Monday, October 18, 2010

I Made it Monday: T-shirt Tutorial

I kind of wanted to subtitle this post "Dang, it feels good to be a crafta" after the Geto Boy's song "D#$n it feels good to be a gangsta." Please don't google it, the lyrics are horrid. My point is, that when you see something you like but realize you could make it for way, way, less... dang, it feels good to be a crafta.

These shirts are evidence of that. I saw this shirt in a movie, and thought it would be adorable on the boys. I spent a whopping dollar on this project for Stinky's t-shirt, and the rest was stuff I had on hand. This is also a good way of hanging onto shirts that get stained. So, without further ado, here's the tutorial for freezer-paper stencilling your t-shirt.

What you'll need:
T-shirt, onesie, bag, or whatever you want to place the image on.
sharpie
freezer paper
cardboard
scissors or exact-o knife
fabric paint
sponge brush
First, find an image. Line-drawings and silhouettes work best- keep it simple. Trace it on to some freezer paper with the sharpie, and cut out. Scissors are doable, but exact-o knives work really well. Save inner pieces, like the part of 'd.' They tend to get lost easily.
Next, place cardboard underneath your shirt to keep the paint from bleeding through.


Place stencil onto the shirt, try to center as well as possible. Iron the paper onto the shirt on the 'silk' setting. Press until the freezer papaer has adhered to the shirt. Make sure you include parts like the little circle out of the d.
Using sponge brush, carefully paint over the open parts of the stencil. Be careful not to go over the edges of the stencil- see the second to last picture? That's why 'stud' is underlined on Stinky's shirt.


Allow to dry for at least 5 minutes, up to overnight. If paint is still wet, peel very carefully, especially around the small details



Make sure all paint is dry. Put it on the intended wearer and admire your awesome work.


WBH says he doesn't need the shirt. It's implied.


Rotten really likes his.

I've used this method on shirts, bags, and tea towels. It's fun and easy. Let me know if you use it- I'd love to see what you make!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love it! Stealing it!

Also, I cannot beleive how much rotten resembles his mama!

Anonymous said...

These shirts are so expensive in stores and there you go gettin' all crafty... GOOD JOB!! Hugs. Tammy

Elizabeth said...

I've seen freezer paper stencils before but haven't tried them yet...I want to! Your shirts turned out cute!

Anonymous said...

So fun. May have to implement this into Christmas gifts this year . . .

Joyful Mud Puddles said...

Saw your onesie on Lets HEar It for the Boys. This is so very adorable. I need to make one for my boys.

Meaghan
http://raisingourfamily.blogspot.com

Rebecca said...

FPS is one of my favorite things to do now. Your shirts are cute and so are your boys.

Kris @ everywhereorange.com said...

This is so cute on your boys! i like that it is implied for your hubs, that made me LOL!!

~Iffy~ @ StayAtHomeNation said...

Too Cute! The freezer paper is so simple isn't it? I'm not that crafty and so I love it!