• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

My Vintage Porch

  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • DIY
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Shop
    • Shop My Instagram
    • My Etsy Shop
    • IG Links

My Vintage Porch

Interior Design, DIY, and Refurbishing

Reverse Dye

Filed Under: DIY Tagged With: bleaching, bleaching clothes, diy, diy clothing, dying fabric, reverse die, reverse dying, tie dye

I’ve become a little obsessed with this “reverse dying” thing. I actually wanted to tie dye some shirts with my girls, so I went to the store and grabbed one of those big dye packs. Turns out, that I’ve been enjoying this reverse dying even more than tie dying. To be honest, I think that the “impatient” part inside of me likes this method better. The results are faster and immediate.

The changes are drastic. It’s tough to determine what each shirt will look like in the end, but that is kind of the fun side of it.

It’s such a super fast and easy DIY. I just poured about 3 parts bleach to 2 parts water, tied up my shirt with a bunch of rubber bands, and dipped it in the bleach water. Make sure to wear gloves and a mask, as bleach is brutal on our systems. This is shirt one…

I didn’t have any specific method for tying each shirt. I bunched up the fabric and tied it with a rubber band. I wasn’t really looking to get a “tie dye” pattern with these shirts. I kind of wanted them to be more subtle.

I let this shirt sit in the bleach water for about 20 second and then rinsed it out. There was more color left in weird places than I desired, so I wadded it back up, tied it with rubber bands, and placed it back in the bleach water for about 3 minutes. I did this yet another time, until all of the darker color was gone. I rinsed out the bleach with my hose until the water ran clear and then washed in my washing machine with detergent and hot water. Can you even believe the difference?!

My 16 year old daughter said that this is her favorite shirt that she owns right now. That pretty much means that I’m a fashion designer.

I used the same technique on this tank top and the rest of the shirts here…

I do love the way this one turned out too. The first sweatshirt it by far my fave, but this has even more drastic color variations, which I love!

I was wondering how this gray one would turn out. I didn’t think I would get much of an effect, since it was a lighter color.

I love the light grey/white colors in the result!

I forgot to take a before of this t-shirt. It was a black t-shirt to start with. I love the subtle differences in this one.

Have you ever tried reverse dying? Do you think it’s something that you would try? It sure is a fun and addicting process! I wouldn’t be surprised if everything that I own is bleached by the end of the week. I need to tie myself down with some rubber bands before I bleach my whole closet!

Which shirt is your fave? I would love to hear if you try this on some shirts of your own!

  • TWITTER
  • FACEBOOK
  • PINTEREST

View More Related Posts

  • DIY Ombré ShirtDIY Ombré Shirt
  • Bleaching Wood FurnitureBleaching Wood Furniture
  • Bleaching My Antique TableBleaching My Antique Table

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ashleigh says

    January 29, 2020 at 6:44 pm

    Absolutely love this!!! My kiddos will like this too!! Thank you for the tutorial!! ❤️❤️❤️

    • Debbie says

      January 29, 2020 at 8:23 pm

      Ok it was fun to watch in stories but these all turned out so good! Favorite might be the black/ orange

  2. Miechell says

    January 29, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    Love this idea!! My daughter & I are going to give it a try tomorrow. My fav is the light gray but I also love the peachy color one!

  3. Sara says

    January 29, 2020 at 7:01 pm

    Thanks for sharing. The first sweatshirt is my fave as well!!

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 29, 2020 at 7:37 pm

      Thank you! It’s fun to see the difference in them all!

  4. Ronnie says

    January 29, 2020 at 7:09 pm

    Wow all turned out great. Like the colors on the first the most. Bleach away.

    • My Vintage Porch says

      January 29, 2020 at 7:36 pm

      Thank you, Ronnie! That was my favorite too!

