Killer tips for T-shirt painting your own super cool T-shirt

Getting started with your T-shirt painting project

Over time (and many many Me-Shirts!) we like to think we have come close to ‘perfecting the art’ of T-shirt painting so have lots of tips of how to do it…but the reality is that anything goes and the more fun and carefree you can be about it the better!

There is no right or wrong way to be creative and so this ‘How to’ for your Me-shirt T-shirt painting project is just some hints and tips we hope will make it easier, or give you something to think about and consider when you are looking for T-shirt painting techniques and ideas!

Idea for Space themed T-shirt painting

HOW TO DO THE MOST AMAZING T-SHIRT PAINTING!

• STEP 1

  Wear an apron or old clothes for T-shirt painting. This is an important one, Fabric paint doesn’t come off fabric!..so we think this T-shirt painting tip is important even if it seems obvious…it is very easy to forget or to get excited and not remember so this is an extra heads up!

• STEP 2

  Place a piece of cardboard inside your T-shirt before getting started with your T-shirt painting – you could also unfold and use your Me-shirt box for this - the cardboard will make sure the fabric paints don’t go through from one side of the T-shirt to the other. Lift the T-shirt off the cardboard as it starts to dry so it doesn’t stick to it.

• STEP 3

  Think about your T-shirt painting design before you do it. Top tip here! We do a bit of practising to see how the fabric paints and pen feel to use. We try out some ideas for our T-shirt on a piece of paper before we do the real thing! It helps to try squeezing out the fabric paints on a piece of paper so you know how much comes out and how quick, and try not to create enormous blobs of fabric paint that will be so heavy they may fall off.

• STEP 4

  Use different techniques in different places on your T-shirt. Our T-shirt painting kits include 3D fabric paints so it’s great fun to have T-shirt designs and decorations that stick out from the T-shirt and not to just brush it all on. The more different techniques you use for your T-shirt painting the better, you can dip things in fabric paint (sponges, pencils etc ) and then use them to put fabric paint on the T-shirt which looks really cool! This photo is of Amelie using a pencil for her Space T-shirt painting to make the dots

STEP 5

• Reuse your stencils to repeat the stencil images in lots of places. The stencils in our T-shirt painting kits are stickers so you don’t have to use extra tape to keep them in place and you get really neat outlines. Remove the white backing first and stick them in the desired place on your T-shirt then gently remove the transparent plastic so you can paint the stencil in. If you’re careful you can use them more than once and move them around your T-shirt painting design.

STEP 6

• Use your brush to paint/colour in the stencils on your T-shirt with your fabric paints – flat ones are the best and old make up brushes work too if you want to gather a selection for each fabric paint colour. Otherwise just dip your brush in water and wipe clean with a kitchen towel in between each paint colour

  STEP 7

• Our fabric paints go a really long way so you can paint the front of your T-shirt and then do the back in another T-shirt painting session once the front is dry. You could also use your fabric paints to decorate other items, old clothes, bags or pencil cases. They also work on wood and glass - lots of our customers decorate their initial and put it on their door.

STEP 8

• Your T-shirt painting will be touch dry within an hour (dependent on your design), and especially when the weather is good or you can dry it outside. The painted stencils done with a brush dry quickly so we remove the stencils and move them around the T-shirt within a few minutes of placing them there, they do not need to be left for ages. If you are squeezing paint directly out of the bottle or putting a lot on then this will take longer to dry on your T-shirt.

STEP 9

• When you have finished WASH YOUR BRUSH! Dried fabric paint on a brush is impossible to get off…we have made this mistake so many times and it’s really annoying! Fabric paints are made to stick to fabric and this includes paintbrushes so once it’s dried there is nothing you can do. So top tip to clean up afterwards and make sure you can use it again!

STEP 10

• Fabric painting washing tips - official advice is to iron on the reverse and handwash - we don’t have time for this and have never done either and all our T-shirts are as they were when first designed! So wait for them to dry, pop them in with other white washing at 30 degrees and wash as normal. Fabric painting doesn’t need to be a hassle and the designs can be washed over and over again

We do include some handy hints in every kit to help you on your way with top tips which you can see below

T-shirt painting Handy Hints

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ!

Even bearing in mind our fabric painting tips we have made many a ‘mistake’ - but in the words of Bob Ross ‘there are no mistakes just happy accidents’ and one of our best tips is to make any smudges or blobs you didn’t mean to make into a key feature of your T-shirt painting design!

ALSO…..Remember not to hold back, please go wild and create things you love and feel excited about…we all interpret things differently and there is no right or wrong when it comes to T-shirt painting - we would love to know some of your T-shirt painting tips as well, and any techniques you have found useful or ideas you have had when designing your own T-shirt.