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!