How and how to whiten jeans

Denim is always at the forefront of fashion. The cut, style, length of trousers or sleeves change, but denim takes a strong position in the hearts of lovers of trends and unshakable classics.

Features of denim

Before you start updating your denim wardrobe, carefully study the fabric you will be working with:

1. If the item is new and for some reason you decided to finalize it with color. Then you can safely dye the fabric in any convenient way, since the interlacing of the threads is dense, there are still no thinned or worn areas.
2. The item will be reused. In this case, carefully examine the fabric, mark all abrasions, defects and damages. The lightening process destroys the structure of the threads, in these places the thing will be especially prone to breaks. Skip these areas in the staining. Alternatively, decorate them with additional pieces of fabric, braid, ribbons or threads.
3. Pay attention to the density of the denim. When the material is thin and light, it is more quickly impregnated with the coloring compound. The thicker the fabric, the worse the pigmented agent penetrates, the more uneven the result will be.
4. The abundance of details, pockets, seams, rivets, inserts, flounces and folds make the bleaching process difficult. These textures are good for streaks, patterns and gradients rather than for an even shade of boiled denim.

Can jeans be bleached

Denim differs from other materials in color instability. It automatically loses color saturation with every wash. The material is malleable for coloring. But to get a beautiful result, you need some dexterity and knowledge of how to lighten jeans.

The whitening procedure is suitable for all types and shades of denim. You can whiten the surface of the fabric so that the clarifier does not penetrate deeply into the structure of the threads. And you can whiten in such a way that the fabric in this place becomes thinner and even breaks. This can simulate the flaw effect.

The higher the quality denim, the more aggressive bleaching agents it will withstand. For such material, "Domestos" or long digestion are suitable. If you are not sure about the quality of the fabric, or if it is thin, easily tearing, limit yourself to using baking soda or hydrogen peroxide. These are more gentle options that do not destroy the structure of the threads so much.

How can lightening be done

You can lighten a thing in different ways. Classic denim will serve as an ideal base.Its blue, cyan or cornflower blue shades are most susceptible to uniform loss of color intensity. Be prepared for the fact that the finished result is hard to predict. Each thing will "react" in its own way.

There is no need to be upset if expectations are at odds with reality. The fabric can be additionally colored with paints, modified with a clarifier or decorated to your taste.

Carefully study all the options for how to whiten your jeans. Each method has its own effect. For example, whiteness or bleach whitens much stronger and more aggressive than citric acid. In the first case, the shade of the fabric will be more light and pure than in the second.

Test the bleaching agent on a small, inconspicuous area of ​​the garment before starting work. If you are satisfied with the result, proceed with the transformation. If the color is not saturated enough, increase the exposure time of the fabric in the solution or change the lightening method.

If you are not boiling the garment, but manually creating bleached areas, make sure that the bleached spots do not appear on the other side, for example, the front and back of the pant leg. Unless, of course, you are pursuing such a goal.

To do this, create separation layers between foil or thick paper areas. This will prevent the denim from being saturated with the lightening agent and creating unplanned patterns. In this case, the intermediate layer is removed only after the item is completely dry.

Selection of special means

So, you have chosen a thing to whiten. There are several ways to lighten quickly:

• The washing machine provides an automated lightening of clothes for several tones. To do this, add 2-3 tablespoons of pharmacy hydrogen peroxide along with the usual dose of washing powder before washing. The quick and easy method has one drawback: you cannot control all the stages of staining and vary the intensity. The result is unpredictable, but effective.
• Soaking the thing in a lightening solution changes the shade by half a tone. This is a gentle way for light, summer fabrics. If the denim material is not bleached enough to your taste, the procedure can be repeated several times until the desired result.
• Digestion is the most effective lightening method for dense fabrics. The result exceeds all expectations, the material can acquire all shades of white and pale blue. It is necessary to follow the rules of personal safety, spend a little time. And special dishes are needed, in which food is not prepared.
• The most creative and unpredictable lightening process is done by hand. It is suitable for thin, fast-breaking items. Using materials at hand, you can achieve amazing results and bring to life bold design solutions.

