wearing one now.

    it isn't weakened by the bleach.. it's great!

    i'm going to do another now.. haha
  • fred
    I spray on hydrogen peroxide as a 'stop bath' to kill the bleach, this allows you to control how long the bleach works as well.
  • Thanks for the advice...
    But could you also tell me how to build a time machine so I can beam back to 1993 when these nasty looking T-shirts were cool. Who the >*&% whats to wear a tie dyed Tee.
  • 2HARD2BSOFT
    Just made these tonight. Didn't have a plan before we made them but they still turned out awesome.

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/36546799@N03/36381...
  • That's pretty sweet!
  • wowww!!! i like that... maybe i should try!!!
  • Thanks Guys! I tried out this technique last night and it worked out amazingly. Check out photos here - http://twurl.nl/wjllxa
  • Wow! That's some intricate bleaching/taping. Turned out great!
  • That's gnarly!
  • Awesome! I'm totally going to try this!
  • em
    ive done this before but i used ceder branches just layed over top of the shirt and it looked amazing
  • Cool, I will remember this next time I want to dress up like Dennis the Menace!
  • Could you use a different ratio of bleach to water to get lighter or darker stripes?
  • Good stuff. I remember this from junior high.

    You have essentially shown how to make a positive and a negative.

    How about doing it with some nifty stencils? that would be cool.
  • This would be so cool to use with a hand drawn stencil. Thanks, man. Totally gonna do this!

    The web needs more simple DIY stuff like this. They're so practical and engaging.
  • I suggest cutting a stencil design in an acetate sheet and then, using a light layer of spray glue, pressing it onto the shirt. I made a bad-ass t-shirt to wear to a show two years ago this way! :) Still have it, too... still in pretty good condition. If you don't go heavy on the bleach mixture, it won't eat through the shirt.
  • poopoojones
    freezer paper FTW, iron it on an just peel it post bleach
  • SA
    Very Cool !!!!
  • i love things that can be done with stuff found around the house !! :) nice job
  • The bleach can weaken the fabric if you use an excessive amount. I would not recommend trying to get down to a really white shade. Mine was a light splattering that only slightly removed the color. I've washed and worn it many times. I used an American Apparel tee.
  • Evilis
    A much more in depth tutorial is available here:

    http://www.stencilrevolution.com/forum/index.ph...
  • Wow this is pretty cool! Will definitely have to try this. I wonder how the bleach will change colors on other color shirts?
  • Alice
    Wouldn't the bleach weaken the fabric? It's a cool idea, but don't expect the t-shirt to have a very long lifespan...
  • LainieP
    you can use electric dishwashing liquid with a paint brush. It won't damage the fibers as much, you can leave it on for up to an hour!
  • It would probably weaken it, but it's not a big deal. You might get holes in it, but just makes it that much more hip.
  • Yes, the bleach weakens the fabric. I would recommend using a discharge waterbased ink with a handheld heat gun to activate the discharge agent. (~250 degrees)
  • Mini Clover
    Considering you can buy these shirts cheap at a craft store it's not that big of a deal. Can't wait to try this!
  • Marcus X
    That's sick!!! Ugggh!!! Love it!!!
  • oh that's not to bad looking; i might try this with different designs
  • That's cool :-)
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