DIY Glitter Polkadot T-shirt

One of my very favorite Tulip products is the fashion glitter transfer sheets.  I think it's so cool that you can easily put glitter anywhere without making a big mess.  The transfer sheets made this glitter polkadot shirt really easy to make.

I-Love-the-'80s Fringe Fabulous T-shirt

It's springtime, which means one thing to me: T-shirt weather! It's an exciting time over in the Land of Generation T, because as many of you know, it only gets better: After spring comes summer, which means we all get a little more scantily clad -- T-shirts turn into tank tops and tube tops and ooh-la-la! So grab your scissors (to cut away some of that extra fabric, of course), dial up the color (bring on those fabric spray paints), and hop in your fabulous fashion time machine, because fringe is enjoying a bit of a renaissance this season. Last weekend, I dialed back the decades and dug into my craft stash to make some classic '80s-inspired geometric tees.

Materials:
-light-colored T-shirt (I used a light blue one)
-ruler
-masking tape
-fabric scissors
-fabric spray paint (variety of colors)
-scrap newsprint paper


Make it:
1. Lay the T-shirt flat. Use masking tape to mark a horizontal line about 8" up from the bottom of the shirt. Find the vertical center of the shirt and apply tape to the chest-region of the T-shirt to create a crisscrossing geometric pattern.


2. Insert the newsprint paper between the layers of the T-shirt to prevent the paint from bleeding through. Then apply fabric spray paint over the taped area. Apply another color or two, then let dry.


3. Peel back the tape, and then lay down more tape (I cut the tape strips in half, thirds, and quarters to make thinner lines) across your pattern to create a modified plaid pattern. Then spray paint more color!


4. Let dry completely before peeling off the tape to reveal your design.


5. Cut off the bottom hem of the T-shirt, just above the stitching. Then, using the tape marker you pressed down in step 1 as your guide, cut 1/3"- to 1/2"-wide fringe from the bottom edge of the shirt.


6. Cut off the sleeve hems, just above the stitching, and cut out the neckband, just below the neckband edge in the front and the back, and about 2" wider on the sides.


7. Gently tug on the fringe to stretch it out (the fabric edges will curl in). Try it on!


8. Grab up additional T-shirts and experiment with your paint patterns and fringe -- cut it on a diagonal, in a chevron-inspired V-shape, make it long or short!


Then pack a picnic, sling your boombox over your shoulder, and crank up any of the decade's Billboard hits!



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Craft on!

Slashed Peekaboo T-shirt

Hi T-shirt fans! This is a project I've been meaning to make all summer. I saw something like it in a tween-ish retail store once (I know, I know, now that I'm a thirty-something perhaps I should start shopping in more adult places)--and thought, as I so often do, I could so make that... And so I did. And now you can make this 80s punk-meets-hip-hop tank top, too.

Materials:

– 2 T-shirts (1 fitted, dark color; 1 in larger size, light color)

– scissors
– Tulip Big Phat fabric markers
– Tulip Fashion Graffiti Spray Paint Kit (including fabric paint and spray paint cannon)
– Tulip Fashion Graffiti stencils

– paper grocery bag (or other scrap paper or sheet to use as a drop cloth)

– ruler

– chalk marker
– Aleene's Fabric Fusion (or needle and thread)

Make it:
1. Cut off the sleeves of the darker T-shirt, just outside the seams, to make a tank top.

2. Cut off the neckband of the lighter T-shirt and lay the tank top over it, lining them up at the neck holes. Trace the tank top onto the T-shirt and cut out the outline through only one layer to make the peekaboo panel.

3. Set aside the dark tank top. Lay the panel flat on the grocery bag paper. Use the fabric markers and stencils to lay a background pattern. (I used chain link fence!)

4. Fill up the paint cannon and spray freehand across the panel in combination with stencils to create another pattern layer. Change colors as much as desired! Then set the panel aside and let it dry.

5. Turn the tank top inside out and measure and mark 9"-long horizontal lines, about 1" apart, down the front. Stop about 4" from the bottom hem.

6. Cut along the chalk lines through just one layer of fabric.

7. Gently place the (now dry) panel right side down against the front of the (still inside out) tank top, lining them up again at the neckline. Peel back one side of the panel and squeeze an even amount of fabric glue along the edge. Then gently press the edge against the tank top. Continue gluing around the straight edges only (minus the bottom hem) to attach the panel to the slashed surface of the tank top. Let it dry!

8. Carefully turn the tank top right side out and try it on! The bright graffiti panel will peek through the slashes you made in the front of the darker layer.

Variations:

-If you want to keep the sleeves attached and your shoulders covered, do it! Simply tuck the sleeves inside the shirt while you're tracing it in step 2.

-If you want to be able to change things up at on a moment's notice, just spray an entire tank top (rather than a panel) in steps 3 and 4 and wear it layered underneath the slashed tee. Then you have the option of having the graffiti tank peeking between the slashes or any other tank top you have in your wardrobe!

-Try slashing different shapes! Familiarize yourself with the Brokenhearted tee (project #3 in Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt) for a sweet spin on this project.

Now go off and fight. For your right. To par-tee!