Once you've decided on a method to bleach your jeans at home, it's time to familiarize yourself with a variety of ways. Each of them has advantages. And the process is fun and exciting. Sometimes you can even find a special product in the refrigerator. For whitening, they will come to the rescue:

• white;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• lemon or citric acid;
• soda;
• "Domestos" or another similar cleaning agent;
• hydroperite.

Folk remedies for whitening jeans

Folk remedies how to lighten jeans at home are equally good because they are effective with a small investment of money and time. This is ideal for spontaneous decisions to update things.For example, you have a party in the evening, or you immediately want a new wardrobe item.

Hydrogen peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide can be found in your home medicine cabinet. It is safe to use, creates lightened patterns or streaks with a gradient stretch in several tones. The agent can be added during washing, then the coloring will be even. In addition to bleaching, the product relieves denim from yellowness, which appears over time from long storage or constant wear.

Add 3 tablespoons of peroxide to a small bowl of warm water. Adjust the holding time yourself. Observe the process, soak the jeans until the desired shade is obtained.

It should be remembered that hydrogen peroxide is highly flammable. Carry out all renovation procedures away from fire or a switched on stove. Use safety goggles and do not lean low over the bowl of solution. If peroxide gets into your eyes, rinse with running water for a quarter of an hour and see a doctor immediately.

Soda

Baking soda has long been a favorite among home denim designers. You can make your jeans a little lighter at a time, or you can bleach them over and over again, transforming them after each wash.

To prepare a soda solution, mix 100 g of soda and 80 g of washing powder in a bowl of hot water. Wait for the mixture to cool to room temperature, place the jeans for an hour and a half.

In order to preserve the quality and structure of the threads as much as possible, it is recommended to turn the thing inside out before plunging it into the pelvis. Then rinse the jeans in warm water, straighten them to dry and enjoy the novelty in your wardrobe. This procedure can be repeated regularly, constantly lightening the thing by half a tone.

There is a second way to bleach jeans with soda, which helps to achieve an even, beautiful, bleached color:

1. Stir soda and washing powder in a 1: 2 ratio in a bowl of warm water.
2. In half of this solution, soak the thing for half an hour.
3. Hand wash jeans by adding the second part of the baking soda and powder solution to the wash water.
4. Rinse jeans well and dry.

Domestos

A great way to lighten and whiten jeans is to use kitchen and plumbing products. It may not be only Domestos. "Dressing Duck", "Gala" and others will do. To create a concentrate for 3 liters of water, use 100 ml of cleaning agent. Stir well and immerse the jeans in the liquid.

There is no recommended exposure time, you need to control the process of lightening the fabric yourself. As soon as you are satisfied with the result, you can end the procedure. Jeans should be washed well and rinsed under running water. If you do not remove the chemical reagents of the cleaning agent from the fibers of the material, there is a risk of an allergic reaction on the skin.

White

Strong and effective, it can be used in two ways: while washing jeans or boiling them. Whiteness has such a destructive effect on fabric that fine threads can simply dissolve.

Washing is more gentle on the garment. This is suitable for light-colored fabrics, for summer, loose denim pants. To do this, dilute 100 ml of whiteness in a 10-liter bowl of water and stir thoroughly. Submerge the jeans in the solution for half an hour. It remains to wash the thing with a universal powder and dry it.

Lemon acid

Citric acid is closer to natural dyes. It does not spoil the quality of the fabric, does not thin the material, as chemical reagents do. You can discolor jeans with both lemon and citric acid:

1. If using lemon, squeeze 10 tablespoons of juice into a bowl of warm water.
2. Take 10 teaspoons of citric acid for the same volume.
3. Stir lemon or citric acid in water thoroughly, immerse jeans for 4-5 hours.
4. Rinse and dry.

This procedure takes a long time. But the quality of the thing is preserved, the material does not deform and does not become thinner.

Hydroperite tablets

Hydroperite tablets are comparable to bleaching with hydrogen peroxide. The product lightens jeans by half a tone and spares the structure of the fabric. Hydroperite is added during washing along with washing powder. This condition is enough to quickly and evenly whiten the thing. Crush 3-4 tablets and be sure to rinse the item thoroughly.

