How to Create Graphic Shirts With Spray Paint

Do you have a great idea for a tee-shirt design but don't want to pay to have it silk- screened? Customizing a shirt with spray-paint is an easy, cheap way to create an original design that won't bleed when you wash it.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Spray-paint
• 4 paper bags
• Heavy card stock paper
• An X-acto knife
• A blank white shirt (or light in color)

1. Decide on a design or phrase. The more intricate the image or the more elaborate the font of a phrase, the more difficult it will be to cut out later. Try to pick something simple with strong boarders to start out.

2. Print the image or draw it on heavy card stock paper. The paper must be thick or the paint might seep through it after several uses. Plus, it will be easier to cut the image out of heavy paper.

3. Use an X-acto knife to cut along the boarders of your image. Remember to only cut out the areas you want spray-painted, an easy test for this is to hold the paper up to a well-lit window once you're finished to see if your image appears illuminated. If you are using multiple colors of spray-paint, you will need to create a stencil for each color you intend to use.

4. Lay the shirt flat in a well ventilated area, and mark out where you want the design to be.

5. 

   Place another piece of thick card stock paper inside the shirt to keep the paint from seeping through.

6. 

   Surround the image with paper bags so the rest of the shirt isn't exposed to the spray-paint, and neither is your work environment.

7. 

   Spray paint the shirt with the nozzle at least six inches away from the target. If you're working with small pieces of paper, tape the back of each piece to the shirt to keep it from moving.

8. 

   Repeat steps 6 and 7 for each additional color you intend to use.

9. 

   Allow the shirt to sit for at least an hour to dry, then wash it by itself the first time. After that, it's ready to wear and can be washed safely with any other clothes.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are working with a brand new shirt, wash it and dry it before starting so that the fibers tighten to reduce the chance of the paint seeping through the shirt.
• If you make a mistake while cutting out the image don't worry, you can usually fix it with a little tape.
• For letters like "o" and "b" in a phrase where the center of each letter must be cut out, you can keep them connected to the rest of the stencil by leaving a joining line through the letter. This will hardly be noticeable once the shirt is complete.
• While spray-painting, weigh down the paper bags surrounding the image to ensure that the rest of the shirt doesn't catch residual spray.
• Always wear a protective mask when using spray-paint and work in a well ventilated area; the fumes are dangerous to the respiratory system.
• Never wear the shirt directly after spray painting it, always wash it first.

[craigc8]

on 9/13/2009 Thank you sooo much!! I'm so excited to do this!!! :D

[slide81]

on 9/10/2009 Great information. Don't know how many times I have wanted to have t-shirts for a small group but the printing costs were prohibitive. Any type of spray paint better than the others?

[katernc]

on 9/9/2009 Thanks so much for posting this! I can hardly wait to try out some of the ideas I've had for a while now... will be great!

[jdement12b]

on 9/8/2009 Sweet! Great pictures!!! Good job!

[totalreviewguy]

on 9/7/2009 Really liked this how-to! I dig the idea of making my own designs for friends and family! Thanks for directions.