Bleaching | week 10

In-class bleaching demonstration

Although bleaching fabrics is one of the simplest techniques, it is one of my favourites so far as the results are always unexpected depending on the dye the manufacturer used. I enjoy this aspect of open-endedness and the unexpected in the process of making. Furthermore, we can use recycled fabric scraps and give them a new lease of life by creating unique patterns!

I tried multiple rounds of bleaching as the first few materials I used (felt, poly-cotton blend) were not susceptible to the bleach! Despite leaving these samples drenched in bleach for hours out in the sun, they remained the same colour, allowing me to conclude that these fabrics are not affected by the bleach.

So the next week, I cut out shapes from old t-shirts and fabric. These dark fabrics produced very different results, ranging from almost white, to warm orange, to a cool grey. I used rubber bands to pleat and tie the fabric in different patterns.

Before bleaching
After bleaching

Before bleaching

After bleaching

Before bleaching

After bleaching

 

 

Leave a Reply