Bleached Flannel DIY

As soon as the weather turns (and sometimes even before it does) I go through this mental shift where I feel like I have to choose my fall wardrobe. Maaaaybe it’s because it’s an innate buried action from all the years of going back to school shopping, or maybe it’s because I finally come to the point where I have to stop wearing my shorts and tanks all the time. Either way, I know one thing that is ALWAYS part of my fall wardrobe, regardless- the Flannel shirt.

As I live in shorts and tanks in the summer, I live in Flannel shirts in the fall. I know I’m not alone in this! They’re comfortable, easy, go with everything - and forgivable. I am not huge on trends or the latest fashions which is why a flannel can seem timeless!

But even a much as love my flannels as they are, a little pizazz never hurt anyone, right?! I’ve been seeing these great bleached flannels since we opened FleaStyle - and I loved them right away. But almost always I say this to myself before I buy something (it’s verrrry philosophical…), I say, Can I make this? <— A true crafter’s brain lol. And most of the time I’m like, yeaahhh, nope can’t make it. But this time I thought, I think I can!

AND THEN I DID.

It all started when I bought this flannel for $2 dollars at the thrift store. (You’ll come to know that I really do love thrift shopping not only because it’s cheaper but also because it’s so much better for our environment and the #slowfashion agenda- but that’s for another day!) It was great except it was very RED, which meant it was the perfect top for my bleach experiment, muahahaha.

Here’s what I used and what I did:

To start off, fill your bucket with water. Don’t add the bleach yet!

I know there’s pretty much ONE way to bleach a shirt- you add water with bleach and you dunk the shirt in it. But I also know that the way you do it can give you different looks (think tie-dye shirts vs faded shirt). I wanted my shirt to not have that harsh bleached edge and instead have an ombre, slow change in color.

To do this, you first wet your entire shirt.

After it’s thoroughly soaked, take it out and add your bleach to your water. The rule goes 2 parts water for one part bleach. I had a lot of water in my bucket, so I estimated my bleach a little under. It would be best to have a little less water. Don’t add TOO much bleach, however, because it can eat at the fabric and leave little holes.

This is the kind I used.

Once you’ve added your bleach, then you can add your shirt. I wanted the top of the shirt to be the faded part, however, this is totally up to you! I have seen that most shirts have the opposite going on, with the bottom being the fade.

I dunked the shirt in where I knew I wanted the fade to start. You’ll leave the shirt in for a good 25 mins (the more intense the bleach the less time- keep on eye on it!) The longer you leave the shirt, the more fade it will have. This is up to you!

After about 30 mins, I pulled the shirt up about 4 inches and let continued to let the rest of the top half of the shirt soak.

This continued for about 2 hours, with me checking and pulling it up as I went.

After I felt like it was completely done to my liking, I thoroughly rinsed the shirt in the shower and then washed it like regular.

And tadaaa! Once dry you can really tell the difference.

I loves itttt!

Can’t wait to see what other flannel I can find to bleach! <—- I’ll try not to bleach allll of them, lol.

Whadda you think?? Will you jump on the bleach flannel trend with me?!