How to create custom shirt designs

I was given a shirt that I didn't particularly like a while ago, but instead of chucking it out, I decided to try something else and paint a design of my own onto it. The process altogether took around 15 minutes, and I think the shirt looks a lot nicer than before. This is how you can do the same!

You will need:

- Material paints and brushes (bought at any craft store)

- Your shirt to paint on

- Stencil of your choice (or you can just go freehand)

- Tape 

- Scissors and a pencil 

- An iron (to set the design)

- A few folded sheets of paper or newspaper

1. Draw your stencil design in pencil on your paper. Go back and cut out the design. We found that the more complex the design was, the harder it was to cut out and then obvious harder to paint over, in the end we decided on a design that was quite simple- A sun with two circles and jagged triangles surrounding the outside.

2. Lay your shirt wrinkle free on a hard surface. Stick the stencil onto the shirt with your tape, and then place your paper or newspaper under the top side of the shirt, so that if the paint seeps through your shirt, it doesn't leak onto the other side.


3. Start painting your shirt with the sponge. We found that short dabbing motions worked the best, but if your desired effect is smoother, maybe try something else.

4. Finally, leave the design to dry until the paint is no longer damp, remove the taper and then carefully peel the paper off the shirt. Apply finishing touches to the design, leave it out until completely dry and iron the design before washing.