\u00a9 2023 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. Sublimation is a process that turns sublimation ink into its gaseous state without becoming liquid. Apply the mixture onto your shirt according to your desired design, with a paint brush. When you open it up, you have a center line! Sunlight will hasten the bleaching process. Let it rest under direct sunlight. Details Or fastest delivery June 5 - 7. The heather color is important because the solid color shirts are 100% cotton, so make sure youre choosing a heather color.There are other brands you can use too, but we like Gildan because its cheap and soft. Let the bleach work its way through the shirt by leaving it under the suns heat. When I price shirts that I sell, I look at what other people are charging, and I try to put mine into that price range. Im going to make the Messy Bun design, but you can use these steps for any design you'd like.We'll print the design on good-quality sublimation paper for the best results. The most important thing, the key for best results, is using a shirt thats a polyester and cotton blend. Fill a bucket with a 10:1 ratio of cool water and hydrogen peroxide to safely stop the bleaching process. Some apply sublimation design after the bleaching process. 3 Ways to Move Past Entrepreneurial Burn Out, Mood Trackers Are a Personal Development Tool for You and Your Business, How to Make Rustic Square Shaped Pumpkins. A: In short, no. 12. Gently crease your printed design at the top and bottom of the paper. With over four years of experience writing for several online publications, she has covered topics ranging from world history to the entertainment industry. Holding the design in place, use a small paintbrush and dip it in a little flour, then run it along the edge of your design. Heat resistant tape. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. 2023 Teckwrap Craft. The bleach can also make the fabric very thin, and it may rip or get holes after a few cycles in the washing machine. HEATHERS colors and 65% Polyester and 35% cotton] Once the front of the shirts are white, then flip the shirts over if you want to bleach the back. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. It wont take long for the shirts to get white. If you go the vinyl route, be sure to bleach first, then apply the design after. And remember, the printed design might look dull at first, but they brighten right up on the final project! Method One: Bleaching Your Shirt After Sublimation Step One: Sublimate Your Shirt Step Two: Protect Your Shirt Step Three: Outline Your Design with Bleach Step Four: Cover the Whole Design in Bleach Step Five: Spray Bleach Your Shirt Step Six: Let the Shirt Dry Step Seven: Rinse Your Bleached Shirt Method Two: Bleach Your Shirt Before You Sublimate Some even use a design template that they put on the shirt so the spray will only reach the design area. This blend is important so that the shirt leaves behind a bright white after the bleach while also taking the ink of your sublimation design well. Heat Press How to Bleach Shirts for Sublimation: Follow these Steps Step 1: Good Quality Bleach When bleaching shirts for sublimation shirts, make sure you use high-quality bleach. Wait for a Sunny Day The t shirt bleaching process will work best when you let the bleach spray shirt start the drying process in the sun. From designing your sublimation shirts to printing them, youll need a computer and software. The heat press will do the magic. This step is optional, if you only want to bleach over the sublimated design, skip this step. Let the top heat plate hover over the shirt for a few seconds, but dont press it down. Once you have completed the spray, remove the excess bleach . BLEACHED BLANK SHIRTS, bleached blanks,Sublimation shirts, Sublimation bleached blanks ready to press, bleached wholesale distressed shirts (4.9k) Sale Price $ . The textured metallic vinyl is easy to weed and looks amazing on my tumblers. Some prepare a stencil of the design to put over the shirt so the stencil template will act as a safety net for the excess bleach. How To Bleach A Sublimation T shirt. When you want a dark fabric with a highlighted design, bleach shirts before the sublimation process. But dont worry you can do this inside, too (with the right safety precautions). I also HIGHLY recommend you work outside for safety. Set a timer based on your swatch. If you bleach it before adding the design, youll have to trace the design cut-out onto the t-shirt before bleaching. Take your sublimated shirts out of the wash right when theyre done. So, to meet these requirements for this shirt bleaching to sublimation project you need something that is best for both purposes. Print out and cut your sublimation image. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. The shirt thats best for bleaching is 100% cotton. Your shirt only needs to sit in the solution for a minute or two, and then its ready to wash in your washing machine. Then, deactivate the bleach, wash and dry the shirt, then sublimate your design onto the shirt. These creases will help us center it on the shirt.Since Im making a crew neck T-shirt, the top of the design should start about 2" below the collar. The design area is where your sublimation will eventually go. Additionally, youll have to factor in shipping costs. Pay close attention to the border of your design and apply it around the entire area of your design. Happy Crafting! And thats where the bleaching process for sublimation shirts comes in. On a sunny day, let the bleach work through the shirt by leaving it under the suns heat. I recommend getting a glass spray bottle if you plan to make a lot of bleached shirts to sell. Bleaching shirts is all about design and emphasis. Typeface used:BFC Hippie Chick Free Alternative:Abstract Groovy. Spray bleach lightly on the back of the shirt in a similar pattern. