How to Bleach Dye Cotton Clothes

We all know that bleach isn’t very environmentally friendly. But if you can update a garment that you weren’t wearing with it, I’m pretty sure it’s more eco than buying new. Also, you don’t need much of it so it gets the go ahead from me.

This is how to;

You will need a dark coloured jersey/cotton piece of clothing.

  • Blend 1:1 bleach and water (1 cup water+1 cup bleach is plenty for 2 garments)
  • Put in spray bottle
  • Crinkle or twist the garment and spray away.
  • As soon as the colour start to change, put the garment in a bucket of water to stop the bleach from developing further.
  • Wash with detergent to get rid of any bleachy smell.

Goodbye boring black clothes! Hello tiger stripes!

Summer Collection

Ethnic Prints and Folky Fabrics.

For the summer I wanted to create a collection that was vibrant and casual but using some more traditional fabrics. The lovely Chloe is my model and the award winning Naomi from Namnam’s did the face painting.

South American Cloth.

This was a table runner that became this easy fit dress.

African Print.

This lovely piece of fabric was used as a curtain by my ex housemate Rebecca. When she moved out I re-purposed it into an A-line dress. Apparently the print is for a women’s vote  campaign.

Baggy Trousers.

This fabric was salvaged from a pair of trousers that I unpicked. I love the vibrant colours of this print.

Indian Embroidery.

This piece of cloth just came to me, like most bits of fabric do. Not sure if it used to be anything in a previous life.  There was just enough to make this cheeky number out of it.

Bed Cover.

This was an Indian cotton bed throw that I cut in half and made two dresses from. Boned for extra support.

 

Made to Order Evening Dress

Blue Bow Dress.

Lucia wanted something stylish for a wedding.

Again, I used my basic pattern that I also used for this dress.

Hot!

Textiles Upcycling At It’s Best

Luxury Eco Clothing.

The Dolly Dress was created from the same pattern I used for these dresses.

But with this one I choose more luxurious fabrics. I salvaged lots of off-cuts and end of roll fabric from a Brighton based dress maker and used silks and satins to create this piece.

Gorgeous Yasemin modelling again.

 

Eco Cotton Fairy Dress

Jersey T-shirt Dress.

There is something really satisfying about a pile of jersey tops aIl in the same tones waiting to be  cut up and re-assembled. Thats probably why I enjoyed making this dress so much.

I started by putting the one I wanted as a top on the dressmaking dummy. The other pieces was then cut up and one by one pinned onto the hem to make up the skirt part.

Pretty pleased with the outcome. I want to make one in washed out grey next. If you want one in your desired colours, let me know!