Thread: Using leach to change Color

Gosh - glad that you said "bleach" instead of "leach" - was really getting worried here.

Originally Posted by MaggieBB

I would like to lighten the frabic I am using to make it have a swirly pattern,am thinking I can use a mild bleach and liquid soap solution to accomplish this. Has anyon on the board tried this ?

What you are describing is called 'discharge dyeing', and there is a wealth of information available on the web about it. There's also a lot here on QB as well, for example ART Quilt Challenges Monthly . The posts before and after that one also talk about discharging.

I've never heard of bleach plus liquid soap, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't work. If you want to try something safer than bleach, either Jacquard discharge paste or deColourant would be good. The only problem with them is that you cannot tell what your results will be until after you rinse it out. With bleach, you can stop the action fairly close to where you want it. You might also want to try Soft Scrub with Bleach and paint it on in the swirl you want. It has a thicker consistency than just bleach and is easier to control.

The bleach-water ratio is 50-50, and vinegar is NOT the stop bath of choice by those of us who frequently use this technique. The 'art quilt' thread linked above will give you more details, as will a web search. Have fun...discharge dyeing is quite addictive!

I have done it in small areas only - not a whole piece of cloth. I used a very small pait brush.

If you want to do specific sections only (as opposed to the entire piece of fabric) suggest that you wet the fabric with water first to prevent unwanted bleach bleed (it bleeds less when the surrounding fabric is already wet).

Whether you want a small area, or yardage ... strongly suggest that you try small pieces first to get whatever technique you are using down pat.

If I read your OP right ... you want to bleach out swirlly patterns on a large piece of fabric correct?

Fill a bowl with a bleach dilute, and work on your kitchen counter (providing it is something that can withstand bleach) next to the sink. Have the cold water running so you can stop the bleach action. Wet your fabric with cold water. Use a paintbrush the thickness of the swirls that you want. You might want to experiment with other "tools" other than a paint brush (for example, a hair brush will give a more "brushed" effect, a wadded up rag will give a more "mottled" effect, a rope mop will give a "swishy" effect - etc). But ... definitely experiment and play. Play with a smaller bit of your fabric to see if you get the color you want (remember some colors bleach out into other possibly unwanted colors - blacks become brown then yellow etc. - they rarely just "fade in value"). But also experiment the technique you use on other fabric to see if it is the effect that you want. You will also want to play with the amount of time the bleach sits on the fabric before you wash it out. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than one might expect.

I had good success with this method ... but bear in mind I was working on very small areas (1" squares to be exact). I also had quite a few 1" squares I could play with before I got what I wanted.

Good luck!

i use peroxide in my (stop-bath) after discharge dyeing- read through the tips-hints---it is important to stop the bleach after preforming the discharging- otherwise the bleach keeps eating away at the fabrics until you have holes- vinegar is not one of the recommended products to use.