DIY graphic tshirt | Cuddles and Chaos

Last week’s post on handmade graphic t-shirts that talk to you sent me down a rabbit hole. A deep, dark hole of really important thinking. I became obsessed with trying to decide what would print on a t-shirt if I was making one myself. As Queen of the realm of Indecisiveness and Over Thinking, this took up quite a bit of my time.

Then Ellie and I were in the car running errands when a familiar beat started pumping on the radio. Ellie immediately sat up a little taller before squealing “Momma, it’s our song!” As she sang the chorus (the only part she recognizes or pays any attention to), the deal was immediately sealed. Iggy Azalea #forthewin.

We stopped at Michaels on the way home and bought some iron-on letters in a collegiate font because it made me laugh. Hard.

DIY graphic tshirt | Cuddles and ChaosIt’s painfully easy to make one of these.

I grabbed an old t-shirt that hasn’t been getting much wear and decided that it would be repurposed—and fabulously. It was already clean, so all I had to do was cut out my letters, position them, and iron those little guys on.

DIY graphic tshirt suppliesDIY I'm so fancy tshirtOK, so you do need to put a little more thought into it than that if you want it to look nice (and why wouldn’t you?).

I don’t have picture evidence of this to show you because I realized afterwards that the mirror I took the pictures in was absolutely filthy, but I put on the tshirt and taped the letters where I wanted them to lay. Why? Well, because when you put that tshirt on, your girls will stretch it out a little. I wanted to avoid any awkwardly placed letters (like say an o directly over a nipple).

Once I was happy with the placement, I took the shirt off, laid it on a flat surface and removed the tape. I made sure the tops of my letters lined up and realized I had a “g” instead of a “c” in “fancy” (note to self: proofreading is key). Then, I just followed the instructions on the package and ironed those suckers in place.

I always find that baby washcloths are perfect for iron-on projects. They’re thin enough to let heat through but not so thin that you’ll melt anything. I ironed the front, then flipped the shirt inside out and did it again on the inside, making sure to seal the edges of the letters.

I actually really like how this one came out and couldn’t wait to put it into an outfit. Since the shirt makes me laugh in the first place, I had to take it a step further by fancying it up with layers of jewels the girls have made me.

diy graphic tshirt outfit

It doesn’t get any fancier than that.

Linking up with A Bowl Full of Lemons, Homework, Sugar Bee Crafts, Inspire Me Monday, Hope Studios, The DIY’ersTip Junkie and SITS Girls.

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Written by Jennifer Garry
Jen is a freelance writer and girl mom from New York. When she's not knee-deep in glittery crafts and girl talk, you can probably find her sprawled across her couch in the middle of a Netflix marathon with dark chocolate smeared on her face. The struggle is real.