Top products from r/bleachshirts

I think you've already got your answer, but a couple of tips for you. A travel spray bottle works the best for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Size-Spray-Bottle-oz/dp/B003XW0TG2

It produces a nice fine mist. Spray from 6-8 inches away and move across your stencil as you spray. After each "coat" blot the paper with a paper/cloth towel. I wait 30 seconds or so between each coat. And usually apply 3-4 coats. After the last coat I rip off the paper and put the shirt on a hanger to "develop" to the color I want. The misting spray bottle give great coverage and an even look.

Good luck and post some finished shirts.

I actually use this fingertip one although mine has a smaller blade, and I got it at Joann fabrics! I definitely recommend it, gives you really good control and it’s super comfortable

My process:

• Wash and dry shirts before anything else.
  
  
• I use an X-Acto knife to cut out my stencils. Note, I still use freezer paper. I just ordered one of these to replace my standard knife.
  
  
• Make sure shirts are nice and flat when you iron the freezer paper onto them. Any small bumps or creases could allow leakage around the edges.
  
  
• Let your iron heat up for a few minutes before using it, it makes a huge difference. Also, no steam setting should be used! You want everything to be dry.
  
  
• When ironing, I start from the center of the design and work my way outward. This decreases your chances of having bubbles in the paper.
  
  
• Iron the freezer paper on for at least thirty seconds.
  
  
• When you are ready to spray, get a piece of cardboard and place it inside the shirt, directly behind the design. This helps prevent the bleach from soaking through if you are doing a one-sided shirt.
  
  
• Many people use a 50/50 or 60/40 mixture of bleach and water. I use a slightly stronger, maybe around 75/25 mixture. Be careful though, it may damage the shirt if left on for too long.
  
  
• Before spraying, I lay old dish towels around the edges of the stencil to block over spray from outlining unwanted edges on the shirt.
  
  
• When spraying, I have found this to be the most helpful. Forget adjustable spray bottles or brushes. I haven't had any luck with them. Think of this, when it rains, a nice gentle rain soaks the ground well. A rushing torrent of rain yields high amounts of runoff and erosion.
  
  
• Spray a little bit from a height of around 8-12 inches (20-30cm), let it sit for a few seconds, then gently dab off excess with an old dish towel. Do your best to prevent the bleach from soaking through the freezer paper. This will ruin the shirt. If you spray too heavily, it soaks in around the edges and you don't get nice lines. Repeat spraying until you get your target color.
  
  
• To rinse, have a 5 gallon (~20 L) bucket of water mixed with a little bit of hydrogen peroxide. The hydrogen peroxide mixes with the bleach and yields salt water and oxygen gas, which stops the bleach from reacting with the shirt. Dunk the shirt in until soaked, then peel off the freezer paper. The water should loosen it quite easily.
  
  
• Wash and dry the shirts again, and voila! You have nice new shirts.
  
  
  I hope some of this helps. My first couple shirts weren't too great, but experimenting has given me the process I typed out above. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate. :)
  
  EDIT: Formatting.

This is far better stuff than that waxed stuff. It's what we all use over here. It is backed with polyethylene so it doesn't bleed through any cracks that form, and removes cleanly. Over here we can get it at Walmart, but I get mine in the hunting section of the sporting goods store. you can get it at Amazon UK.
Freezer Paper

Edit: Thanks, Bot!, Thanks, Coffee!

Instead of using sheet protectors, get a roll of 3 millimeter mylar/duralar. I got the idea from 3mil_mylar, he does some good stuff. Over all, the stuff is cheaper than buying sheet protectors, and allow for much bigger stencils. I got mine from a seller on amazon here. It also works great with a heat based stencil cutter. As for adhering the stencil to the shirt, just use spray adhesive on the back of the stencil, wait for it to get dry and tacky, and then put the stencil on the shirt and cover your edges. Adhesive spray directly on the shirt will get icky and may not come off.

You can get an iron for around $10. Freezer Paper is around $8. Your shirts will come out much better using the proper tools. Good luck!

Get plastic sheets, like overhead transparency plastic. link

Then use spray-on glue to attach it to the shirt. link

Spray the back side of the plastic, wait for it to get tacky, then apply it to the shirt. This is actually how I learned to make stencils, so I can 100% confirm that it works. You just need to be a little careful pulling the plastic up to ensure nothing in the stencil breaks. Goo-gone the back of the stencil after you're done to remove any glue residue, and you're ready to go for next time.

You can find Freezer Paper on Amazon!

As for how long you left the bleach on: I don't take NEARLY that much time! I spritz a pretty moderate amount of 50/50 on, let it soak for maybe 5-10 seconds, dab it off, and repeat. Do that for like three or four times, and it should work a lot better. When you're done, dunk it in water.

The bleedthrough, I guarantee you, is being worsened by the fact that you left it on for 30 minutes.

I have been using the little pump spray bottles that come in a travel kit from the dollar store.

