Freezer Paper Stenciled T-Shirt

I'm certainly not the first person to ever do this with my kids, but using freezer paper to stencil and customize clothing is a popular activity in our house.

I've made t-shirts for my kids and my niece, and last night Jackson and I worked on a new Spiderman top for him, seeing as his wardrobe was lacking the appropriate attire needed to emulate summer's most popular superhero (that is until the new Batman movie comes out later this week). He fashioned some Peter Parker-esque glasses from leftover movie theater 3D ones, and they become the accessory du jour on Saturday for both boys. 

To make your own t-shirts you'll need the following items:

• printed image
• pencil
• freezer paper
• an x-acto knife
• an iron
• a piece of cardboard
• fabric paint
• foam paint brush

 Here's the how-to:

• Find an online image that you like and print it off. Tape the piece of paper to a table, and tape a piece of freezer paper over top of that. Using the pencil, trace the image onto the freezer paper, and cut the image out using the x-acto knife.
• Heat an iron and fuse the freezer paper stencil to the t-shirt (shiny side down) taking care to place it where you would like it to go. Lay a small piece of cardboard between the front and back of the t-shirt (so the paint doesn't seep through to the back of the shirt) and fill in the stencil with the fabric paint. A foam bruch works well for this application.
• Let the paint dry and apply a second coat to the shirt. If you happen to have very impatient children working with you on this project, you can speed up the drying process by using a blowdryer. 
• Peel the freezer paper away from the shirt and toss it in the dryer for 20 minutes to set the paint. 

Comments

[Julie]

WHAT a cool idea!! We're totally doing this!!

[RV Painting]

Whether or not you're the first person to do this, it is still a fantastic idea. I love glasses, I think they're the perfect finishing touch.

[Maria]

Awesome idea, how do you pin these great posts on pinterest?!!

[Minnie(@thelady8home)]

Awesome! That was really cool. :D

[Jan Scott]

Hi Maria! I just added a pin it button to the bottom of the posts. Thanks for the idea!

[Paula]

I've never seen this before. It is really neat and seems easy enough to do. Love your Spider stencil and the kids photos with the glasses on are really cute!

[Rachel]

Nice job! Did you know you can get glow in the dark paint too? You could use the tip to create a "web" around the spider, so when it's dark outside you can see the web and the spider's silhouette :) My son is 8 and he loves stuff like that.

[aray]

I like this idea about t-shirt trik

[Tshirt Design]

As a Newbie, its very helpful. Thank you Wow! I always wanted to write in my site something like that.Nice to see some original content for once.keep up your work in future..

[custom t-shirts]

Another spiderman T-shirt. would have loved to see some webs around which could have added to the appeal.

[Charise]

Hi Jan,
I love this idea and am about to try it for my son's suphero party. Just wondering - should there be anything (cloth/paper towel) between the iron and freezer paper?
Thanks so much!

[Jan Scott]

Nope! Not at all....place the shiny side down on the fabric, and run the iron over the paper. It will adhere the paper to the shirt and the iron wont burn through at all. 

[CRUNCHcompass]

Thanks a lot Jan - my 4yo and I are having a lot of fun with this!
Charise