I am big on recycling my wardrobe! I mean, who doesn’t like to save money? So, instead of going out and buying a whole new shirt, why not just make one out of what’s already in your closet! This is only one of the many ways I like to get creative with my clothing! My demonstration will be completed on this old Tommy Hilfiger shirt that I wore once and never wore again. That’s a sad story for a shirt, right? I don’t remember when I cut this shirt into a crop top but, apparently I did. That’s okay, I can work with it!
Materials
- Scissors
- Black T-Shirt
- Bleach
- Spray Bottle
- Rubber Band or Twist Tie
Step 1: Creating a Pattern
So, first thing’s first you have to know what bleach pattern you would like to create. If you have nothing in mind, you could always go for the crumpled shirt pattern. You literally just crumple your shirt to create the pattern! However, for this shirt I wanted to go for a symmetrical pattern. I folded my shirt in half and began diagonally scrunching my shirt from the outside lower corners. The smaller your scrunches, the more detailed your bleach pattern will be. I didn’t define my scrunches as much because I wanted my pattern to appear more random.
Step 2: Securing Pattern
Once the shirt has been scrunched all the way to the top, you must secure it with either a rubber band or a twist tie. It is common for some to secure their shirt in the middle and also on the two ends to prevent the shirt from unraveling while bleaching and also to create a more define pattern. For this demonstration, I used only one twist tie and I placed this tie in the middle. I prefer twist ties because, from my personal experience, they are easier to use and remove. After securing my pattern, I then took my spray bottle filled with bleach and began heavily spraying my t-shirt. Afterwards, while maintaining my bleach pattern, I flipped my shirt and heavily sprayed that side as well. I then untied my shirt and folded it in half the opposite way in order to create a pattern for the back of my shirt. I repeated Steps 1 and 2, creating a full shirt pattern.
Step 3: Distress
I decided to tear a few holes around the bottom of the shirt in order to create a stringy look. To do this, I poked a hole near the bottom of the shirt, and began ripping the hole around the edge. I repeated this step four times, each time around the edge of the shirt. After ripping the holes, I then stretched the strings in order to make them roll.
Step 4: Distress (cont’d)
Being that I cut this shirt into a crop top and that it already has a fringed look, I thought it would be best that I make the sleeves look less straight-edged. In order to do this, I cut the edge of the bottom of the shirt off, not cutting any higher than the seam. This gave me a ridged look at the bottom of my sleeves. Some prefer this look, however, I prefer the rolled look. In order to create the rolled look, I simply stretched the bottom of my sleeves (where I cut the seams). I continued to stretch until my sleeves began to roll.
Well, that’s pretty much it! Of course this shirt could be distressed/bleached less or more, but that is completely up to you! This is MY final product! HCXO!
HCXO!