DIY: A paler shade of blue (Bleaching your own denim)

Gosh I am so tired. I just handed in another 2000 word essay today. Now I still have one more assignment to go. But I am giving myself a mini-break tonight by writing this post.

Faded denim looks so much better than dark ones. But dark ones are cheap and easy to find at op shops here in Sydney. So, the best way to deal with this tricky situation is to get the dark denim from op shops and then get a cheap bleach and DIY. I got an entire litre of bleach for just 1.20AUD.


Materials:
Denim jacket
Bleach
Water


Steps:
(Ok these are not exactly the steps to bleaching, but more of what I did and some tips on bleaching)
1. Soak your denim in a bucket of water, just enough for your entire piece of clothing to be covered. Also, get a bucket that is big enough to spread your denim out for a more even bleaching
2. Start by adding about 1/4 cup of bleach. See how your denim reacts. I soaked mine in the bucket for the entire night and it only got slightly lighter. When I say 'slight', I mean almost unobservable.
3. Then the next day I changed the water and repeated step 1 again. But this time, I added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of bleach. I left it in the water, assuming that I have to leave it in the water for the night again.
4. I was in my room doing my assignment for about 2-3 hours. Then I had to use the bathroom. The moment I walked into the bathroom, I almost shrieked out loud because it has turned into the perfect shade!
5. Rinse the denim with water until the funky smell of bleach is gone. Leave to dry. If you really hate the smell of bleach, I suggest that you put it to wash with your other clothes in the washing machine.

Like what I have said, a spacious bucket is quite important for this DIY. The pail that I used was only just big enough, so there are some parts that were not bleached to the same extent as the others. Fortunately it isn't too obvious. Also, make sure that your entire piece of denim is always under the water when you leave it in to bleach! 

I just bought another denim jacket from an op shop again today for just a dollar. Lucky~ I think this time I will be doing some bleaching AND cutting. Hmmm...