I love the appliqué
shirts from Mini Boden.
I
thought I could make some on my own using 4 of my son’s current shirts:
one from Grandma Thomas and the others from thrift stores. I started by finding some graphics I thought he would
like. I found a nice coloring book site called Free Printable
Coloring Pages. I also searched on Google
Images for stencils and found some nice ones.
Of
course, I was thinking I was saving time by finding them on the
internet, but I probably could have drawn them just as fast. Anyway, I used Adobe Photoshop to make them a full
page in size and printed them out.
Next, I traced the images
onto WonderUnder with a permanent marker. I
roughly cut out the image. I
ironed an old t-shirt first, and then ironed the WonderUnder tracing
onto it.
I let it cool and cut along my lines and removed the backing. Next, I placed the cut out onto the good t-shirt and carefully ironed it on.
(For the images with
more than one color, I cut out the WonderUnder shapes needed for
another color and ironed those shapes onto another colored t-shirt
fabric. Then I cut them out and ironed them all onto the shirt.) If there are details, you will need to
draw them on with an erasable marker or chalk.
Next, I sewed around the edges. I
wanted to get the rough edge effect, so I sewed inside the shape
slightly. I haven't washed these shirts yet, but I
anticipate a little ruffling of the edges after washing.
I thought the beginning and ending stitch might unravel, so I used a needle and brought the excess thread to the inside and knotted them. I used black fabric paint on the eyes of the octopus.
I hope you make these appliques. I have plans for some trucks, a whale, a dragon, a guitar... It's fun! Let me know if you make any.
Thanks for looking, Tamara
