DIY Bleach Sweatshirt Anyone Can Make

I love to be cozy and sweatshirts are my go-to topper when the weather is cool. I started seeing these cool, almost reverse tie dye sweatshirts at my favorite shops.

But, OMG, they were $90! I knew that it wouldn’t be that hard to make my own at home so I gave it a shot and loved how it turned out!

This easy DIY Bleach Sweatshirt looks like something you might find in a high-end store but was super easy to make! 

The bleach tie-dye effect, where the bleach removes color from the shirt, is one of my favorite things to do with old sweatshirts! And it’s a quick, inexpensive project that is super easy!

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Inexpensive Bleach Sweatshirt DIY

I always feel like I don’t know how to dress for the winter. I hate to be cold and so that means I look for things that are more function than form.

I have a few pairs of jeans that I rotate between (why is it so hard to find flattering jeans that don’t cost a fortune?!). And I wear a LOT of sweatshirts.

A good (meaning stylish) sweatshirt can be hard to find and I usually just end up picking up multiple basic ones from the men’s department at Target or on Amazon ($7 – $8 apiece, yo! It’s a bargain!).

But I was starting to feel real blah so I decided to do a DIY fashion makeover on a black sweatshirt.

I, legit, am obsessed with plain sweatshirts. Every season I pick up a few for every member of my family. I watch for the sales but even at full price, about $8, you can’t go wrong.

You know how hard kids are on their clothes. A solid color sweatshirt is perfect for throwing on to go play outside or get rough on the playground at school.

A little boy in a pair of jeans with a simple black sweatshirt? SO cute and cool.

I wear them to bed and everywhere else. It’s a wardrobe staple. I usually buy them in large, because I like them to be roomy and extra comfy.

But plain sweatshirts can be a little boring. Removing some of the colors is a simple technique you can do with bleach, to give it a brand new look.

This reverse tie-dye technique works on hoodies too

Have an old hoodie that you want to update? No problem. This easy bleach splatter technique works on hoodies too!

How to bleach a sweatshirt

Supplies

• Black Sweatshirt
• Bleach
• Empty Water Bottle with a hole poked in the lid
• Scissors

Steps

If you’re worried about ruining the ground, you’ll certainly want to cover it with something like newspaper or a plastic tarp.

1. Lay the black sweatshirt out flat on the ground, outside, with the sleeves fully extended.
2. Fill the empty water bottle with some bleach.
3. Shake the bottle over the sweatshirt wherever you want the bleach to be. 
4. If you want to ensure that you don’t get bleach on certain parts of the sweatshirt, make sure to cover it with plastic bags or a trash bag. 
5. Shake the bleach on the front side of the sweatshirt and then flip it over to do the backside. 
6. Let the bleach sit to “develop” for about half an hour.
7. If you don’t leave it on long enough, the bleached areas will look orange. Leave it on as long as possible to make it turn more white. (You will have areas that will be orange but I really like how that looks).
8. Wash the sweatshirt in the washer.

The process is the same if you choose to do this DIY with a hoodie instead of a crewneck. And it also works on black T-shirts.

If I was better with Photoshop I would have added toenail polish to that one toe…

I forgot to take a photo of the old, empty water bottle that I use for the bleach. I took the label off and drew a skull and crossbones on it to make it my “bleach bottle”. I have had many conversations with my children about this bleach bottle.

I made a small hole in the cap and that’s how I dispense the bleach on to my projects. To be honest, the bottle looks really rough and you probably would have laughed if I had gotten a photo.

I’m sure there is a better way. But now I have my bleach bottle, so I can make a bleach sweatshirt whenever I want to.

Also if you end up getting some bleach on one of the parts you didn’t intend, do not try to brush it away with your fingers, like a moron. It only smears it and makes the spot bigger when in reality it would have been a cute little dot…

I had my son help me flip the sweatshirt over. The extra hands helped make sure that the bleached material didn’t touch the parts of the sweatshirts I didn’t want it to.

I poured some bleach on the backs of the sleeves and I left it to do its things. All in all, I think I left it for about 1/2 hour. I kept my eye on it and when I thought it had reached its max color removal, I threw it in the washer.

It’s up to you though. You can see from the photo above it is almost a reddish color which looks kind of cool.

There really is no way to mess this up. I mean, don’t get the bleach in your eye, keep out of reach of children, make SURE you mark your bleach bottle REALLY well.

Do you guys remember that scene from the movie Nadia? Not good. Never ever put bleach in a coffee cup.

Use bleach at your own risk. I NEVER use bleach on my laundry because I’m afraid of ruining everything. I only keep it on hand for crafts.

So anywho…once you have washed the bleach out of the sweatshirt and dried it, I like to cut out the ringer in the neck.

I find them to be super uncomfortable and constricting. My neck wants to be free, man.

To cut out the neckline, I just follow around the seem of the ringer with sharp scissors (you can see how I did it to make this muscle shirt). Boom. You’re done.

And just like that, you have this super awesome warm comfy sweatshirt, with cooler sleeves, to add some style to your winter wardrobe.

Printable instructions

Why isn’t my black sweatshirt bleaching?

Once in a while, the bleach doesn’t remove the color from the shirt you are trying to DIY. I am not an expert in fabrics or materials but here are a few things to help you troubleshoot so you can make your own bleach splatter sweatshirt.

• Wash your shirt. If you are using a new shirt, you may need to wash it first! Often they put some treatment on them which won’t allow the bleach to get into the fibers.
• Use straight bleach. Don’t dilute the bleach with water. While bleach is harsh on fabrics, diluting it may mean that it won’t be strong enough to do what it needs to do.
• Your bleach may be old. Bleach, if in a container that has been opened for more than 6 months, may not be effective. I didn’t know that bleach could be old but turns out it can.
• Check sweatshirt materials. I’m pretty sure that 100% cotton sweatshirts work best. Sometimes polyester or other synthetic fabrics won’t behave properly.

You know what’s even cooler than this DIY bleached sweatshirt? When your neighbors are doing construction and have a big graffiti’d up dumpster on your street that you can take photos in front of and seem all urban.

You know what’s not cool? When you’re outside taking your photo and then a construction worker comes out to use the outhouse a few feet away from you…Gross. Photoshoot over.

I love DIY fashion tutorials, almost as much as I love sweatshirts, and this bleach sweatshirt couldn’t be easier!

All photos by Dez and Tam.

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This quick and easy reverse tie-dye project makes it simple to create your own DIY bleach sweatshirt to wear all year long.

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