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Fabric Painting

T-Shirts

Below, you will see samples of T-shirts done with Fabric paint. The t-shirts seen here are all of the Looney Tunes variety. I found two books of Looney Tunes transfers at my craft store, and used those to iron on the images before painting. I consider painting these shirts not only relaxing and gratifying, but also money saving as well. To purchase a Looney Tunes t-shirt, could cost as $20.00 (sometimes more, sometimes less), but to purchase a plain t-shirt and paint it yourself runs only about $5.00. When you have 3 children, the savings adds up quickly!

Bug's T-shirt frontBug's T-shirt back

As you can see, I painted both the front and back of this shirt. A two sided Looney Tunes shirt in the store can easily run $25.00


Taz 1 T-shirt frontTaz 1 T-shirt back

Although you're seeing this set as a shirt, originally, this was a dress (you can't stop kids from growing can you?). I found this cute little plain dress for $8.00. Once I added the Taz pictures to the front and back, it instantly became a much more valuable garment. I can't tell you how many parents and children asked me where they could buy it.


Taz 2 T-shirt frontTaz 2 T-shirt back

This shirt was originally my son's (the oldest) but with this type of shirt, they can easily be passed down to the younger children. The kids really enjoyed going through the transfer books, and picking out just the perfect picture for their shirt, and customizing them to their personality. My son is a Raider's Football fan, so the colors of Taz's uniform reflected that.


Marvin the Martian T-Shirt

This shirt was purchased for $4.00 at MJ Designs. Although it's a bit small now, my daughter Rachael has been wearing it for 3 years. I wanted you to realize, that I'm not a great photographer, and these pictures don't really do justice to the vibrant colors of the paint. The Tri-Chem paint, doesn't fade out after washing, and still looks fresh 3 years later.


Tips for Painting T-shirts

  • Take time to center and align your design before ironing the transfer onto the fabric. Use pins to keep the transfer from moving show that you don't risk a double impression being ironed on to your shirt.
  • If you are affraid of messing up your first attempt, go to the fabric store and buy a remenant, and try it on that first.
  • I have found that a 50/50 poly/cotton blend fabric works best.
  • ALWAYS Wash shirts first!!!! Nothing is more disappointing then to paint a beautiful shirt, then have it shriveled once it's washed due to shrinking.
  • When painting t-shirts, place a 3 zero-4 zero sandpaper inside of the shirt, with the grit side against the surface to be painted. This will keep the shirt from slipping and sliding while painting, and keep the paint from bleeding through to the opposite side of the shirt.
  • Use a quality paint. Lesser quality paints tend to bleed when painting or fade over time.
  • When washing use a non-cholorine bleach, one made for colors.


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