Summer T-Shirt (by Anne)

Good morning. I hope that you like my summer themed project. I decided to revamp a plain T shirt top with foliage and butterflies.

 Front

Back

Close up

Materials:

• Wild Meadow, Butterfly Blush and Just Butterflies stamp sets
• Iron fix fabric paints (green, lime, metallic turquoise, pink, violet, blue, black) and glitter glue for fabric (green/gold)
• Light coloured smooth knit T-shirt (turquoise)
• CutNDry foam, water spritzer bottle
• Waste copy paper

Note: If you want to stamp onto a darker coloured fabric you will need to use opaque fabric paints specially formulated for dark fabric.

How to do it:

Prewash the shirt in plain soap to remove any fabric treatments or conditioners (I use ordinary dish washing liquid). Dry and iron to give a smooth stamping surface.

Load the paints onto the CutNDry foam and work in well with a palette knife. Place them sponge side down onto a palette (I used a piece of waste packaging) and lightly spritz with water to keep them damp. While not using I also place a damp cloth over the top. This keeps the paints useable while working on your project.  I have found this to be the best method for getting nice crisp stamping without paint clumping or drying out. They will even keep overnight if placed in a plastic bag.

Stamp the butterfly silhouettes onto copy paper and cut out to create masks for stamping. Wash stamps immediately after use.

Lay some plastic sheeting inside the shirt to protect any paint from seeping through layers (i.e. front to back) while stamping. I placed my glass mat inside the shirt while working. Stamp the butterfly silhouettes with multi colours. Dry. A hair dryer is useful to help speed up the drying process while working (the paints do dry quite quickly).

Stamp the butterfly details over the top of the silhouettes using black paint.

Stamp the foliage using paper masks to protect the butterfly images.

Leave overnight for the paints to fully cure and then iron fix the paints on the reverse to make them permanent and washable.