tshirt bleaching

i saw this on pinterest a while ago and decided last weekend was the weekend to try it - mainly because it was nice enough to be able to set the bucket outside and not have it freeze.

first. a 100% cotton tshirt. the tutorial i read was insistent it should be 100%, so i nixed the other 3 t's in my craft-stash because they were 50/50.

second. since it was going to be outside for 12-24 hours, and since i live in nebraska (and if you don't believe that video, how about this), i thought i would tape the tshirt to the hanger so it wouldn't fall into the bleach and ruin the whole gosh darn project.

next. i fee-naggled this set up by using our back steps and the side table on our grill (classy, i know). i didn't know how far the bleach would creep up, so it was all just a shot in the dark.

i shot this photo (above) at 6am the following day. (boards are there so the neighborhood cats don't drink the bleach).

and finally...after i washed it. not too keen on my lack of carefulness...there are bleach spots all over the shirt due to my inability to be careful and take my time and not get bleach all over the place. but hey, it was a fun project -- one that i may do again sometime.

how i did it. (the details)
you will need:
-bleach
-water
-bucket
-100% cotton tshirt (i would buy one from a thrift shop or better, find an old one in your closet to test first)
-hanger
-12-24 hours

i filled a bucket about half way with water. took the bucket, the tshirt taped to the hanger, and the container of bleach outside. found the best place to sit the bucket and hang the tshirt and hung the tshirt off to the side of the bucket to test where the water would come up. i dumped out a bit of water (to about 1/4 full) and added a good long pour of bleach (no rhyme or reason). then bunched the tshirt up to keep it out of the bleach, hung the hanger secure and let the tshirt go slowly and drop into the bleach. covered with the boards and walked away. 

i checked it about 12 hours later (before i went to bed) and decided i would let it sit over night (mostly because i didn't want to deal with rinsing it out just then). the next morning i carefully rinsed the bleached tshirt out in the sink then stuck it in the wash. and there you have it.