DIY: Ombre jeans with bleach

Seems like everything these days is about DIY. It's hip, it's trendy and above all: it's low budget! And since my budget is (way too) low too, I kind of dig these DIY tutorials.

So here's one of my own. No, I didn't invent it. I came across similar stuff on Pinterest, other blogs and YouTube. But instead of posting a video I found on YouTube (I'm sure you guys are smart enough to know how that thing works), I'm going to show you step by step how I did this. My jeans will not be tie dyed, I went for the ombre look.

First things first: what will you need?

• two buckets (one for the water-bleach mixture and one with plain water)
• bleach (any brand will do, I even mixed mine because one was almost empty)
• (disposable) gloves
• some old towels
• your jeans, or whatever you want to bleach (mine is an old jegging I bought at H&M)


• also, don't wear your favorite pair of jeans while doing this, because when you spill with the bleach it will be ruined
• and cover up whatever surface your bucket with bleach is standing on so you don't damage your floor or table or whatever if you spill

I filled my first bucket with four litres of water, straight from the tap. Then I added about two litres of bleach. I didn't follow the instructions on the bleach bottle or anything, I just added 'till I thought it would suffice. I just made sure I had enough fluids in my bucket so I could easily soak my jeans. I want to add that you do all this in a well-ventilated room or preferably outside.

Now put on your gloves and start soaking your jeans in the bleach. Because I want an ombre effect, I let the bottom half of my jeans soak and let the other half just hang over the edge of the bucket. (If you want to tie dye, you make knots in your jeans with rubber bands and throw the whole thing in the bucket)

 

  
I don't know 'bout you, but I'm not a very patient person. After half an hour I went to check on my jeans, but saw no difference whatsoever. From experience, I know you should wait at least an hour. I advise you to try and do something productive during that hour, because otherwise it gets pretty boring.

An hour later and you can really see the difference now! But I want the bottom parts lighter, so I put them back in the bleach. I let the middle half hang over the edge, because I was satisfied with how that turned out.

Another 45 minutes later, but it seemed that the bottom parts didn't get any lighter after all. But ah well, no biggie, it's fine like this too! I filled my other bucket with enough water so I could rinse my jeans. I let it rinse for a couple of minutes and then added a tad of washing powder.

And here's the result! I did wash my jeans in the washing machine after the whole process (otherwise it keeps smelling like bleach) and then let it dry overnight.

Have you ever tried to bleach your jeans yourself? Did it turn out the way you expected? Let us know!