Colleeflower: DIY: Galaxy Print

In this tutorial, I'll be showing you how to create your own galaxy print.

To create this look, there's a few things you will need. To start, I recommend choosing something black to use. You can use just about any article of black clothing that you'd like, but denim works best! I chose a pair of black high-waisted jean shorts that I cut using my jort tutorial technique. You will also need a couple of craft sponges, fabric paint (I used blue, pink, neon green, white, and black for any needed touch-ups), newspaper, an old towel, bleach, and an empty spray bottle (mine is just an empty orange cleaner bottle). The clear bottle in the bottom right photo is something I used to make the "stars" by dabbing the white fabric paint on the nozzle and then dotting the surface of my shorts, but we'll get to that!

To begin, lay out an old towel and cover it with newsprint. I also stuffed plastic bags on the inside of my shorts to keep the bleach from bleeding through to the other side. I definitely recommend wearing old clothes for this project, due to the use of bleach and paint. The next thing you need to do is pour some bleach into your empty spray bottle, and adjust the nozzle so that the bleach creates a fine mist (you can test on scrap fabric). Now, the fun part begins!

With the spray bottle of bleach, mist a few large spots with bleach. It should change to a yellow/orange color fairly quickly. This will create the appearance of nebulas. You can do as much or as little as you prefer.

This is what the front side of my shorts looked like after the bleach.

Repeat on the back side.

Flip your project back to the front side. Using a plate or palette, dab some white paint onto one of your craft sponges. Smear the paint into the fabric in spots where you plan to have color.

The white paint will act as a primer.

This is what mine looked like after this step, but keep in mind that you can add more later if you'd like.

Now it's time to add some color. Using a different sponge, add color to some of the white or bleached spots. Rub it in vigorously in order to make it blend into the black. Repeat in other places with some of your other colors, keeping in mind that you can blend and mix colors together (I mixed blue and pink to create purple).

This is what the front side looked like after I added color.

Now it's time to add the stars! Using the white paint again, make randomly placed dots onto your project. Be sure to make different size dots, and try to cluster the dots on the "nebulae." I used the nozzle on an empty bottle because it allowed more control than squirting the white paint straight out of its bottle. This step is easy but very time consuming, and you can add as many or as few as you'd like.

When you're finished, allow the paint to dry overnight.

Now that the front side is dry, it's time to add the primer, color and stars onto the back. Be sure to pay attention to the side seams and blend the color patterns from the front onto the back.