A t-shirt for Richard
I’ve made a t-shirt for Richard. It’s his birthday soon.
Sorry the picture is a little low quality. I don’t have a camera now and I took this using my camera phone. The t-shirt says (in the Malaysian language):
Matahari tidak tahu ianya bintang.
That means:
The sun does not know its a star.
It’s a saying Richard saw on a t-shirt in Japan (in English of course). It truly is a saying for Richard. He is the sun but he doesn’t realise that he is a star.
Actually, that goes for all of us!
It was quite simple to make really. I used these lovely fabric dye sticks called Fabric Fun by Pentel.
I was meant to use a light colored or white t-shirt so that the colors stood out, but too late I read the instructions! Still, I like the sedated colors, it gives the t-shirt some character.
These sticks are the easiest to use! And also really cheap. I bought them at Artfriend, Gardens (next to Borders) for about RM6.80.
- Create a draft of the design you want to use. If you’ve got text, it’s best to use a computer and print out the text so it comes out neat and nice.
- Put a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt so that the color doesn’t leak through t-shirt.
- Stretch the t-shirt. This is rather important. It’s really difficult to draw on if the t-shirt isn’t stretched. It’s not impossible, but makes things easy all around.
- Put your design underneath the t-shirt (but on top of the cardboard) where you like it to appear on the front of the t-shirt. It is important that you can see the design. If not, you can make a stencil and cut out the design. I printed my design out, but then my t-shirt color was too dark and I couldn’t see the design through it. So I had to freehand the whole thing.
- Carefully trace the design using the dye sticks. And then you can color it in, or do whatever it is you want. Get creative!
- When you’re done, cover the t-shirt (the design part) with paper and iron it – according to the correct temperature for the t-shirt fabric. And you’re done!
Easy peasy~
It is also wise to wash the t-shirt beforehand to get rid of any traces of dye, anti-static fluid or conditioner in it. This way the color will stay on the t-shirt.
I’ll be making another t-shirt for myself. I’ll post it up soon!
