DIY Dip-Dyed Bleached Denim Shorts... My Way!!

The hippie look is not part of my normal wardrobe vocabulary (number of Asian hippies I've encountered in my life... zero), so when I was looking for an outfit for Tomorrow World I was forced to get into creative DIY mode.  My over-analytical self couldn't just settle for some simple bleached jorts, so I went crazy and added a tribal pattern and, of course, some sparklies. :-) 

Let me save you some Googling/Pinning time and show you some of my fave finds and inspirations...

  

1. ISpyDIY: Bleached Denim DIY Inspiration
2. Bleached-bottom Shorts w/ Tribal Design
3. Boat People Vintage: DIY Bleached Aztek Denim Shorts

>> DIY STEPS <<

Materials for Bleached Jorts: (Total Cost: $0)
Old pair of jeans
Scissors
Bleach

Materials for Tribal Pattern and Sparkles: (Total Cost: ~$15 w/ lots of leftovers)
Pencil/Eraser
Ruler/Straight Edge
Black fabric paint and fabric marker
Small brushes
Painter's Tape
Glitter Spray

Step 1: Cut
Find an old pair of jeans and using your favorite pair of shorts, measure how short to cut your jeans.  Don't cut too short, you can always cut off more later.  Also make sure to leave enough of an inseam so you don't end up with camel toe issues later. 

Step 2: Mix Bleach Solution
Mix bleach and warm water in a 2:1 ratio (or 3:1 if you want to be more cautious) in a container large enough to fit your jorts in.

Step 3: Soak in Bleach
 Dampen your jorts with warm water, then dip into the bleach solution. Remember that the bleach will soak upwards some, past the level of where your shorts sit in the solution.  Leave in the bleach solution for as long you desire, moving around the shorts occasionally and checking on the color. 

I bleached my shorts 3 different times.  The 1st 30 minute soak was to get comfortable with how strong the bleach solution was... it only removed a couple shades of color because my jeans were so dark to begin with.  For my 2nd soaking, I left the shorts in the solution for 2 hours... mostly because I fell asleep (whoops!),  but I ended up really liking how bleached they were.  The last 20 minute soak was an attempt to get the bottoms really white.  In the end I don't think this was necessary as the next step seemed to make my shorts even lighter.
*Tip: To create an ombre look, do 2-3 different soaking sessions with a longer bleaching time for each subsequent session, and dip in less of the shorts each time. 

Step 4: Wash/Dry
Take your jeans out of the bleach solution, rinse with warm water to remove any residual bleach, and put it through the washer/dryer for one cycle (by itself).  The washer/dryer will also help the edges to fray naturally.  If you want more fray action, you can wash/dry again or use a butter knife to rough up the edges more.  
*Tip: After the wash, my jorts looked even more bleached, so keep this in mind during Step 3.

Step 5: Tribal Pattern
Using a pencil and ruler, outline the tribal pattern.  Retrace the penciled outline with a fabric marker that has a straight/sharp edge.  Fill in the pattern using small brushes and fabric paint. 

Step 6: Add Glitter
Use painter's tape to outline the areas you want to glitter-fy (or skip if you don't care about clean edges). Spray on the glitter and let dry overnight. 

And POOF... Pimped out and hipped out.