I just have to tell you I have the coolest in-laws. Really. Reeeally. My sister-in-law is fantastic. She speaks fluent Cantonese from living in China for a year and a half. She’s getting her masters in Engineering. She throws a serious dance party. She has excellent taste in music and it was her birthday last week.
While lurking the “Sale” section at Urban Outfitters I came across a radical black men’s tee that had bleached spotted stripes. Sadly it didn’t fit Chris or me, so I logged the idea in the back parts of my brain to use at a later date. The later date ended up being (surprisingly) a few days later when I was thinking of what to make for Lindsay’s birthday.
I got a basic shirt from you-know-where and revamped it using a little bit of bleach and a lot a bit of packing tape. It was super simple. I just laid the shirt flat on some cement, taped stripes down, mixed 1 part bleach 1 part water and flicked at the shirt with a brush like a crazy lady. I was smart and wore junky clothes and took great care to dispose of the packing tape without getting any stray bleach on me. After I bleached up both sides of the shirt I threw it in the wash (with rags as to not waste water and not ruin any other clothes). I would’ve been done at that point, but I had to add a little flair on the side. If you asked me how I did it, the only terms you’d hear are “scrunch this”, “squish that” and sew.
My biggest fear was that I creating a heaping, bleached mess, but it worked! I’m disappointed that I didn’t think ahead and make two while I was at it. I think it looks pretty snazzy.
