Bleaching Shirts for Sublimation or HTV: The Ultimate Guide!

Instructions

STEP 1: PREPPING AND BLEACHING T-SHIRTS

I’m using several techniques to bleach T-shirts. It’s great to have some bleached shirts on hand to decorate with HTV or sublimation! There is even a way to completely customize the bleaching over a design!

Whether you're bleaching shirts for your craft stash or to sell, bleaching T-shirts is fun!

NOTE: Before you begin it's a good idea to change into some clothes that you don't mind accidentally dripping bleach on. Gloves and eye protection are also important, as well as good ventilation and protective covering on any surfaces you don’t want to come into contact with bleach.

I also HIGHLY recommend you work outside for safety. Also be sure to wear your respirator, goggles, gloves, and apron.

Have a stack of paper towels nearby to use for spills.

Fill a bucket with a 10:1 ratio of cool water and hydrogen peroxide to safely stop the bleaching process. That means ten parts water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide. Do not use any more hydrogen peroxide than this, or you can create toxic gases that are dangerous to you and your family.

Make sure your water/hydrogen peroxide solution is enough to submerge your entire shirt. I’ve selected shirts with a high polyester count since I’m planning on sublimating them, but if you plan on using HTV to decorate a cotton blend will work well. 

Optional next step - Some shirt suppliers have swatches you can order and test with bleach, if you don't happen to have one, use a paintbrush and a drop of undiluted bleach to make a ¼” dot along the bottom inside the hem of the shirt.

Place the bleach spot in the sun and set a timer.

Watch to see how long it takes to bleach to your desired color and lightness.

I found that 7-8 minutes was sufficient with the T-shirts I used. Though different brands may yield different results so it's always best to do a spot test. Now that I know how long to bleach my T-shirt, I will try a few different methods to see their results.

Next, I'll prep the shirt and the area.

I found it easiest to use a sheet of foam board inside the shirt, but you can use an extra cardboard box cut to size or even a garbage bag. The goal is to keep the bleach off the back of the T-shirt and to ensure the bleaching is centered.


Next, I'll create a cardstock template to trace around with a paintbrush and cornstarch.

TIP: You can use any shape template you’d like. If you already have a design in mind, you can make a template from that. You can also create a square or rectangle shape for a more versatile bleached shirt.

Cut a template roughly the shape of the design, but a little bigger - I’ll use it to create an area on my shirt that I can either sublimate or apply HTV.


I will place the template on the shirt backward since the design will be mirrored. It’s important to remember this step, as the design and bleached space may not line up.


Using a small amount of cornstarch in a cup and a clean paintbrush, I traced along the outside of a template I cut out of cardstock.


Dipping my brush in cornstarch as needed until the template is outlined completely.

And then using a new, clean paintbrush to "paint" the bleach inside the cornstarch outline.


I also tried tracing with bleach around the cardstock template by itself.

I filled a second cup, about 1/4 full, with undiluted bleach and then painted it with bleach to fill it in with nice results.


Either of these methods works well to get an overall shape to the bleached area.


If you’d like to bleach the entire front of the T-shirt, using bleach in a spray bottle will quickly get the desired effect. 

For more subtle bleaching, dilute the bleach as I did in my Bleach Stencil tutorial  https://jennifermaker.com/bleach-stencil-shirt

NOTE: While technically a heat gun (on the lowest setting) or a hairdryer CAN help to speed up the bleaching process, it is NOT recommended that you heat bleach. Please read the Safety Data Sheet before working with bleach to be sure you're using it safely.

After the timer goes off, submerge your shirt in the 10:1 water/hydrogen peroxide solution to stop the bleaching process. Alternatively, you can immediately wash your shirt ALONE in the washing machine to stop the bleaching process.

Wash the shirt alone or with other bleached shirts, if you happen to be making more than one, in cool water with a mild detergent and then tumble dry on low heat.

Once they're ready, pull your shirt out of the dryer for the big reveal!

STEP 2: DECORATING BLEACHED T-SHIRTS

Add some personalization or a design to your T-shirt with HTV (iron-on vinyl) or sublimation! For help adding HTV to your bleached shirt check out my tutorial - https://jennifermaker.com/how-to-layer-vinyl-on-a-shirt

Sublimate your bleached shirt following my tutorial - https://jennifermaker.com/sublimation-t-shirt/

VARIATION: SUBLIMATE THEN BLEACH  

STEP 1: You can use my Sublimation T-Shirt design files from my resource library, Design #492.

I’m going to make the Messy Bun design, but you can use these steps for any design you'd like.

We'll print the design on good-quality sublimation paper for the best results. I’m using A-SUB paper in my Epson EcoTank with Hiipoo ink with the relevant ICC profile. You can use another combination, of course. Here is my Messy Bun design


and my "Best Mom Ever" design


I will be printing these designs on my converted sublimation printer with Google Docs. If you need help determining the size of your design and printing with Google Docs please see my helpful tutorial Sublimation T-Shirts.
Print out the sublimation image gently tearing or feathering the edges to smooth out the transition. Feathering also prevents any lines of sublimation ink that might have snuck onto the edge of your paper undetected from transferring onto your shirt.

