Hanging clothes out in the sun is a natural way to fade cloth
Fading clothes can be done using both natural ingredients or chemicals. In many cases, you probably already have all the needed ingredients or items lying around your home. This makes fading cloth an inexpensive way to change up certain pieces of your wardrobe for a new look. The amount of time and effort it takes to accomplish this change depends on the type of cloth and how faded you want it to be in the end.
Instructions
Bleaching
1. Fill a large bucket or similar container big enough to hold the cloth with 1 cup of bleach for every gallon of water.
2. Put on rubber gloves and carefully (so as not to splash bleach on clothes or in eyes) submerge the cloth in the bleach and water mixture so that all the cloth is under water or else the fading may not come out evenly.
3. Soak for five to seven minutes, then check how faded the cloth is. If you wish it to be more faded, submerge again for another five to seven minutes until you get the desired result. Launder as usual.
Sunlight
4. Launder your clothes that you wish to fade using hot water, which helps begin the fading process.
5. Hang the clothes on a clothesline using clothespins. If a clothesline is not available, you can instead put the clothes on a hanger. Hang outside in the daylight so the clothes meant to be faded are in full sunlight, not shade.
6. Remove clothes from outside after daylight has passed. Check if they are faded enough for your liking. If not, repeat again the next day and as many days as necessary to get the desired amount of fading.
Washing Machine
7. Run your washing machine on the hottest cycle possible with the cloth you wish to fade in it.
8. Dry the clothes to see if they are the desired shade of faded color. When wet, clothes always appear brighter so it is hard to tell if they are faded enough until you dry them. If time permits, let the clothes dry outside in full sun exposure, as this will help speed up the fading process.
9. Run the clothes through the same cycle again. Keep repeating as necessary until you reach the desired amount of fading. This could take up to ten washes.
