How to Make a Bleach Sublimation Shirts

Bleach sublimation shirts are a trend that has been around for while..and it's easy to see why.

Not only are they fast and fun to make, but you can pretty much customize bleach spray shirts however you want!  Read on for a beginner tutorial on how to make bleach sublimation shirts. 

How to Do Bleach Sublimation Shirts

This tutorial is going to assume you know the basics of how to sublimate already and that you have a sublimation printer.  I am using my Sawgrass SG400 which is the older model of the current Sawgrass SG500 Sublimation printer. Print out your sublimation design and then set it aside while you bleach the shirt.

Best Shirts for Sublimation and Bleaching

Grab a shirt that you want to bleach - remember not all shirts will bleach.  The easiest shirts to bleach are heather colors but remember you also need to focus on the polyester count since you'll be sublimating.  I would recommend getting either Gildan brand Women's Softstyle cotton shirts in Dark Heather or the Augusta Sportswear Tri-blend in Navy Heather as I had really good luck with them. They bleached easily and quickly. 

Pour the bleach into a spray bottle and don't dilute it at all with water.  You'll also need hydrogen peroxide to stop the bleaching process so make sure you have that on hand too.

Place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to protect the back of the shirt from bleach going through.  

You'll want to set up your work area where you have full sun.  Also protect the work area with another piece of cardboard that you can lay your shirt on when you spray it with bleach. 

With the nozzle on spray, not stream, spray the area of the shirt where you want to sublimate.  

Don't saturate the shirt, just do a few light sprays at first.  

As the bleach starts to change the shirt's color, you can add more bleach if you need to. It only takes a few minutes for the shirt to bleach. 

For sublimation you need to make sure you have a large enough bleached area for the sublimation design to fit so just keep that in mind. 

How to Stop Shirts from Bleaching 

To stop the bleaching process at any point you'll want to put the shirt in a 50/50 rinse of hydrogen peroxide and water. One cup of each was enough for three small women's shirts. 

After the shirt is rinsed, throw it in the washer and drying for a cycle.  

Sublimation on Bleach Shirts 

When the bleach spray shirt is dry again, you're ready for sublimate! 

Heat up your heat press to 400 degrees and set the timer to 60 seconds.  Grab your sublimation print and lay it, print side down, on the bleached out area of the shirt.  Use a few pieces of high temperature tape to secure it in place. 

When the heat press is to temperature, you can apply the sublimation transfer. 

Remove the sublimation paper when the time is up...

and you've made yourself a bleach sublimation shirt! 

You can also make bleach shirts with vinyl stencils which is a great option if you don't have a sublimation printer.  This tutorial will show you step by step how to bleach shirts with vinyl. 

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