Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Contributor Post: 4 Ways to Add Interest to a Plain Old Tee

4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection)
Wow, how fun to be back to the Project Run and Play blog after such a short time. It still feels as if it was yesterday that I was competing on Project Run and Play. I had such a great time during the competition and am thus, super happy to be here again. The one thing that might have set me apart from my fellow PRP contestants was probably that in 3 of the 4 weeks I also sewed for my boy. Many people think that sewing for boys is boring, but that's not true. Yes, there aren't that many different patterns and many fabric designs don't work for boys, but that doesn't have to mean that sewing for boys needs to be boring. Even something as simple as a plain old tee can turn into something pretty cool and personal. I have summed up four ways to spice up a simple tee and there are some links to free downloads, too! Also, if you want to check out some of the projects in more detail, just click on the picture and it should take you there! So let's dive right in!

Applique

4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): applique 4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): applique
Applique is one of the most amazing things in the toolbox of a seamstress. Whether you choose to applique a pirate ship, a cartoon character, text or numbers, there are so many ways to go and you can completely personalize this to your son's (or daughter's) preferences. Just iron some fusible web on the wrong side of the fabric that you want to applique on the tee. Draw the outlines of what you want to applique on the fusible web (mirrored), cut it out, peel the paper off and iron the shape onto your tee. Then sew around the outlines and you are done! Do you want a more detailed tutorial? Check this out!

Fabric paint and fabric spray

4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): fabric paint 4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): fabric paint 4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): fabric paint / spray
I love to play with fabric paint and some stencils. The tiger head that I painted on my son's jacket for "All that Glitters" is definitely one of my all time favorite makes. By now the jacket has been washed several times and some of the glitter in the fabric paint has "drifted off" and instead attached itself to other parts of the jacket. It looks even cooler now! All I needed was some gold fabric paint and a freezer paper stencil (get the cut file and/or pdf here as a free download). Easy, but so satisfying! Another fun way to use fabric paint is to just paint some brush strokes on the tee without a special order. This looks especially rad if you use neon and have a little toddler belly that shows it off perfectly ;) A last project with fabric paint or rather spray is this unicorn tee that we made for my daughter's birthday party. Each girl made her own unicorn tee with different colors and they were all so proud (my son got a tee with an excavator, but I didn't want to leave the girls totally out of this post). We again ironed on a freezer paper stencil and then used fabric spray in different colors which gives very cool effects. Find the detailed tutorial here.

Iron on vinyl

4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): iron-on vinyl 4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): iron-on vinyl 4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): iron-on vinyl 4 ways to add interest to a plain old tee (a collection by Näh-Connection): iron-on vinyl
Do you have a silhouette? Then iron on vinyl is the way to go. In fact even if you don't have a silhouette you can still use the iron on vinyl. You just have to cut by hand! Which is what I did for the "HAPPY" slogan on my son's sweatshirt. My friend, whose silhouette I often use, was on holidays, so I had to use my hands. Worked just as good ;) Iron on slogans, shapes, characters etc. are just so fun and a perfect way to personalize tees for your kids or to play with the theme of a fabric design. My son has always been a big fan of the moon and loves to dance, so when I was taking part in the "Sew in Tune" Blogtour, "Dancing in the moonlight" was the perfect choice. I went with a combination of a moon phase and the song title and it turned out really fun. Anything with wheels is sure to be a hit with my son, the bigger the better. His tractor tee was a real favorite. Last, but not least: A tiny viking helmet on the sleeve of a tee. Sometimes less is more... (click on the the following links to get the cut out files: Dancing in the Moonlight, Tractor, Helmet). I hope I was able to show you that boy clothes don't have to be boring. With a little imagination you can make them your own without having to add any ruffles ;)

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