Can characters sign a t-shirt (not being worn)?

[mombrontrent]

Just as title says. Instead of doing an autograph book this time (which always seems to get tossed aside in a drawer somewhere and forgotten about) can my daughters get a t-shirt signed. I would like to get a white Disney shirt and then bring some colorful sharpies and have the charters sign the back of the shirts. They will be carrying the shirts not wearing them. I thought this would make a better keepsake and they could wear the shirts after the trip.

 

[kmb584]

Absolutely. I recommend bringing an embroidery hoop with you though so the shirt can be pulled taut for the autographs.

 

[nanlou]

Yes - this is one of our favorite keepsakes. We took a collection of fabric markers in several different colors. There are certain colors that some of the characters (Mickey, Minnie, and others) won't use as the ink can apparently stain their white gloves and be difficult to remove. What I have been told is that some of the colors can be easily removed while others can't. The handlers for each character will simply tell you if the character needs to use a different color. My experience is that the face characters will use any color you offer them.

Rather than an embroidery hoop, we took a clipboard and stretched the shirt around the board, holding it taut for the signing. The embroidery hoop is also a good idea, but it can take more maneuvering to loosen, adjust, and then re-tighten for each signature. This is more of an issue when you are with a collection of characters and they want to move you through the line quickly, which each separate character signing the shirt. You will definitely want SOMETHING to hold and stretch the shirt as the character signs it.

For other events (not Disney), we have tried using Sharpies to write on shirts. I would strongly recommend fabric markers over sharpies. The sharpies have a way of catching on the fabric (not smoothly flowing over it) and can mess up some signatures. The fabric markers really do turn out a lot better. And ~6 years later, with frequent wearing and washing, the fabric markers autographs are still clearly visible (though the white of the shirt has faded to more of a gray/yellow/white ).