Guest Post: B. from Ireland - T-shirt painting

Some people in our family like travelling and living abroad. One of my little sisters is currently having a fab time in Ireland while I really enjoy my life in Germany. It makes family gathering a little complicated but we manage :)

She has already shared with us on this blog several baking recipes, and here is now her latest creation (not in the kitchen this time!):

DIY (Do It Yourself)

You will need:

• A tee-shirt (in my case, a white one, but if you want another colour, go for it!)
• Some fabric paint
• A brush

And eventually a plastic sheet and a cutter

Before anything, make sure that your table is protected and your clothes as well. The paint will stain your clothes forever and it is better to control the “stains” that you make ;).

A piece of advice: use some carton or a thick plastic bag to put inside the tee-shirt, to protect the side you are not painting.

If you know what you want, and you are talented enough to not having a model to paint your tee-shirt, I am jealous but that will be easier for you.

If, like me, you need a hour to be decide which pattern you’re going to paint, and you’re a bit clumsy, the plastic sheet will save your life.

Draw on the plastic sheet what you want on your tee-shirt, and on a wood board, cut gently with a cutter to create your own stencil! Tadaaaam!

Now, let’s go!

Make sure that your stencil is correctly adjusted on your tee-shirt; that is very important. You can use some cello tape, or some heavy small objects, be creative. The idea is that the paint should not go under the stencil.

Use the brush to paint inside the stencil, and let it dry. Depending on your paint you can take the stencil off straight away or not. I did, just after washing my brush.

I put the tee-shirt outside, on a Sunny Afternoon ♪.

Again, depending on your paint, to fix it, you may have to wash it! Use a 40° program maximum with your washing machine, and wash separately from light colours clothes (wash with jeans or on its own if you can).

Myself, I chose a white tee-shirt and a series of three black knots painted at the back of my top. I think that it’s discreet enough and elegant/cute.

I used the stencil for the line and the first knot and then I just used the shape of the knot that I had cut to make the stencil, and I painted around it to shape the knot and then took it away and fill with the paint. That was easier for me!

Needless to say that you can do it with anything and with any colours! Be creative and have fun!

I have few fabric bags that I want to customize, and this was first tee-shirt, but won’t be my last! 

Edit on the 24th of June: since the publication of the article, B. has sent me two pics of bags that she made.

 She used a real cut apple for the bag on the right. That's looks so nice that I might ask her to make some for me ;)