May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor~

Bleach T-Shirt

 

Is anyone else thrilled that the Hunger Games movie comes out tomorrow?  That's a silly question, because it is all over the media.  Being an English teacher, I'm extra excited that a fabulous book is being turned into a popular movie.  My students have been talking about it all week, and we have certainly tried to play it up.  Our school librarian has done daily HG trivia in anticipation for the movie.  Tomorrow, I'm giving out tiny printed mockingjay pins with safety pins.  We're going to wear our pins proudly.  And of course, never wanting to pass up an opportunity to make a t-shirt, I made my own festive garb for the premier.  Dan has already pleaded, "Don't be that person and wear the clothes to the movie."  Sorry, babe.  I missed all my chances to dress up like a wizard at the Harry Potter movies.  I can't pass up this chance!


Anyway, to talk about the book, and then on to the craft in paragraph 3.  If you haven't read it yet, put down your computer and go to your local library and check it out.  The three books are completely worth the week it will take to read them.  Seriously.  They are such enthralling reads, you won't put them down until you've blazed through all of them.   Here is the synopsis from Amazon:  "In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol   surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed."  If you are thinking that it sounds a little violent, you are right.  The violence is set in the story line, and it's not just gore for the sake of gore.  You fall in love with Peeta, admire Katniss, swoon for Gale, curse at Haymitch, and weep for Rue.


So, I made a shirt to wear to school on Friday.  I really enjoyed bleaching my first shirt, so I chose that method.  I cheated and printed a picture, and cut out a stencil.  I traced the cut-out mockingjay pin silhouette with chalk.  I bleached it in three stages.  The first thing I did was bleach the outer circle.  I squirted on the bleach with the pen, and then used a cheap, plastic-bristle water color paintbrush.  I painted the bleach in the circle.  Since the layer of bleach was so thin, the shirt color changed before my eyes.  I chose an army green color to represent Katniss' war, as well as the bleached color.  The bleach turned the shirt a rust color.  Perfect!


Since it dyed so quickly, I rinsed it before I painted in the center.  I didn't want the ring to get too bright.  So round 2 was bleaching out the center.   That was pretty easy.  I did have to retrace the center with chalk since it washed out with round 1, so I was glad I didn't throw my stencil away.


Round three was adding the depth.  I bleached out the highlighted places.  This time I actually drew it.  I laid it on pretty thick, and some areas thicker than others.  I tried to blend the bleach on the wings from heavy to no bleach.  I was very nervous in this stage.  I knew it looked good in stages 1 & 2, so it was a risk.  And besides my Pico cat jumping on the wet bleach and smearing the top, I LOVE how it turned out.  It looks rustic and crude in a way, but that description fits the arena.

"May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor."

**Picture from Google.