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Tried adding bleach to a tie-dye pattern and got the opposite of what I wanted
I mixed bleach into a dark blue tee thinking it'd make a cool faded look, but it turned bright orange in patches instead. Learned that bleach reacts different on synthetic blends vs cotton. Has anyone else messed up a reactive dye mix like this?
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josephbutler3mo ago
Hold on, I gotta push back a little here. Bleach on cotton isn't the shirt fighting back, it's just how the dye reacts. Most dark blues are actually a mix, and the bleach strips the color in layers, leaving behind whatever red or yellow was hiding underneath. I've done this on purpose to get orange and red tones out of navy shirts, you just gotta know the base color of the dye before you start.
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kim6933mo ago
Jokes on you, now you got a custom camouflage shirt nobody asked for. Bleach really said "surprise, you playin with the wrong formula today.
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the_adam3mo ago
Man, that orange patch thing is rough. My own science experiment went about as well as yours - tried to bleach a green thrift store shirt once and ended up with a weird puke-yellow splotch that looked like I'd dropped a raw egg on my chest. Your mileage may vary, but in my experience, cotton just takes bleach like it's personally offended by the dye job and fights back with whatever color it wants. Take this with a grain of salt, but maybe try a diluted mix next time and test on a hidden seam before going full chemistry set on a shirt you actually like.
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