FUN Ideas for up-cycling tired T-shirts that need a bit of love. There might be stains, marks or rips but these easy makeovers will make them stand out from the crowd this summer and beyond. Rummage in your local charity shops for T-shirts too.
I-Spy Googly Eye T-shirt
This design can work on white or plain colour T shirts
You will need:
- Fine fabric pen
- Black fabric paint
- Pencil with a rubber tip.
- A 1p coin
- Smooth card
- Iron on Googly eye patches
How To:
1 Place a piece of smooth card inside the T shirt. For the outline of the eye take the coin and draw around it and repeat to make a pair of eyes. I suggest doing all your eye outlines first.
2 Now for the eyeballs! Dab the end of the pencil sparingly in the fabric paint and stamp inside circle and repeat for the other eye. You can create lots of silly expressions for all the eyes. Allow to dry and follow the instructions on your fabric paint how to fix.
3 For the final touch iron or stitch on a pair of our Googly eye patches.
Arty Spots T-shirt
I love a big polka dot and this design is great for covering up small stubborn stains!
You Will Need:
- Decorators foam roller
- Fabric Paint
- Smooth card
- Iron On artist Patch
How To:
1 Place a piece of smooth card inside the T shirt. Dab the flat end of the roller in the fabric paint, it needs to have enough paint on it to make the print but not too gloopy! Stamp onto the fabric and press firmly. Release and repeat for the next spot.
2 Allow the spots to dry and follow the instructions on your fabric paint how to fix them.
3 Iron or stitch on the Artist Patch
Birthday T -shirt
Tie dye is great for covering for those slightly greying T shirts! This is s fun design for celebrating another year around the sun! You can either iron on the number patch or hand stitch it with clear thread.
You will need:
- Fabric Dye (I used a sachet of hand dye but you can get Machine wash dyes for bulkier items)
- Rubber Gloves
- Elastic Bands
- Iron on age patch
How To:
1 There are so many different tie dye designs and patterns but I have gone for a spiral effect by tying elastic bands in a group about 1cm apart.
2 Dye the fabric as per the instructions and when finished remove the elastic bands.
3 Once rinsed and dried position the Birthday age patch and iron in place.
4 There are lots of great tie dye ink kits around for the multi colour effect.
Cheery Cherries T-Shirt
A fruity design that captures the spirit of summer.
You will need:
- Rubber tip pencil
- Removable pencil rubber tip
- Black fabric pen
- Red fabric paint
- Green fabric paint
How To:
1 Place a piece of smooth card inside the T shirt. Draw on the cherry stalks with the black fabric pen.
2 Stamp the end of the pencil in the red fabric paint and stamp onto the end of the stalk repeat for the next cherry.
3 Place the rubber tip on the end of another pencil and dab it in the green paint and then stamp on the leaf. Allow the paint to dry and then following the paint instructions fix the design.
4 You can always draw some little faces onto the the cherries withe the fabric pen..