  5. Janet Anderson says

    January 29, 2020 at 7:39 pm

    I’m pretty new following you but you are right up at the top of my list already! Love your stuff❣️

  6. Carol says

    January 29, 2020 at 7:40 pm

    I love them all but I like the first and second ones best!! You’re so talented! I love it and you’re my absolute favorite to watch!!! Lol you always make me laugh! Thanks! 😘

  7. Paula says

    January 29, 2020 at 8:02 pm

    I love how the black sweatshirt turned out and the shortsleeved T-shirt.

  8. Franie says

    January 29, 2020 at 8:16 pm

    I love the first two! The colors in the tank top turned out really neat! I need to try this for my girls! And I love your stories and Chester but who doesn’t love Chester?

  9. Lisa Ferrio says

    January 29, 2020 at 8:17 pm

    Love the sweatshirts they came out so cool. I want to do a While longsleeve T-shirt with black dye. Similar to your first t-shirt you did. Could you demonstrate how tie up the t-shirts? Thanks, Lisa

  10. Kat says

    January 29, 2020 at 8:48 pm

    I absolutely love the peach colored shirt the most. Very subtle

  11. Tammy says

    January 29, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    What was the fabric make up of the shirts you were dying? Did you find that different fabrics behaved differently? This looks like such a fun project. I’m definitely going to plan on doing it during our next girl weekend at my place!

  12. Heather says

    January 29, 2020 at 9:23 pm

    I love this, I tried it & my husband asked if I did it on accident 💔 guess mine don’t look as good as yours.

  13. LORRI RAUSCHER says

    January 29, 2020 at 9:53 pm

    Nope..not doing anything for me..those clothes look very boring to me. I rather do the Color dying…We all have our likes and dislikes.

  14. Sharon says

    January 30, 2020 at 2:34 am

    I loved watching this! The tank is my favourite! You just have to try rust dying now Natalie, you get amazing effects!! Just soak your fabric in a 50/50 vinegar water solution, then wrap old rusty items in the fabric, pop it all in a plastic bag and leave somewhere warm for a couple of weeks, the results are brilliant! 😀

  15. Melissa says

    January 30, 2020 at 5:27 am

    I absolutely LOVE the way the black fabric turns to a blush color! I have to give this a try!!! Thanks Natalie!!☺️

  16. Joli says

    January 30, 2020 at 6:59 am

    I love the black sweatshirt that turned that pretty orange tie dye color.

  17. Becky Fischer says

    January 30, 2020 at 8:04 am

    I love what you did with all the clothes. My favorite is the tank top. To me, it looks like rust and reminded me of the handles on your apothecary dresser. I just love it.

  18. Michele Rittle says

    January 30, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    Natalie has done it again. My favorite part is the subtlety of the bleached areas.
    Thanks so much for sharing!
    Michele

  19. TERENIA says

    February 19, 2020 at 3:16 pm

    The light gray is my face! I will have to try this! Where did you get the gray sweatshirt?

    • TERENIA says

      February 19, 2020 at 3:17 pm

      Darn auto correct! My FAVE!

Primary Sidebar

Search My Vintage Porch

meet natalie

Receive the latest posts from My Vintage Porch!

Sign up to receive an email with my home decor ideas, decorating tips and latest DIYs!

Footer

  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Travel
  • DIY
  • Home Decor
  • Recipes
  • Privacy Policy

Receive the latest posts from My Vintage Porch via email!