STEP 2: PREPPING AND SUBLIMATING SHIRTS
Now, set your heat press to 385° F (196° C) to warm up.

Since sublimation produces fumes, open your windows and turn on a fan to craft safely.

I'll show you how to press a design using a Heather Irish Green 65% polyester/ 35% Cotton shirt from Hanes.

For sublimation, don’t use anything less than a 65% polyester shirt, or your ink will fade and eventually mostly disappear in the wash. High polyester shirts don't bleach as well, so this blend is best to use.


Lint roll the shirt to remove any dust or debris, which can cause strange dots and marks to sublimate onto the surface.

We’ll add a vertical crease to help center the design.

Fold your shirt in half vertically and press it for 10 seconds along the crease. When you open it up, you have a center line! This also serves as the pre-heat, removing moisture and ensuring a good transfer. Pre-heating is important for a beautiful sublimation result!


Unfold your shirt and lay it face up on the pressing area.

Slide a piece of white cardstock inside the shirt under where your design will be.

This will protect the back layer of your shirt and the pressing mat from any sublimation ink that may bleed through. Gently crease your printed design at the top and bottom of the paper. Don’t fold through any of the printed images!
These creases will help us center it on the shirt.


Since I’m making a crew neck T-shirt, the top of the design should start about 2" below the collar. For a v-neck shirt, the top of the design should start about 1" below the collar. You can also use my handy T-Shirt Rulers.
Place the design ink-side down on the pre-heated shirt, lining up the creases


Secure the design with heat-resistant tape on all four edges to keep it in place during the press. Cover with white butcher paper and press the design for 40 seconds at 385° F (196° C)
Allow the paper to cool before peeling it off and revealing your design.

STEP 3: BLEACHING THE SHIRTS

I'm using a piece of foam board I purchased at Dollar Tree, but you can use scissors to cut old cereal boxes down to size, or a garbage bag if that's what you have on hand.
This step is to stop the bleach from touching the back of the shirt.
Slide the shirt down over the foam board and line up the neck and shoulders of the shirt. Since we've already sublimated our design, this part is super easy.


Prep your surface with a garbage bag and put on your gloves.
Carefully pour bleach into a cup with a paintbrush and the spray bottle, remember to use proper ventilation as well. This is a great project to do outside on a sunny day. Use the brush to paint with bleach around the edge of the design and then fill it in.



You can also add drips and dots of bleach by tapping your paintbrush over the shirt.

Next, use the spray bottle with the same undiluted bleach and spritz it around the T-shirt. This step is optional, if you only want to bleach over the sublimated design, skip this step. It's fun to watch the sublimated design appear before your eyes!

It is recommended to bleach T-shirts out in the sun, but if it's not a sunny day, a few minutes with a hairdryer or heat gun (Low heat) will help the colors to fade faster.

TIP: For more all-over bleaching, remove the shirt from the foam board and scrunch it into a pile. Mist it with bleach spray to give some variation in color to the rest of the shirt.

Set a timer based on your swatch. I will set a timer for 7 minutes

Have your 10:1 water/Hydrogen Peroxide solution ready to stop the bleaching and when the time is up, remove the shirt from the foam board if you haven't already, and soak it in the bucket. Alternatively, you can immediately wash your shirt alone in a washing machine to stop the bleaching process.


Next, toss the shirt in the washing machine (without other clothing). Wash on cold with a mild detergent.

Either allow to air dry or tumble dry on low heat.

STEP 4: SHOW IT OFF!

Perhaps the best part about sublimating and then bleaching is that it's super quick and easy to get beautiful results consistently. Painting with bleach around the edge gave me better control but overall, I think all the shirts turned out great!

With the proper care, your shirt will last a long time! Here are a few tips for keeping it looking its best:

• Turn your shirts inside out before washing them. That way, the front of the shirt won’t rub against other things in the machine.
• Use cold or warm water and mild detergent to keep the design vibrant.
• Take your sublimated shirts out of the wash right when they’re done. You don’t want them sitting crumpled up and wet.
• Then you'll want to AIR dry them, which you do either on a hanger or in a dryer set to air dry or low heat.
• The key is not to expose your sublimation shirts to super-high heat again, as the ink might sublimate out. That said, your washer and dryer probably don't get up to 350°F to reactivate the sublimation ink, so you should be just fine.

After trying all the methods above I found that Sublimation before Bleaching was the most predictable, I didn’t have to worry about the design and the bleached shirt not matching.

The colors will be a little faded because the shirt will be washed after sublimating, giving a “vintage” look.

The standard bleach then sublimate yields brighter results since we’re not washing the shirt right after sublimating it.

TIP: It is much easier to scorch the bleached fabric, use the lowest possible temperature settings when pressing. If you happen to scorch your shirt, use a 10:1 solution of water and hydrogen peroxide (10 parts water/1 part hydrogen peroxide) on the scorched area and then wash as directed above. The color will fade slightly after the first wash because of the fabric blend.  

I preferred sublimation before bleaching, it's fun to watch the design appear before your eyes and also the bleached edge matches the design, giving it a customized look.