How to Decorate a T-Shirt That You Are Turning Into a Bag
When personalized with your own graphics and embellishments, T-shirt tote bags become ideal items for school or fund raisers and thoughtful gifts for new mothers or college students. Creating these bags is a popular activity for parties, where each person can personalize a bag to suit her own style.
Things You'll Need
- Ribbon
- Sewing pins
- Sewing machine
- Sewing thread
- Iron-on transfer
- Computer with inkjet printer (optional)
- Iron-on transfer printer paper (optional)
- Iron
- Wax paper or cardboard
- Dressmaker's pencil
- Fabric paint
- Line shader paintbrush
Instructions
-
Ribbon Stripes and Abstract Patterns
-
1
Pin the ribbon onto the T-shirt in your desired pattern.
-
2
Set your sewing machine to a straight stitch and thread it with sewing thread that matches your ribbon.
-
-
3
Sew a line of straight stitching along each side of the ribbon, working as close to the edge as possible. Remove the pins as you work.
Add Iron-On Transfers
-
4
Choose a graphic online or create one in a graphics program, if you are printing your own transfer. Use a graphics program to create a mirror image of your graphic, using the "flip horizontal" command.
-
5
Print a test sheet for your transfer on plain printer paper. Ensure that the design will fit the desired area for the iron-on.
-
6
Insert the iron-on transfer paper into your printer and print the final design. Cut out the design, leaving a 1/4-inch border.
-
7
Preheat your iron to the hottest "cotton" setting. Ensure that the steam function has been turned off or disabled. Place the garment on an ironing board or other flat surface, such as a table with a heat-resistant pad.
-
8
Place the transfer onto the garment, paper side up, and iron using a steady and even pressure until the image has completely transferred to the fabric. Peel away the paper.
Create Fabric Paint Designs
-
9
Launder and dry the T-shirt, being sure not to use fabric softener. Fabric softener contains a compound which prevents fabric paint from adhering correctly.
-
10
Stretch the T-shirt flat, and place a layer of wax paper or cardboard between the two layers of fabric to prevent the paint from bleeding through.
-
11
Hold the fabric paint with the nozzle pressed firmly against the fabric, and squeeze while writing with it to cover the lines of the pattern you have sketched. To create a dimensional line, hold the bottle at an angle to the fabric to allow more paint to escape. For flat lines, hold the bottle with the tip flat against the fabric.
-
12
Squeeze paint onto a paper plate and use a line shader brush to fill in large areas of your design.
-
13
Allow paint to cure overnight before moving the T-shirt.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Launder items which have had an iron-on transfer added inside-out and in cool water. Hang them to dry.
Fabric paint needs "flex lines" to keep from cracking. Leave a small gap in the paint every 3 to 4 inches.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
