DIY: Ombre Bleach Cutoffs

Cutoffs? you ask...Winter is just starting! you say... Well I'm going to Hawaii for Christmas... poor me, I know! I wouldn't be going if it wasn't for having such great parents!

I need a super cute pair of shorts to bum around at the beach. I've really wanted to try ombre denim with bleach, so this is the perfect project. I have this pair of Guess shorts that came from the store as cutoffs, but they are below the knee cutoffs. I thought they would "comfortable". Turns out they aren't super flattering so I rarely wear them. They will make a perfect DIY victim...

There is even a glue spot on them from some other DIY project

There is more leftover glue spots on the back of them

 This is a really easy project. You only need 4 things to get started. I recommend doing this outside. I didn't want to stand out in the cold, so I worked on mine in the bathroom. I kept the door closed and the fan on so I wouldn't stink up the house too much.  The fumes probably killed a few brain cells...oh well :)

 Supplies

• Denim (shirt, shorts, pants, jacket)
• Bucket
• Rubber Gloves
• Bleach

Put a 3:2 ratio of water and bleach in your bucket. I used 12 cups of water and 8 cups of bleach. I was trying to bleach a few other things in the process, so you probably wouldn't need quite that much. If you are going to try the ombre effect, you will need to decide which end of your denim you want lighter and which you want darker. I chose to have the leg end be lighter. It makes no difference other than your style preference.  You will also have to decide how much of the denim you want bleached, I ended up bleaching more of the shorts than I had planned, but they still turned out cute! Submerge a small part of the clothing into the bucket. With your gloves on, push down a little on the denim to make sure the part that was submerged is soaking up the bleach evenly. Then lay the rest of the denim over the side of the bucket. Make sure you are very careful when touching the dry denim, if there is any bleach on your gloves, it will leave bleach dots.

 

This is a shirt I was bleaching, but its that same technique

Set the timer for 10 minutes. Make sure to watch it. There are many different kinds of denim and each will absorb the bleach differently. Every ten minutes move the denim down into the bucket a little more. This isn't an exact science and if your denim is absorbing more or less of the bleach then you will need to adjust the time accordingly. I learned that you should error on the side of less time. Too much bleach can make the fabric very brittle. After your denim has the effect you want, pull it out of the bucket and rinse it really well in cold water. Then wash it in the washing machine on a gentle cycle by itself. You can either put it in the dryer or hang dry your denim. BUT remember, this article of clothing is now fairly delicate. So be nice to it!

Here's how they turned out...

I tried them on, and they still looked dowdy. So I decided they needed to be cutoff! While they were on I eyeballed the length and made a little mark with a pencil. I took them off and cut one side, then folded them in half to line them up. Leave them folded and use the other pant leg as a guide while cutting them to ensure they are symmetrical. Don't make a blunt cut. Make an angled cut with the inner leg being slightly longer. We don't want anything hanging out! Try them on again to make sure they are the length that you like. Again, error on the side of longer. You can always cut more off. To get a frayed look, just pull at the ends. It takes awhile so be patient. Once you are all done you will have these!

TA DA!

I like to fold my cutoffs, just a little

I love the uneven effect!