Fabric Paint And Applique

Here's a quick project I did for my four year old. Although with Elmo's popularity my nineteen year old would probably love it too.

Materials Needed

• Pre washed (no fabric softener) purchased or homemade tee shirt. (I hide some stains on an old tee shirt)
• Fabric Paint
• Appliques
• Narrow ribbon
• Some thing like a cup or small plate that is the size of the balloons you would like on the front of your shirt.
• A piece of cardboard or a cardboard shirt form.

Directions

I have used purchased appliques centered on painted balloons. I then added ribbon of the different color balloons at the bottom of each balloon and tied them in to a bow at the bottom of the shirt.

For this shirt I searched the kitchen cabinets to find the correct size circle. I finally settled upon a McDonald's Jurrasic Park plastic cup.

Always protect the garment you are working on from paint seepage, by placing cardboard between the layers of the garment. If the fabric seems to stretch and move as you try to paint, try placing a piece of fine sand paper under the work area.

I used the cup as a stamp to impress the sketch of placement on the shirt before using a light marking pencil to sketch the design.

After placing my balloon circles on the shirt, I drew in the tied part of the balloon.

The purchased appliques, that I used, were iron-on ready. I placed them and pressed them into place on each balloon.

I wish I had been a bit more creative with each balloon and added a wedge, as in the below diagram, to increase the dimension.

Using a small line, I outlined each balloon, one color at a time. I then used popsicle sticks to spread the paint and fill in each balloon.

I used the wet paint on the balloon tie to "glue" the ribbon on to the balloon.

Since I used 3 balloons, I left the center ribbon free and tied a bow around it using the two side ribbons. I then hand tacked the bow, to prevent my daughter from untying it.

Tips

Always prewash a fabric before using any fabric adhesive. Fabric sofetners and fabric finishes can interfer with the adhere factors.

Be sure to let you imagination go wild. By learning about all the different embellishment techniques, there is no limit to your creativity.

You can find loads of embellishment products, ideas and techiniques in the Fabric Paint Net Links.

Follow the manufacturers laundering directions for the products that you use on the garment. Never use a hot iron or dryer on a garment that you have painted.

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