Out White Brite is a fun way to reverse tie-dye. Here you will find step-by-step instructions and video instructions on how to get a more white reverse dye effect.
White Brite is really pretty simple to use if you know what you’re doing ahead of time. Here you’ll find all the details of how to get a successful attempt even on your first try.
What is White Brite?
So what even is White Brite? It’s a laundry whitener. This is not necessarily its intended use but it is a cool side effect you can use to your advantage!
Reverse Tie-Dyeing
Reverse dyeing is a method of tie dye where instead of putting additional color onto an article of clothing or piece of fabric, you’re taking it out. Typically you will see people use bleach to achieve this effect but the results of White Brite are a more white/gray color than bleach’s typical orange/yellow tone. (Here is a post where I show how to use bleach crystals for reverse tie-dyeing.
I put a post together about painting with bleach and also compared it to White Bright. You can see the differences between the two in the photo below.
Tools for OWB Reverse Dyeing
- Item to reverse dye (100% cotton preferred. If your material is mostly polyester or another synthetic material such as spandex, white brite will have no effect.)
- Out White Bright
- Pot or Bucket
- Stirring spoon
How to Reverse Dye with White Bright
- Wet your fabric and wring it out. Damp fabric will create sharper lines between the white and black.
- Fill a pot or bucket with hot water with enough water to cover the fabric.
- Add the White Bright to the water and stir. I used about 3 tablespoons for my one shirt.
- Allow to sit for 4+ hours.
- After the cloth has sat in the water it may start to turn a bit lighter. It will get much whiter after the rinse!
- Rinse with cold water until water runs clear.
- Run the article of clothing through a wash cycle by itself.
Safety Precautions:
This product has a very intense odor and is made of chemicals that can be harmful. Wear a mask or respirator and use in a well-ventilated area.
Reverse Dyeing with White Bright
Out White Brite is a fun way to reverse tie-dye. Step-by-step and video instructions on how to get a more white reverse dye effect.
Materials
- White Brite
- 100% cotton dark t shirt or other dark fabric
Tools
- Pot or Bucket
- Stirring spoon
Instructions
- Wet your fabric and wring it out. Damp fabric will create sharper lines between the white and black.
- Fill a pot or bucket with hot water with enough water to cover the fabric.
- Add the White Bright to the water and stir. I used about 3 tablespoons for my one shirt.
- Allow to sit for 4+ hours.
- After the cloth has sat in the water it may start to turn a bit lighter. It will get much whiter after the rinse!
- Rinse with cold water until water runs clear.
- Run the article of clothing through a wash cycle by itself.
Recommended Products
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White Brite FAQs
White Brite does not contain bleach or oxy. It only has three ingredients: sodium metabisulfite, sodium hydrosulfite, and sodium carbonate.
OUT® White Brite® is a multi-purpose laundry whitener designed to remove dinginess, yellowing, rust, and hard water stains, iron-fortified baby formula stains, and red clay and red dirt stains. OUT White Brite also reverses dye stains caused when whites and colors are washed together.
But it doesn’t only remove unwanted stains. It also can pull color out so you can reverse dye with it! That’s why it makes a really fun way to tie-dye.
Out White Brite is a perfect solution to make your shoes look like new again as long as they are a natural fiber. If you’ve got a pair of white Keds, for example, OWB will give them a new life.
OWB is an acronym for Out White Brite. In a lot of tie-dye circles on Facebook groups or in subreddits, you’ll see the acronym ‘owb’. This laundry whitener is what they’re referring to when they say that!
Want some fun ideas on how to tie your reverse tie-dye? I have a post here of my 5 favorite Shibori folds that would work great with this technique. If you’re looking for more advanced folding techniques I wrote a book (and ebook!) that details 13 different ways to fold beautiful tie dye.