Join me on Instagram
@vintageporch
Did you have a fave hutch in stories? (Swipe over) Did you have a fave hutch in stories? (Swipe over) We couldn’t decide either so we just got both...said the wish monster. 🤪We don’t have room yet but I’m hoping for a nice big hutch like one of these to be part of our kitchen in our build. @antiquitieswarehouse has the best stuff!! Our kitchen to come may be a little outside the norm and I’m super pumped about it! Oh, and lots of you wondering the cost of this hutch...let’s just say if you could have a new car or a new hutch, which would you choose? I’ll take the hutch! 😃25K for this puppy #antiquehutch #antiquefurniture
Ahhhh! Can you believe that I got it all straight? Ahhhh! Can you believe that I got it all straight? #sponsor  I love love my new gallery wall!! I found so many fun things @samsclub today (see stories) along with all of the printer ink and supplies that helped me finish off my gallery wall! You can still do great things in a rental my friends, you can!🙌🏼 Sam’s Club sure has amazing deals! And, I can’t wait to try out that carpet cleaner...and blow up that pool for Chester, of course! Yay for fun projects and for just plain fun! 😁🐶 #samspartner #gallerywall #photowall
Mirror, done! What color was your guess? Were you Mirror, done! What color was your guess? Were you scared watching stories? No hot pink or turquoise ...I just wanted it warmer with more gold tones and I love it! It looks older and more realistic now...not so plasticity like before. I’ll show you some close ups in stories soon and will show how I got the old layered look...it’s even better in real life person! #standingmirror #rusticdecor
Do you think I bent the jigsaw blade? 😬 (swipe Do you think I bent the jigsaw blade? 😬 (swipe over) It was worth it all none the less. This was a “bench in a day” project. The thing that took the longest was refinishing it, the rest was cake...after we fixed the boards that Bob the Builder messed up. It will eventually go in the hallway. I hadn’t added the screws here yet bc I was running out of daylight to get a photo but check stories and I’ll show you how I’m (I mean Trav) is putting it together. He insisted on helping me when my arm fell off from all of the refinishing. What a sweet guy! ♥️ #rusticbench #diybench
Did you see this huge undertaking in stories and t Did you see this huge undertaking in stories and the plucking of the eyebrows with a needle nose plyers? Talent🙋🏼‍♀️ Stupidity 🙋🏼‍♀️I may not have any fingerprints left but the hutch is done and I’m in love!!! (Swipe over) 45,872 hours later and I have a hutch like no other. Can you believe I added layers of texture to this thing, painted it, didn’t like it, decided to sand it to the nubbins, white washed it, and then glazed it?!?! 🤩 Yeah, most of you probably know me too well by now...I’m nutso and I know it. Now to decide if I should put the original hardware back on or change it up. I’m thinking I’m loving the look of the old hardware on it. What do you think? (Swipe to the end to see the “before” and hardware I’m thinking of using) #oldhutch #antiquehutch #pinehutch #rusticfurniture
I’ve gone pot nuts! (Swipe over for close up and I’ve gone pot nuts! (Swipe over for close up and “before”...see below for colors used) This pretend pot slingin is some fun stuff!! And, this slingin it in this new craft space of mine is even more fun! I just finished this pot and I love it!! Just call me high on pot life...I’ve taken my old POTS health and changed it out for a new pots way! 🙌🏼 If you can’t find me, I’ll be over here just working with my pot! And, I’ll let you in, if you bring grain free brownies...or cupcakes...but I prefer the brownies🤔. And, I would share my grain free pretzels with you...After crying about Hallie forgetting my pretzels that one time, I now have about 10 bags fully stocked at all times. 😂 #morepots #thegoodkind #antiquepots 
.
.
.
I used paint samples in matte finish and explained more of the process on my blog (link in profile) 
COLORS: 
1. Pot with handles: Behr paint “Studio Taupe”, “Deconstruction”, and “Cool Charcoal”
.
.
2. Glass pots turned old: a mixture of Apple barrel craft paint “brown oxide”, “burnt umber, a dab of red, and a bit of black to make a terra cotta color, “Studio Taupe” Behr paint, and “Deconstruction”  Behr paint 
See blog post (in profile) for how I made my salt mixture for a more texturized paint
. 
.
3. Rounded pot: see blog post in profile for colors and technique used
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: The account for needs to be reconnected.
Due to recent Instagram platform changes this Instagram account needs to be reconnected in order to continue updating. Reconnect on plugin Settings page

Copyright © 2021 | Exclusive member of Mediavine Home