T-Shirt Print Make-Over

Hello, sorry about the hiatus in posts. Busy, busy, busy and something had to give- the beautiful weather we've just had was not the reason at all ;-)
The Sun shining has inspired me to start on the summery makes- I have been making lots of jug covers for an up-coming craft fair on Saturday 25th of May. I've mainly crocheted them so far but I'm going to start on fabric ones with a crochet trim- watch this space.
I went to London on Saturday to meet with my best bud from Uni. I bought lots of big beads perfect for weighing down the jug covers so I have no excuse not to make lots by the Craft Fair. We also discovered a wonderful shop in Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street, called "Things British"- http://thingsbritish.co.uk/ It sells some exquisite, handmade items and to show our support we bought each other a present- it would be rude not to support such an enterprise with lots of beautiful items for sale! My present was a pair of earrings and my friend's was a bracelet, both from a maker called "Altered Era". The theme of mine is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice", one of my favourite stories. The bracelet is Wuthering Heights, my friend's favourite. How could we not treat each other and show our support? Here's a pic of mine- love them!

So onto this post's tutorial (an extension of a previous one really) -
Top/T-Shirt Print Make-over

Continue reading for instructions to make your own . . . . .


Using the stamp making tutorial "Personalized Stationary" from 17th of February - http://craftinernest.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/personalized-stationary.html, it's really easy to give a top a quick make-over. Printed pattern tops are really popular at the  moment and I wanted one sewing related so choose a silhouette of a sewing machine, nice and simple but in my opinion quite effective.
Using exactly the same process as with the stamping post, I used a regular rubber (eraser) and drew a backwards facing sewing machine. There are loads of images on Google to use as a guide.

I had a orange coloured vest top which was pretty simple and thought would work well, I'd already worn it so it has been washed a few times. If you use a new top I would recommend washing it first for best results.

I then used a black fabric pen, in this case an "Artline" one purely as it had the fattest nib. I have "Sharpie" and "Dylon" ones too but either the nibs were fine or the colour was no good, I'm sure other brands would work just as well too. I simply coloured the sewing machine silhouette in with the pen and then randomly stamped the image onto the vest top over and over, recolouring the stamp between each print.

By the time I reached the bottom of the top I realised the stamp was starting to suffer a little- the image wasn't quite as crisp. I think if I'd dabbed the colour on especially in the finer detail sections it would have lasted better, I switched to this method but it takes a bit more patience. To add an extra detail I made another larger stamp for just one image in the bottom corner purely because I fancied it. With the "Artline" pen you have to iron the material once the ink is dry to properly set it and then it's wash-proof to 60degC. The "Sharpie" one doesn't mention ironing but I do it anyway just to be sure.
I'm pretty happy with the end result but think maybe a navy coloured fabric ink would have looked better? (I am a little obsessed with the colour navy though.) I may try a ball of wool and knittings needles for the next one, or perhaps a cotton reel and needle, and of course there's the good old button option ;-)
Craft in Earnest, Craftin' Ernest x