How to Design a Greek Shirt

A simple white T-shirt is the start of your custom-designed Greek letter gear.

Greek letter organizations, more commonly known as college fraternities and sororities, strive to promote the classical Greek ideals of education, wisdom, philanthropy, individual excellence, and civic responsibility through community service. Members of Greek organizations often commemorate their loyalty to their particular fraternity or sorority by collecting pins, jewelry, and clothes emblazoned with their Greek letters and often these items are passed down from senior members to newer members. Making a T-shirt decorated with your Greek letters is a fun, easy, and inexpensive activity to honor your organization and show your Greek pride.

Things You'll Need

• Sheet of acetate
• Craft knife
• Cutting board
• Masking tape
• White cotton T-shirt
• Large piece of cardboard or adult-sized T-shirt form
• Fabric paint in your organization's colors
• Paper plate
• Craft sponge or blunt-ended paint brush
• Iron and ironing board

Instructions

Making your stencil.

1. Using a computer, print out an image of your sorority's or fraternity's Greek letters on a piece of paper.

2. Tape the paper to the cutting board.

3. Tape the sheet of acetate over the paper.

4. Using the craft knife, slowly and carefully cut out the letters. Moving the knife toward you as you cut makes the process much easier.

Prepare your materials and work space.

1. If your T-shirt is new, wash and dry it before applying the decorations in order to remove any sizing chemicals and to allow the fabric to shrink. Remember not to use fabric softener, detergent with softener, or dryer sheets as these may negatively affect the brightness of the colors. Once dried, iron the shirt at the highest setting the fabric will accept.

2. Protect your workspace by covering it with old newspapers or butcher paper.

3. Insert the cardboard or T-shirt form into the shirt so that the surface you are planning to paint is pulled taut.

4. Place your stencils on the shirt in the desired layout and secure them using small strips of masking tape.

Apply the paint and finish your shirt.

1. Pour a generous amount of fabric paint onto the paper plate.

2. Dip the sponge or paint brush into the paint and dab off any excess.

3. Firmly dab the paint onto the stencil, adding more paint to the sponge or brush when necessary. Do not drag the sponge or brush across the stencil as this may distort the outline.

4. Allow the paint to dry according to package directions, or for at least 24 hours. After drying, many fabric paints must be ironed or put through a hot dryer in order to set the colors. Check the package to see whether your paint requires this step.

Tips & Warnings

• Acetate is the material most commercially available stencils are made from. Blank sheets of acetate are available at most craft stores in the stencil section and are inexpensive. If you cannot locate a sheet of acetate, stencils can also be made from heavy paper or cardstock.

• Many Greek letter organizations have special symbols, flowers, animals, and shapes. Consider creating stencils for these shapes and adding them to your shirt.

• When it comes to laying out your design, your imagination is the limit. The classic design has large Greek letters set horizontally across the chest. However, large letters laid out vertically on the side of the front or even smaller letters painted on the left breast can give your shirt a unique, sophisticated look.

• Using a craft knife to cut acetate stencils can be tricky at first. Consider buying an extra sheet of acetate to practice on before making your final stencils.

References

• American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association
• National Pan-Hellenic Council

Resources

• Upper & lower case Greek letters with pronunciation guide