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it wont cost you a penny more)! This will help you center your design. Soak the shirt in water and hydrogen peroxide to stop the bleaching. TIP: For more all-over bleaching, remove the shirt from the foam board and scrunch it into a pile. Dont use old bleach you have laying around as the quality of it may have diminished. Youre done! Youll also get to see the finished product, so you can compare the design brightness of this shirt to the shirts youll see at the end of the video from Simply Sallie in the section above. This is normal! Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 15,665 times. If you need help determining the size of your design and printing with Google Docs please see my helpful tutorial Sublimation T-Shirts. That said, your washer and dryer probably don't get up to 350F to reactivate the sublimation ink, so you should be just fine. It's easy to add more later if it's not as white as you would like. You have two options to bleach the shirt. Which one is the best way? I heat press my shirts at 400 degrees for 60 seconds. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. Then just copy and paste the password in at https://jennifermaker.com/resource-library to get access right now! There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Learn how to make and sublimate your own bleached shirts that you can sell. STEP 2: PREPPING AND SUBLIMATING SHIRTSNow, set your heat press to 385 F (196 C) to warm up. Bleached sublimation shirts have been around and trending for a while now. Spray bleach onto the shirt to give it a textured look. Its great to have some bleached shirts on hand to decorate with HTV or sublimation! Spray Bottle Bleaching with a Cardboard: Cut the cardboard in the shape in which you want to bleach the shirt. Typically sublimation is limited to white or very light-colored surfaces, but I found the perfect hack. Heat up your heat press to 400 degrees and set the timer to 60 seconds. Thats the beauty of it! The second method Ill show you actually involves sublimating first, and bleaching second. Sometimes faded is good! If youre going to spray it on, make sure you get glass spray bottles like the ones we linked above. If you dont have a sublimation printer, you can use infusible ink transfer sheets, infusible ink pens, order a sublimation transfers from makers online, or use heat-transfer vinyl instead! This is a great project to do outside on a sunny day. Alternatively, you can immediately wash your shirt ALONE in the washing machine to stop the bleaching process.Wash the shirt alone or with other bleached shirts, if you happen to be making more than one, in cool water with a mild detergent and then tumble dry on low heat.Once they're ready, pull your shirt out of the dryer for the big reveal! Strips for Skinny Tumbler Wrap, Add a Name or Text. What shirts are best for sublimation? I will set a timer for 7 minutes. Dipping my brush in cornstarch as needed until the template is outlined completely.And then using a new, clean paintbrush to "paint" the bleach inside the cornstarch outline.I also tried tracing with bleach around the cardstock template by itself. But not just any cotton/poly blend, the best shirts to use when sublimating and bleaching are 65% polyester and 35% cotton. This helps the shirts bleach faster and get whiter. So, how to bleach a shirt for sublimation? Touch up the edges of the design area and look for any spots you missed as you paint the shirt. Protective goggles, a respirator, a vinyl apron, disposable cups, paper towels, and gloves will make handling bleach safer, and working outside is the best way to address the fumes. Just spritz it a few times to lightly dampen the exposed fabric. They not only sell the conversion kits you need, but they have amazing step-by-step video tutorials. NOTE: While technically a heat gun (on the lowest setting) or a hairdryer CAN help to speed up the bleaching process, it is NOT recommended that you heat bleach. And if you are satisfied with the extent of the bleach and want it that way, stop the bleaching process. You can apply your bleach in two different ways: paint it on or spray it on. Read on for a complete guide to bleaching shirts for sublimation, from printing your design to bleaching techniques so you can create a unique DIY shirt at home. Q: How long do you leave bleached shirts in peroxide? Walt n Sarah did an experiment to test whether it looks the best if you bleach first, or if you bleach after the design has been applied, and how long to wait after applying the design before bleaching. Layered Infusible Ink Mugs: Customize These Cute Animals! [1] 1 Print out and cut your sublimation image. A: Sublimating on a bleached shirt follows the same time and process as sublimating on any other T-shirt. 8. This is completely optional, but it gives the shirts a unique look. Turn your shirts inside out before washing them. Garbage bags work to protect your work area, too! Prep your surface with a garbage bag and put on your gloves. Feel free to pin on Pinterest! If you're looking for how-to bleach shirts for sublimation, check out this post where I show you Two Easy Ways to Bleach Shirts for Sublimation! T-shirt: Use heather shirts like the one from Gildan. Have a stack of paper towels nearby to use for spills. For a v-neck shirt, the top of the design should start about 1" below the collar. Make sure in your search that you specify ready to press and read the product descriptions before purchasing. Always check that the shirt is at least 65% polyester for results like mine. 3. The fiber content isnt always the same depending on the color. (you can also watch my Amazon video that shows you what exactly each time looks and feels like here). You have your bleached shirts ready in no time. Why polyester? Popular design software like CorelDRAW, Canva, Cricut, and Photoshop, can deliver great results for your sublimation design. Ill share which I believe to be the best option, and well compare the results!