NOTE: You’ll be working with household bleach, which means that you’ll need to work in an area that has plenty of ventilation – preferably, outside. We want you to get the creative juices flowing, but sucking in some bleach fumes is not what we had in mind. 

If you’re working indoors, open the windows, and keep your air conditioner or fan running to help circulate air and disperse the bleach fumes. Also, if you’re indoors, you can protect yourself even more by wearing a mask or respirator. You don’t need to go full Breaking Bad, but an extra layer of protection is a good thing.

Finally, when working with bleach, be sure to wear gloves instead of handling the liquid by hand.

Lay a protective sheet over your work surface. Plastic is recommended because it won’t absorb the bleach or discolor. 

Now’s the time to put on eye protection and a mask too, if you’re using them.

On top of your protected surface, lay the t-shirt out flat. 

Move, fold, twist, and scrunch the shirt until you have created a ball. At this time, you can use rubber bands to hold your scrunched ball in its shape.

Fill the squirt bottle with  equal parts bleach and water (1:1 ratio), then shake until fully mixed.

Spray the water and bleach mixture onto the t-shirt (front and back) in various places. THIS WILL GET MESSY! That’s the point. Think five-year-old, desperately getting the ketchup onto a hotdog. There’s nothing exact about this. 

Let the water and bleach mixture soak into the t-shirt for about 10-15 minutes.

After 10-15 minutes, or when the fabric reaches your desired color, carefully carry it to the sink and thoroughly rinse the t-shirt under cold water. 

Once the water runs clear, wring out the t-shirt.

Next, wash and dry the bleached t-shirt as you normally would your clothes.

Once the shirt has been washed and dried, it’s time to add another personal touch by adding a couple of words that mean something to you. It could be something you came up with on your own or something you borrowed from your favorite movie or band. 

We’re preparing our design in the Cricut design space. You’ll need to check out the manufacturer's guidelines of your specific cutting machine to find details on how to sign up, install, and upload artwork.

If you’re using a press, adjust the heat to 320 degrees Fahrenheit.

For this project, we used a Cricut. The following steps will make references to the Cricut guide, so please refer to your vinyl cutter’s instruction manual.

Hit the "Make It" button located in the top right corner of your project page in the Cricut design space. The design will be displayed virtually on the cutting mat. 

Edit the mat size or the design placement on the mat, if needed. If your artwork contains text like ours, you’ll need to mirror the image to ensure that it reads correctly when it’s applied to the t-shirt.

Follow the prompts within Cricut’s design space. First, select the material you’ll be cutting and the pressure at which it should be cut.

With the shiny side faced down, place the HTV onto a standard grip cutting mat while also being sure to smooth out any bubbles.

Insert the cutting mat into the Cricut by using the rollers as a guide. Once the mat hits the rollers, push the flashing arrow button. The machine will pull in the cutting mat. When it's ready to cut, the Cricut button will begin to flash. 

Press the flashing Cricut button on the machine.

Once  finished cutting, the machine will stop and the arrow button will flash. Push the flashing arrow button to release the cutting mat from the machine.

Remove the vinyl from the mat by holding the cutting mat down with one hand and use your other hand to pull the vinyl off the cutting mat away from you.

Take your weeding tool and pierce the corner of the non-shiny side of the vinyl. Then use the weeding tool to remove any excess vinyl from the design. 

Use a lint roller to get rid of any unseen fibers that could be within the design placement area. This might seem like a small thing to do but it will make a big difference. You’ll thank us later, we promise. 

Next, give your t-shirt a 2-3 seconds pre-press. This will ensure your design placement area is as flat and dry as possible.

With the t-shirt still on the heat press, use the clear acrylic ruler to map out the design placement. Don’t worry, the ruler is designed to withstand the high temperature of a heat press.

Then with the vinyl side facing down, place the design on the t-shirt.

Place a clean sheet of Teflon (or parchment paper) on top of the design.

Press the t-shirt for about 15 seconds. Make sure to review your HTV manufacturer’s guidelines to confirm which temperature and time settings to use.

After 15 seconds, lift the press. Since we are using a hot peel, immediately peel off the plastic carrier. Be careful, it’s hot!

We speak from woeful experience – washing too soon can make the transfer not bond to the fabric.

Always wash the t-shirt inside out, using cool water, and dry it with low heat to protect the transfer.

You’ve just made your own reverse tie-dye shirt, baby. Congrats!

Now, you can make more for loved ones, or anybody you think could do with a little pick me up. Give a nod towards those superhero healthcare workers. Or to anyone else who deserves a bit of love. And that’s everyone, isn't it?