I've never done this before and I screwed up somewhere. Either I used too much bleach and ruined a perfectly good black shirt or the stencil I used became saturated with bleach and the sillouhette failed to appear anyway. I'm using pretty simple logos/shapes cut out of cardboard, but that doesn't seem to stop the bleach from seeping through the stencil and messing up the design. Am I spraying too much on? Only spray once or twice and let dry? It seems like it takes a ton to fade a black shirt to white, or maybe it's the mix of dyes in a particular fabric? I make it to bright orange usually before the shirt becomes one mass of faded color, i'm getting frustrated ruining my shirts

Once I made a t-shirt with a batcave logo bleached into it, but I, uh, didn't spray the bleach, I applied it with a brush, as if it was some sort of a dye. ^^' Also I used a plastic stencil and I pinned it to the t-shirt so it didn't move. But you may simply use a bleach pen, if you know where you can buy one. (I would use one too, if I knew where to get one. )

It's absolutely normal if the shirt fades to a sort of brick reddish, orangey colour, it takes some time to get a lighter colour. I'd advise you to wait a few minutes (really, just 2-3 minutes) before applying a new dose of bleach, because you'll end up with a t-shirt literally soaking in bleach.

Also, it's quite important that you don't just let the bleach dry, because it will ruin the material of the shirt. Once you're satisfied with the pattern you need to wash it in cold water - even if you're not satisfied it's not really a great idea to leave the bleach on the shirt fo more than 10-15 minutes.

That's all I could think of now, but I hope I could give you some useful advice.

A plastic stencil would work wonders, but what to cut that out of? and how?

Buy a cheap plastic 3-ring binder (for paper), and cut your stencil out of the cover(s). It will be sturdy enough to withstand the bleach. Good luck!

Hmmm... I'm not sure.

Perhaps you could do multiple treatments, washing inbetween them. That would control the location of the bleaching, and maybe stop the chemicals eating through the fabric.

Also you could use oxygen bleach like nappy sanitizer instead of chlorine bleach. I happen to know that it's also effective, after accidentally leaving it and dry clothes in the machine too long before washing.

It left me with a white constellation on some clothes which was really cool (and orange bits on others which wasn't really - but could be if you like orange or the whole industrial safety gear vibe), but too long damages fabric so you get holes fast on those bits when you wash. It does look good to have the little holes with pale seared edges, but it might not be your thing.

If I were you; I'd try mixing Napisan to a thin paste and brush it onto damp/dry clothing, leave for ten mins then wash. Or sprinkle dry Napisan powder onto damp clothes in your pattern for ten minutes.
Easier to control and less seepage, then you can repeat it to get more effect where it needs it. The first go will probably get it down to the orangey pigments then another might remove the colour.

Also consider using masking tape to block off bits you don't want affected, that will reduce the chemicals seeping under it. Or even wax.

Ps. Laundry powder is an alkaline - so if you want to stop at the point where it looks good or before the fabric is trashed, washing it in laundry detergent will neutralize the acidic bleach and stop the process. Baking soda could work too, just wash and rinse well for both to remove bleach traces.

http://reubenmiller.typepad.com/my_webl ... ach-s.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/T-shirt ... nd-Bleach/

http://cre.ations.net/creation/t-shirt- ... and-bleach

I think all of those are pretty simple, at least, I hope they are. Seems like all you need is a 'stencil' and some bleack in a spray bottle.