DealDash Crafts: Paint a T-Shirt

June is the season for crafting a painted t-shirt. Graduation and Father’s Day are both excellent occasions. Here are some ideas and tips from DealDash.

There are lots of reasons that you might want to custom paint your own t-shirt, graduation and Father’s Day are only two examples. T-shirt painting is a great way to turn a plain t-shirt into something creative and unique. There are a few different ways of painting t-shirts, from free-handing to using stencils to spray painting! Here are some suggestions.

Prepare Your Canvas and Work Area

After buying your plain shirt be sure to wash it. This will remove any potential starch or stiffener that might prevent the paint from sticking properly. After your shirt has been prepared then gather up your materials. Depending on which type of painting method you’re going to use you will need different materials. However, for all of them it would be wise to spread out newspaper on your working surface and have water and paper towels handy. You’ll also want to have a stencil or a good idea of what you want to paint on your shirt.

Let’s Paint!

• First, you’ll want to put something inside the t-shirt such as another sheet of newspaper, a magazine, or a piece of cardboard. This will prevent the paint from bleeding onto the back side of the shirt.
• Take your stencil and use a Sharpie to trace the design onto the t-shirt. If you’d rather skip the stencil and just draw your outline on the shirt, that’s fine as well.
• Using fabric paint and a paintbrush color in your design. If you would like your t-shirt to have more depth and creativity, then do multiple layers of paint, starting with the background. Let it dry then paint the foreground.
• Don’t remove the newspaper or cardboard inside the shirt until the paint is completely dry. Otherwise, it will bleed onto the backside of the shirt.
• When you wash your shirt be sure to turn it inside out first and use the gentle cycle. After washing you should either lay it flat to dry or hang it up to dry. Either is fine.
• If you’re not that wonderful with a paintbrush, then you can try using the fabric paint that are in little squeeze bottles. You may have more luck because they can be a little easier to control than a paint brush.

Thanks for Reading

Finally, thanks so much for reading this new DealDash article on painting a t-shirt. Don’t forget to check back here often for new articles as well as on our sister blog, DealDash Tips. If you have any requests for specific articles, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Do you have other art projects? DealDash has art and supplies! Go check DealDash for everything you need for your home. Visit DealDash now to see how much you can save. Don’t forget to tell all of your friends about DealDash! Good luck and happy bidding everyone!

This blog was written by Dawn E, a mother of 3 who loves DealDash. Read even more at DealDashBlog.com, DealDashTips.com, or on her own blog, DawnBlogtopus.