Uncrafty: Ode to the White T-shirt

There are few superior canvasses for the beginning painter than a white t-shirt. They are easy to find, cheap and plentiful. That is, unless you live in Italy, where they are hard to find, expensive and few and far between. Plus, having the dual problem of being tall and not a size 2 (a problem shared with many American expats), availability is almost non-existent. Thus, I make my white t-shirts by the armload even though the fabric is more difficult to find than the t-shirts.

Keeping my t-shirt in mind, and in order to inspire you to try a craft you might never have considered, I want to show you how to do something that requires neither talent nor skill. It doesn't cost very much and it's easy, but more to the point, it's fun and creative.

I'm going to show you how to paint and personalize a t-shirt.

So what do we need to get started?

1 white or light colored t-shirt. It can be new or old, cotton or cotton-polyester blend. The only requirement is that it needs to be washed and ironed. I'm using only the front piece from a t-shirt pattern. I'll sew it together at the end.
1 jar of fabric paint in your favorite color. I recommend Jacquard Textile Colors, if you live in the US, and Deka Fabric Paints, if you live in Europe. They're both easy to find at your local art supply store, not necessarily at a craft store like Michaels. A word of caution, make sure you don't buy the Jacquard Silk Textile Colors or Dye-na-Flo. Wonderful products, but not for our purposes. Notice for this project I'm using Jacquard Lumiere. This is a metallic textile paint because I'm a magpie, I like shiny things....
1 roll of masking tape, or an assortment of masking tape in different widths. Don't use Scotch tape or even consider using duct tape...you will regret both.
An applicator. This can be a paint brush, a sponge, a feather, even a half a potato. Anything you have laying around that can hold a little paint.
A flat dish to hold the paint.
A piece of cardboard to place inside the t-shirt. This is to stabilize the shirt and keep the paint from seeping through to the back.
Some newspapers to protect the surface of your table.
An iron. You'll need this to set your paint after it has dried which in turn allows you to wash your fabulous new garment.

The first thing you want to do is securely tape your t- shirt onto your work surface.

I've only taped the top half because I'm only painting the top half.

Then layout strips of masking tape in a pleasing design.


I used alternating thick and thin tape in one direction then the same in the other direction.

Using your applicator of choice, apply a small amount of paint to the surface. You can brush in long or short strokes, stamp the brush or sponge on the surface, whatever you want to do. Just make sure you build up the paint slowly so the fabric stays soft.


I used long brush strokes with a 2 inch wide brush.

Allow the t-shirt to dry thoroughly (usually 24 hours) then, using the manufacturer's directions for your particular paint, heat-set the paint with an iron.

And...e' qui (or voila if you prefer)