Valentine's Bleach Dyed Hoodie
This Valentine's Bleach Dyed Sweatshirt is made using a cute wooden heart from Hobby Lobby and is super easy to make!
Ingredients
- Wood Heart Cutout
- Sweatshirt cotton or cotton/poly
- Washable Adhesive Spray like basting spray or gluestick
- Spray Bottle
- Bleach
- Cardboard
- Large trash bag or plastic tablecloth
Instructions
- Spray the back of the wood heart with basting spray or other washable adhesive spray until it is slightly sticky to the touch. If you don't have basting spray, you can use a glue stick instead. See note.
- Place a piece of cardboard inside the sweatshirt to protect the back (or front) of the shirt from the bleach spray. Ideally, the cardboard should be big enough to fill the entire shirt. Place the shirt down on a trash bag or something else that will protect the surface in a WELL VENTILATED area (outside is best as long as it isn't windy). Place the sticky side of the wood heart down on the shirt, pressing down to make sure it is well adhered.
- Make sure the spray nozzle on your spray bottle is turned so you get a fine mist (test this with water). Mix 1 part water and 1 part bleach in the bottle and begin spraying it over the heart. I started by spraying inside the heart, then sprayed around the outside of the heart, trying to move around the heart in an even circle. You only need to get the fabric lightly wet, so DO NOT soak it with the bleach water. If you do you will ruin your shirt because the bleach will begin to leak under the heart.
- Bring your sweatshirt inside and let it dry - you can use a hairdryer to dry it more quickly. Once it is dry you will be able to see the fabric around the heart has gotten lighter. Gently pull the heart off the sweatshirt to reveal the design.
- Rinse the sweatshirt in cool water for a few minutes. Then wash in a washing machine to remove all the bleach and adhesive. Dry in the dryer (or hang dry) then it's ready to wear!
Notes
Using washable adhesive spray is the easiest way to do this craft and will give you the cleanest lines in your design. You can find basting spray or washable adhesive in the craft or sewing sections of most large stores. However, if you don’t want to purchase that, you can use a glue stick instead. For best results, lightly rub the glue stick over the entire back of the wood sign to make sure it will stick to the shirt. I found it was easiest to use one of the purple glue sticks so you can see whether you’ve covered the entire area. Wipe off any little globs of glue that get stuck along the edges of the wood sign before placing the sign down on the shirt. Continue following the directions above.
This craft is pretty easy, but since you are using bleach to “dye” the shirt it’s hard to predict *exactly* how it will turn out. If you have a particular result in mind, you may want to experiment on some old shirts first.