T-shirts are one of my favorite canvases—for me, my husband, or my kids. T-shirts are very inexpensive and with a little bit of crafty knowledge, you can do a lot of things with them. Most people think of crafting as a hobby, but I think of it as part of my day-to-day lifestyle. Instead of throwing things out, look at them first and see if there’s a way you can reuse them or create something new and turn it into a gift.
I have a tutorial on my blog with instructions on a very simple silk ribbon rose that can be used to embellish an otherwise boring shirt for a little girl, or for you. Put a simple stem stitch in between the roses with some leaves (you could even use beads or sequins shaped as leaves) and you have a lovely embellishment on an otherwise blah t-shirt.
Another idea is to reverse appliqué your shirt. Reverse appliqué is a technique where you place a piece of fabric under the t-shirt and then cut it away to reveal the second fabric. With just a template of a simple design, you can create a two-tone design that attracts ooohs and ahhs from everyone you meet. The directions are available on this tutorial.
One great idea from “Inhabitots” is to use freezer paper or do an outline of your kids’ pictures to create a neat effect on a t-shirt (directions are located here). She simply traced a design, in this case a photograph of her kids, and then made a stencil and painted inside of it. However, you also could use the freezer paper to make an appliqué and then stitch that on top with some neat fabric.
So, there you have it. Some fun ways to embellish, reuse, and recycle t-shirts. If anyone tries them, I’d love to see what you come up with!
Photo courtesy of Frequently Wrong But Never In Doubt
