community of dyers

The artwork in this tutorial about stenciling with bleach (and in the follow-up postings) is worth looking at, though some of the recommendations for methods are rather ill-advised.

Apparently the artist sprays undiluted bleach onto 50% cotton/50% polyester shirts, lets it dry, does not neutralize the bleach in any way, and tumbles the shirts in the dryer to remove what he describes as crystals of bleach, before washing. It would be better to use 100% cotton, diluting the bleach with water as needed, then quickly rinse and treat with a neutralizing chemical such as Anti-chlor, Bleach-Stop, or hydrogen peroxide, followed by washing thoroughly. The heat of the dryer, before rinsing, will only accelerate damage to the fiber, and bleach residue in the dryer is extremely likely to damage other garments, though the artist says that this has never happened to him.

(The artist boasts that he "worked with chemists, fabric manufacturers, and artists. I wrecked my studio, my clothes, and my lungs", but he could surely have used a little more information than he found about the chemistry of bleach discharge.)

Paula