Like these. http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Size-Spray-Bottle-oz/dp/B003XW0TG2

I've had two wear out on me but given their cheapness, I just keep a few extras on hand and at the first sign that it's shooting droplets instead of a mist, I toss it.

Thanks! I used this Fiskars exacto knife, and a metal ruler when I was cutting. :-) At some point, I'll probably buy the swivel version.

I've never tried it myself, but most people use use a repositionable spray adhesive. Here's one that Krylon makes: http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-2-Ounce-Repositionable-Adhesive-Spray/dp/B000A8AYO4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394748738&sr=8-2&keywords=removable+spray+adhesive

3M also makes one, and I'm sure a couple other companies do as well. It might leave the shirt slightly sticky right after you take it off, but any residue should come off in the wash.

I bought one of those mist sprayers you see hairstylists use. This is the first time I've used it and I'm really happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GRD5WLD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

• Make sure you're using a pump spray bottle, not a trigger type one. That helps some.
  
  
• It's very possible you're spraying from too close. This could lead to some areas way oversprayed, and others undersprayed.
  
  
• You may just have high expectations based off the highest posts in this sub. One of the coolest things about bleached shirts is the sort of swirly, random-ish type pattern it gives them. They will almost never be entirely uniform.

It looks like you're trying to format a word into a link. Try this instead:

> [Freezer Paper](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reynolds-Freezer-Paper-Plastic-Coated/dp/B00EME5KZ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501581704&sr=8-1&keywords=freezer+paper)

Result: Freezer Paper

***

^^Please ^^note: ^^Edits ^^won't ^^appear ^^visible ^^if ^^made ^^soon ^^after ^^posting. ^^| ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Contact ^^me ^^| ^^Opt-out ^^|

I think a good place to start would be with the Freezer Paper. I had a difficult time finding it, but the Reynolds paper worked really well for me.

Maybe this? Seems super convenient that you could just print your image right on it and you're ready to go without tracing, but more expensive than a roll of freezer paper, and smaller.

I've had some success with using plastic dividers like this glued down. Can't iron them but can be reused.

Try a local butcher's shop. They often don't have clear freezer paper, but brown unbleached freezer paper. It took a lot of work to find somewhere that actually has freezer paper out here in BC. Also, Amazon looks like it sells it in Canada, but it is expansive as balls

Link for UK/EU

Link for USA

Should be what you're looking for and it works very well, not too much either

Im using : This (Europe) Or This(America). It works really well for me.

I've not tried parchment paper before, so I don't know. I've used wax paper once which was a terrible mistake, and since then I've ONLY used freezer paper. You can get it through Amazon Canada here. I don't know how much cash you have, or how expense this is vs USD, but this will make you a goodly number of shirts (depending on big of a design you use. I've done 4 shirts so far, and I easily have enough paper for 7-10 more remaining.

Is something like this what you're talking about?

I saw someone on here the other day recommending a Silhouette Cameo. From what I've come across the Cameo is more recommended than the Cricut.

I had the same issue, but it turns out that you can find anything on amazon nowadays.

Get it from amazon
http://www.amazon.ca/Reynolds-391-75Sqft-Freezer-Paper/dp/B000BZYCNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421879637&sr=8-1&keywords=freezer+paper

i used Elmers brand paint markers like these. I got mine at walmart. they sell medium and fine point and there are several color packs. I use the regular Tulip Soft Fabric Paint for most of the stencil stuff though. I just wasn't quite good enough to paint the detailed lines for the GOT shirt with a paintbrush.

I just use wax paper and repositionable adhesive like this.

some folks are using plastic as a mask but using a tack spray "makes things sticky" found at art stores to place plastic on shirts. http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-10-25-Ounce-Repositionable-Adhesive-Spray/dp/B000A8AYO4

> Silhouette Cameo

Here's what I found when I searched for one...

I got mine off Amazon, only took a couple of days to arrive!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reynolds-Freezer-Paper-Plastic-Coated/dp/B00EME5KZ0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427828218&sr=8-1&tag=steal-20&keywords=freezer+paper

This is what I use. It will last a while if you are only doing one here and there...

This works great

This is the same size blade and also swivels, but I much prefer the hold on this knife compared to the straight handled knife. It never makes my hand cramp up.

Hi! I found the same problem and I switched to plastics.

You can see the process here:
http://imgur.com/a/BgQNT

What I use is here:
http://www.amazon.com/universal-laser-printer-transparency-65125/dp/B007X8HS9S

But alternatives could be found easily:
http://www.amazon.com/School-Smart-Transparency-without-Sensing/dp/B003U6KYO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1405623900&sr=1-1&keywords=transparency+film


You can also buy plastic folders or, my personal favorite, plastic folder dividers (that's what Gengar is made out of) for a more "solid" stencil but they are REALLY hard to cut. I made Gengar with scissors and a box cutter!