Love and Laundry

diy, crafts, recipes

Love T-Shirt Makeover

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t-shirt makeover 2
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I love doing t-shirt makeovers. Most of my girlie’s school shirts were cheap t-shirts that I fancied up. I love dreaming up new t-shirt designs. This one has been on my mind for quite a while. Not the exact design, but the technique. Many months ago, I saw an idea on Pinterest for a t-shirt make-over using ironed-on freezer paper as a stencil. The idea of ironing on freezer paper to clothes was so interesting to me. I had never heard of it before. But instead of using it as a stencil, I thought….how cool would it be to use as a pattern of sorts. This t-shirt was so simple to make. The whole project took me less than an hour. I’m already dreaming up more t-shirt designs using the same technique.

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Here’s how to make it:
To make the “Love” pattern, I decided to use my Silhouette to cut out the freezer paper. I’m sure you could probably do something similar with a Cricut…..or even just hand drawing and cutting it out yourself. I used a design that I found in their online store.
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(If you’re following along and want to make your own, the design is phrase_love_2403). The exact design wouldn’t work for what I wanted. The design itself is tiny. And the V is made for rhinestones. Since this was supposed to be for a t-shirt, I wanted it much bigger.
So, I improvised. I deleted the rhinestone heart shape and replaced it with the heart from design folk_heart__star_C00932_20509. Then, I enlarged it to fit a t-shirt.
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See how much better that looks?
For this project make sure you use Freezer Paper (not just regular wax paper). The freezer paper is much heavier. Luckily I already had some on hand. I pulled out about 8 inches.
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Then I mounted it onto the cutting mat with the shiny side down. You have to press it on really good so when it’s in the Silhouette, the cut pieces don’t come off and get ripped while the machine is still working. Trust me on that.
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Then, I let the Silhouette do it’s thing!
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See how beautifully that came out? I never could have hand drawn it that well.
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Next, I ironed the freezer paper onto my t-shirt. Again, make sure the shiny side is DOWN. Placing the hot iron plate onto the wrong side of the freezer paper could really make a mess of your iron!
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I was trying to upcycle some of the old t-shirts we have all over the place, so I picked two pink tanks that my daughter has outgrown.
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I wanted the letters in the light pink and the heart in the dark pink. First, I cut a rectangle  out of the light pink tank.
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And pinned it to the inside of the t-shirt. I wanted the pins to stay on the outside of the design, but I also needed enough to hold the fabric flat.
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Next, I turned the t-shirt right side out. Then, stitched around the freezer paper.
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I went pretty slow around the small curves (like inside the O and E). I wanted to follow as closely as possible. {NOTE: While you are sewing, if you notice the freezer paper start to peel up,  you can re-iron it back on. I stopped sewing between every letter and re-ironed everything back down. The freezer paper tends to peel up when it’s being scrunched in the sewing machine.}

When you have the L, O and E stitched all the way around, I removed the freezer paper.
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The pink thread I chose is pretty light. I honestly thought it would show up a lot darker, but it you look close, you’ll get an idea of where I stitched and what it is supposed to look like on the front of the t-shirt.
Next I trimmed the excess pink fabric near the stitch line on the inside of the fabric.
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Once it was all trimmed, I started on the dark pink. I cut a small rectangle out of the tank top, and pinned it to the inside of the t-shirt under the heart shape.
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Next I turned the shirt right side out and stitch around the heart.
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Then trimmed the excess fabric left on the wrong side.
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Now that all the pieces were stitched in place, I needed to cut out the letters and heart on the front so the pink underneath showed through. I turned the shirt right side out and slowly cut out the inside of the letters. Be SURE you are only cutting the outside fabric. All your work would be undone if you accidentally snipped the pink fabric underneath!
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I went sort of slow and deliberate on this part. I wanted to make sure I didn’t cut it sloppy. After it’s all cut out, this is what you have.
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Pretty awesome, right? I’m sure it won’t be long before I do another. It was so fun and easy!

P.S. Did you know that I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest?  I’d love to have you follow me there, too!

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Comments

  2. BrittanyLane says

    So incredibly cute. Maybe I could make Ellorie a dragon shirt that was at least SLIGHTLY girly. Bria looks so grown up!

  8. SayNotSweetAnne says

    I am so impressed with this shirt updo! I really love the idea of having the color *behind* the t-shirt instead of on top. A lot of the time the designs I do on top look quilted. Which is still kinda cute, but not what I want if I’m going for Modern Chic! You did a great job and thanks for showing us how! If you can, I’d love for you to look up to Sweet sharing Mondays! http://saynotsweetanne.com/2012/sweet-sharing-monday-2/

  11. Katie @ Pincushion Creations says

    This is great! So cute!! I would LOVE to have you share this at my link party going on right now…. I am your newest follower…would love to have you check out my blogging corner too!!

  12. Jennie Larsen says

    That T-SHIRT is adorable, and great for all year round and v-day. Your blog sure is cute too. Thanks for your comment love. winks, jen

  16. Sarah says

    Hey just wanted to let you know this will be featured tomorrow at TheWinthropChronicles.com

  17. Chrissy Jordan says

    This is by far the BEST up-cycle for an old shirt that I have ever seen! Great job!

  19. Deb Hrabik says

    Thanks for sharing! I think that will be a project for me and my grandaughter.
    Deb