by Penny Parker

Created on: August 24, 2009

For the first time since the 1980's, bleached, faded jeans are showing up everywhere from the fashion runways to trendy stores and boutiques. Gone is the inky, dark denim of the late 90's and early 2000's, and in it's place, we are seeing bleaching, paint splatters and rips on all styles of denim from skinny to wide legged.

If you are comfortable giving up your dark denim, bleaching jeans yourself is much cheaper than going out and buying a new pair. Depending on whether you would like to fade the overall color, or just bleach certain areas, there are different methods to get the look you want.

To lighten the color uniformly, you'll need a big bucket or tub, rubber gloves, bleach, and a sponge. It's best to do this outside, if possible. If not, you will need to take precautions indoors, such as properly ventilating your workspace and covering the floor with old towels to avoid getting bleach on it. You also may want to wear a smock or apron to avoid bleaching your clothing.

Fill the bucket with warm water and use 3/4- 1 cup of bleach per gallon of water. With gloved hands, mix the solution around until it is thoroughly mixed. Add the jeans to the bucket and make sure they are fully submerged. Swish them around a little to ensure that the solution covers them completely. Soak them for 5 to 7 minutes, changing the position of the jeans every minute or so to avoid lightening some areas more than others. Dab at certain areas with the sponge, such as pockets, seams and hemlines, as these areas are thicker and may soak up less bleach. Using the sponge will prevent these areas from staying darker than the rest of the denim.

When you are ready to take the jeans out of the solution, make sure you have a place to hang them to dry. That's why it's best to do this outside, because you can hang them on a clothesline or flat on the ground with a sheet underneath. If you are indoors, it would be best to do this on a drying rack or on a tile or linoleum surface with old towels or newspaper underneath.

When dry, repeat if more fading is desired. Wash the jeans before wearing.

To get a bleach splattered look, dilute the bleach in water as described above, and using a paintbrush, spray bottle, or any other tools you would like, apply the bleach solution to the desired areas of the jeans to fade only those sections. Let dry and wash before wearing.

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