Fade Into Summer Shorts

Happy Memorial Day!

Since this weekend is the official weekend that kicks off summer, what better way than to welcome the wearing of white with a bleaching project.  In Florida, we don't really abide by that whole only-wear-white-after-Memorial-Day rule.  This project is easing into the wearing white gradually, by doing a fade-out on a pair of cut-off shorts.  This idea came from P.S. I Made This. (Such a great site, you have to check it out!)

I took my really dark blue Gap pair of Long and Leans (I love my Long and Leans) and chopped the legs off.  I used a pair of shorts where I liked the length and used those as a guide in cutting the Gap jeans.

Once the shorts were cut, Vince and I made a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part bleach in a bucket.  We propped the shorts up in the bucket so only the bottom portion was dipped in the solution.

We let it sit there for awhile.  The original instructions said for 30 minutes at first but that it could take a few dips.  Well, we had it in the bucket for about 5 hours (it was about midnight at this point) and it was bleaching it, but it was not white as snow yet.  Good enough!

Next we took them out and dumped and rinsed the bucket of bleach solution out.  In the same bucket, we made a solution of 2 parts water and 1 part vinegar.  This will stop the bleaching process.  Completely soak the shorts in this solution for about 10 minutes.

Once soaked and completely stinky, the next step is to wash them in the washing machine.  Wash them alone for this first time only.  Then dry them as usual (alone this first time, too).

Guess what, my crafty peeps?  You are done!

Washing them made them a bit whiter, maybe because I was seeing them wet and these are now dry.

I will wear these shorts proud at a Memorial Day BBQ party tomorrow.  Thank you to all the military that had fallen to allow us to be free!  Rest in Peace.

Source: google.com via Nancy on Pinterest