Clarification process

The dynamics of the lightening of the fabric directly depends on how well it was saturated with the bleaching solution and how long this process lasted. If you regulate the access of reagents to certain parts of the tissue, you can get original patterns and streaks.

Slight lightening effect

Partial lightening on things can be created by not completely immersing them in the bleach liquid. For example, you plan to lighten the bottom of the skirt, get an ombre effect. Immerse the product in the diluted composition to the height of the staining. In order not to keep the item suspended, secure it on a stick or on a hanger. This will create an even, blurry ombre edge.

The longer you keep the thing in the solution, the more the paint will fade. Adjust the intensity of the dyeing process and remember that dried fabric will look lighter than wet.

Lightened streak effect

Beautiful clarified stains are obtained if you first twist the jeans strongly and secure them in this position with elastic bands. The whitening liquid will penetrate unevenly into the structure of the tissue, more strongly highlight the areas of the tissue that are "outside". The material inside the formed folds will be the least prone to staining.

After washing and drying, beautiful horizontal streaks with smooth, blurred borders are obtained on the fabric.
To bleach vertical stripes, use clothespins or paper clips to hold the jeans securely in place.

Bleaching threads on pants

If you have jeans with a ripped effect and multiple horizontal threads, you can only dye them. It will look original and attract the attention of others. In order not to stain the fabric on the back of the garment, put a protective layer of foil or other dense material inside the garment. Blot the threads with the bleaching agent, leave for the required period of time, rinse and dry.

Complete whitening

Boiling or a very long soaking will help to achieve complete whitening, maximum lightening of the thing. The stronger the effect of the coloring composition, the more the structure of the thread is destroyed. The lighter the item, the easier it is to achieve maximum lightness.

Whitening fringe

It is better to bleach individual threads, for example, a fringe, by hand. So it is more convenient to control the process of color change. Cover the areas that you do not plan to paint with tape.Blot the threads with the prepared solution using a kitchen sponge. Or spray with a spray bottle.

When the threads change color to the desired color, rinse the area of ​​the fabric in cool water, peel off the tape and dry.

Create drawings or patterns

Beautiful patterns are created using available tools:

• If you pinch the fabric with clothespins or hairpins before bleaching, you get pointed stars.
• For blurry circles, drag a piece of fabric with elastic bands or strong threads.
• Citric acid and stencils create original patterns on fabric, even if you don't know how to paint professionally.
• A spray bottle or spray will create nice drops, smudges, and splashes.

How to boil jeans

The process of boiling in whiteness is the most laborious, but effective:

1. Wear rubber gloves and, if possible, safety goggles.
2. Use a metal bucket or pot.
3. Use a wooden stick or spatula for occasional stirring.
4. Fill the container halfway with water to prevent the boiling liquid from spilling out or splashing.
5. Immerse clean, dry jeans in a boiling solution.
6. Make sure that the item does not float during bleaching.
7. The first effect of lightening the fabric will appear after 10 minutes.
8. It is recommended to "cook" jeans no more than half an hour, otherwise the whiteness will begin to destroy the structure of the threads.
9. After digestion, wash and rinse the jeans well.
10. The final result of digestion will be visible on the dried tissue.

How not to spoil a thing

• Always test the bleaching liquid on a small area of ​​the fabric. Evaluate the result, check the quality of the threads after dyeing.
• If you are creating original designs, do not use metal clips to avoid rust stains.
• Do not exceed the permissible concentration of whiteness and the residence time of the fabric in the solution. This destroys the fibers of the fabric, and there is a risk of ruining the item forever.
• If you use a lace to tie up fabric, use white so that it doesn't stain your jeans with its paint.
• Do not boil things out of thin stretch fabrics.
• Observe safety precautions! Remember, you are working with fluids that can injure you and cause burns.

The whitening process captivates and gives free rein to imagination. An ordinary, boring, boring thing can sparkle with new colors. It is especially pleasant that whitening is inexpensive and easy to perform. Update at your pleasure!

Video: an interesting way to whiten jeans