Advice needed: Xmas T-Shirts!
Posted by hotcooknmama on Dec 12, 2009 · Member since Sep 2009 · 848 posts
Hey guys-- we are SO broke right now, it's not even funny; so basically everyone except my kid is just gonna have to get a homemade gift, this year. I'd like to make some T-shirts for some of my veg (or mostly-veg) family members, with both designs & letters-- i.e. pic of earth (or ? ...still thinkin'), w/ text 'eat like you give a damn'... or smthn...
Anyway, my experience is pretty much limited to some tie-died onesies I made for my son when he was a baby, way long ago; so... has anyone here done this kind of project before? What kind of paint should I use? Does it matter if the T-shirt is all cotton, or not? Can I do it with Sharpies? (kidding-- I think!)
All advice greatly appreciated!!!
Do you have a color printer? You can buy iron ons and either design it on the PC and print it out, or scan in your hand drawing and then print out on t shirt transfer paper. I just ordered some myself....its not too expensive.
My son entered a t shirt design contest and did not win (his first not win ever!) and so I am going to make him a shirt with his design on it.
If you decide to just paint directly on the shirts, it will need to be acrylic paint, not tempera. They also make "fabric paint" you can use.
There's a few threads on VW from long ago that have quotes ( i started one once because I needed a quote for my kitchen-another unfinished project!). One guy started one about t shirts too. Maybe you can get ideas from that thread if you can find it.
Fabric paint, Iron on Letters/Images, Transfer paper, Acrylic paint doesn't come out for anything. Also you could try dye in a spray bottle with stencils. Paint lasts longer than sharpie by a long shot. I prefer cotton shirts over anything else, and they tend to take dyes and paints better
You can also get stuff to screen print (not sure how much it costs) and find tutorials all over the internet. If you want to have some serious T-shirt fun look for threadbanger on youtube and look for their "T-shirt Recon" videos, those are all pretty neat. I think they also have a screen printing tutorial.
Great-- thanks bunches! That's some really good start-up advice... I'll pursue the other resources, too... I like the idea of maybe doing pics w/ spray-bottle & stencils, then using iron-on transfers for lettering... Anyway, thank you!
(the ideas above sound far superior to my Sharpie idea...) ::)
FTR you can make some KICKIN tees with white shirts and colored sharpies! totally works, just pre wash the shirts to get the starch out. My kids love to do this in the summer, or any time. Its a great way to make any type of holiday apparel, hats etc, and sharpies come in every color imaginable. cheap too.
The thing is I would make sure you get good quality transfer paper, because I've gotten some that peeled/flaked like crazy after one wash (If I remember the brand I'll let you know)
Thanks-- current experiment involves Hanes 'TransferMagic' transfer paper for light-colored shirts... have successfully designed stuff in PhotoShop & printed it out on xfer paper; had to stop there 'cause hubby came home, & he's one of the gift-ees (his has a pic in the style of the Godfather movies, with the lettering changed to say 'The Dogfather'-- tee hee, 'cause we've got a billion dogs; I think it suits him!)...
I also made one for my sis (or, at least, the design for one) that has a pic of the earth, w/ hazy atmosphere... bold green letters: EAT LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN... then underneath, in smaller/ elegant script: 'Go Green: Go Veg!'. That's my favorite one so far... I'll report back; hopefully they'll transfer & wear ok...
Really appreciate the input, everyone! Keep it comin'... this could take a few tries... ;-)
I also made one for my sis (or, at least, the design for one) that has a pic of the earth, w/ hazy atmosphere... bold green letters: EAT LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN... then underneath, in smaller/ elegant script: 'Go Green: Go Veg!'. That's my favorite one so far... I'll report back; hopefully they'll transfer & wear ok...
I LOVE THAT IDEA FOR A SHIRT!
I also made one for my sis (or, at least, the design for one) that has a pic of the earth, w/ hazy atmosphere... bold green letters: EAT LIKE YOU GIVE A DAMN... then underneath, in smaller/ elegant script: 'Go Green: Go Veg!'. That's my favorite one so far... I'll report back; hopefully they'll transfer & wear ok...
I LOVE THAT IDEA FOR A SHIRT!
I definitely don't feel proprietorial about it!
I'm gonna tweak it a little, to make one of the fonts a little easier to read; then (if I can figure out how!) I'll post the photoshop image file; alternatively, I'd be glad to email it to anyone who wants it... just PM me, if the image doesn't appear here by 2010!
I just made an iron on sweatshirt for my son, Noah. He had entered a t shirt design contest and did not win (his was MUCH better than the winning entry, imo). So I made him up a shirt with his design on it! It came out pretty clear...now I am trying to think of a cute idea for Lyle. He is obsessed with shoes, boots, and balls (the throwing kind) but I can't think of anything clever. He is also a vegan who hates vegetables. That might be something.
You can batik if you wash the shirt first then make your design with the blue gel glue (Elmers makes one) then let it dry and you can brush waterd down acrylic paints on for color.