Distressing a Shirt

[Zaphod]

I am thinking about distressing my new WPG Indy shirt. I am looking to make it look like it has seen some adventures instead of brand new. I am going for a Raiders look.

I have read threads where people have used mineral oil, olive oil or glycerine to simulate sweat. But what about general dirt and wear? I have read that people have used tea staining to weather clothes for movies. Has anyone on the forum used this technique? Have you used other techniques to make the shirt dirty and worn? Rolling around in the dirt is an option but I am looking for something more permanent.

Thanks!

[temple_runner]

If it was me (and I'm no distressing expert), and I was fine with leaving it dirty, I would tie it to my car bumper and dry around the block. You'd get the dirt, the small tears, likely some ruffles and wrinkles, for sure. It saves a lot of time actually distressing unless you like the diligent work of it.

[WetDigger]

I used this technique on several shirts and other articles I needed to look worn or well "broken in". Set the article aside in the laundry room, and let it ride along every time you run a load of laundry. After several cycles with clothing, shoes, bedding, towels and the like it will start to fade, abrade, and get a well used appearance without necessarily abusing it. It might take a couple weeks, but you will eventually get a shirt that is soft and has the look of being well worn yet is still perfectly wearable.

[The Character]

Screen costumers use a few techniques ..

you have a combination of - Long Term wear and Short term 'In the moment' wear.

Longterm wear
Essentially its about breaking down the fibres and bleaching out the colour or fading it .. the easiest method is gentle abrasion .. I've used sandpaper and also a small gauge grater .. (like for parmesan or similar) .. the greater is good for pants/trouser seats and knees .. the sandpaper for shirt elbows and cuffs.

The key is to add the wear where it will happen in real life if you do it all over it looks odd .. clothes wear on the seams and cuffs, elbows .. knees area and shoulders/upper back .. and obviously around collars ..
They also fade from detergents so you can lightly bleach them .. again areas that bleach out slightly more are the sweaty bits .. collars and armpits (go figure?)

Short term wear
On top of all that you have to add the 'in the moment' effects.
Is the look sweaty?.. in which case olive oil and water mixed and sprayed on is good.
Small tears and rips often happen in the moment - Knees and elbows get snagged.
Dirt -where you've crawled through #### you'll be dirty .. again elbows and knees and seat of the pants where you slid down a hillside?
Blood .. tricky one this a theatre 'Fresh' blood often looks wrong .. dried blood has a different darker look .. or blood stains?

Some great examples of deconstructive clothing effects are found in Die Hard where you can follow John Maclean's shirt degradation scene by scene! lol

one of the best stories (true or not) i heard is that when Alec Guinness got his Obi Wan robes for Star Wars the first thing he did was roll around in the Tunisian dust to get the 'desert look' ... .. have to say fullers earth can look great if used sparingly ..

[pittforcefive]

I use a spray bottle and put a tablespoon of Tan Rit Dye and a drop of Rit Dark Brown dye in the bottle and shake it up, then spray it on a spare t-shirt to see if its the right hue, If I feel its too dark, I pour some out and add more hot water to dilute it. Then, when I spray my mix on a spare test t-shirt I look for a Tea color, then once I feel I have the mixture right I spray it on my Indy shirt in the areas wear we see sweat like the collar and the button areas and don't forget the arm pits! You then throw it into a dryer and dry it out, and take a look to see if you need another soaking in those areas with your mixture. If you feel you went too dark/heavy, just wash the shirt and it will fade it a bit.

If you don't want to buy dye, you can use coffee or tea and just pour it in those areas you want to look sweaty.

In this pic, I tested my method on a spare thrift store shirt instead of ruining a good Indy shirt. Forgive me for wearing my daughter's purse in the photo.

[The Character]

Very nice effect there ... top notch

[Zaphod]

Pitforce5...your technique looks great.

I just tested using food grade glycerin in a 50/50 mix with water in a small spray bottle to simulate sweat. It looked great. It stayed "damp" for a week until I washed it. It came completely out. I used it on a WPG Indy shirt. If anyone uses this technique, I recommend you test it on a small section of the shirt like the shirt tail to make sure it works for you.

[Cajunkraut]

Forgive me for wearing my daughter's purse in the photo.

Just as long as it matches the boots.