DIY Galaxy Shirt

As part of our space unit, I showed the boys pictures of galaxy shirts and asked if they would like to have a try at making their own. They both started jumping up and down, going “YES! YES! YES! Please!”

To make a galaxy shirt, you need:

a dark coloured shirt – we used a black shirt and cotton is the best fabric

bleach solution – 7 parts bleach / 3 parts water

spray bottle

fabric paint or acrylic paint – the colours you wish to use

toothbrushes and sponges

To Make your Galaxy Shirt

We completed the first part with the bleach solution outside, so not to get bleach in the house and to help with breathing in the fumes.

Place a piece of cardboard or a plastic garbage bag in the middle of the shirt, so the bleach will not bleed through to the back of the shirt.

Pour the bleach and water into a spray bottle. Our boys wore safety goggles and gloves, so they wouldn’t get the bleach mixture on them. 

To create a galaxy star cluster, grab the middle of the shirt and twist (see the picture above).  This is totally optional. If you want a galaxy shirt without the cluster, just lay the black shirt flat.

Randomly spray the bleach solution onto the shirt. Our boys sprayed more of the bleach solution in the star cluster area and then spread the bleach solution out as they got closer to the edges of the shirt. This helps create the illusion of depth and distance.

Next, wait for the bleach to dry.  Our bleach started working straight away and as it was a hot, sunny day, it didn’t take long for the bleach to dry. You can also fasten up this step by using a hair dryer.

When it is dry, hand wash the shirt to make sure the bleach stops working and eating away at the material. Then let it dry.

Now it is time to add colours.  This I set up inside, by putting a garbage bag down under the shirts and a piece of cardboard in-between the layers of the shirt.

Add the paint by flicking or tapping a toothbrush or using pieces of cut up sponge. You could also use a paintbrush to get some different effects.

After completing all your ‘painting’, you can blur and blend the colours with a water-soaked sponge or paper towel.

Let the paint dry and then rinse and dry again before wearing.

Note: We did not have any fabric paints at home, so we used ordinary acrylic paint. You can also purchase metallic spray paints that you could just spray on.

I think they turned out great!! The boys really love them too!

Have you tried making galaxy shirts?

What coloured paint would you use on your galaxy shirt?