Super Simple T-Shirt for the Craft-Impaired

[Stephanator]

I love this idea! I was getting kind of tired of the white shirt look. We've done the tie-dye Mickey shirts and the swirly Mickey shirts with Elmer's glue that is similar to this. But this is waaaaay easier. Thanks for the idea!

 

[rickg15]

Very impressive and yet very simple.

 

[gillenkl]

Thanks so much for the directions and pics!

 

[sandmansjupiter]

WOW!!!

I wanted to say thank you for posting these pictures. I am happy to report that I did these shirts and I don't quite know how to post the pics but they came out nice. When I figure out how to post then I will do so...

any suggestions on what to do on the back side of the shirts?

 

[UsMcWifeForever]

I made these shirts today with my 5yr old and 4yr old help!!! They had a blast and the shirts are very quick and easy to do. they are washing as i type. I will post pics later when i get a chance to take some....after all we leave in 8 days! i have lots of packing to do. I think i am going to add a little extra magic to them by adding some glitter or something.

 

[UsMcWifeForever]

i finished the shirts... they look great, but since i used a mickey head shaped plate i had and not the circles all i have is the out line of the head and the shirts look kinda plain. I can't do coils in the head b/c of the shape of the plate it would look weird. anywho i posted this in another thread.....what else can i do to fill in the head? i would like to use the bleach pen again b/c it was easy and quick and i am not a crafty person lolol any help would be great b/c we leave Sat night/Sun Morning I am lost here!!!

 

[Stephanator]

I just made these last night for my upcoming trip with my mom. I ended up free-handing the Mickey head since I've done the Elmer's glue shirts a few times and kinda have the hang of it. I put a white plastic cutting board between the shirt layers and then drew the Mickey head design. I let mine sit for about 45 minutes (the length of time to watch one tv show ) They are super cute!

Shirt with bleach pen all set up and ready.

Ta-da, the final result.

 

[GAGirlInVA]

I'm going to try this later today (since it is already 3:29 am!) LOL!

 

[Wildernessbride2005]

I love this idea. Thanks

 

[tree320]

Made 5 shirts and one bag last night! Used the tips about the plastic cutting boards and the vinegar and water. They turned out great! My only warning is to make sure to rinse all the bleach gel off ALL of the shirt. My DH's shirt was a dark navy and it bleached out the fastest, so I rinsed his off first. When I removed the cutting board, the inside of the front and the inside of the back of his shirt touched so there is a swirly mickey on the inside of the back of his shirt, but not the outside! Also his shirt has lots of light splotches all over the front, most in swirl patterns. I guess I didn't work fast enough. I was working on the swirls and didn't watch the rest of the shirt. It kinda looks cool, and he says he will wear it (I think, so I won't cry). I did 3 purple of the same brand and they did not bleach so fast and I only have a few very light bleach spots on mine. My DS's shirt was also navy, but another brand and took forever to bleach. DH's navy bleached to a red and DS's navy bleached to a grey with purple edges. I did a black canvas bag that bleached to orange, to use as a Fish Extender for our cruise. We leave in 2 days!!

 

[sluna77]

Very cute shirts!!!!

 

[noahdove]

Just a quick question, when you rinse the bleach pen stuff out, do you rinse the whole shirt?? I know this is a dumb question but, will the bleach not run to the other part of shirt? I really do love the idea....I have a couple of shirts that are not so bright anymore so I may try this...thank you

 

[MHSweb79]

I rinsed the entire shirt out in warm water in the kitchen sink. Rinse really quickly and really well and you won't have any problems with the bleach spreading to the rest of the shirt.


Edited to add: Just a reminder that different color shirts will bleach differently. Some colors bleached in about 2 minutes (you could see the white spreading out from the swirl) and others took much much longer. I would never leave the bleach on for 45 minutes as it can eat through the fabric in that amount of time. For royal blue I just repeated the process a second time after rinsing, washing & drying and it showed up much better. Finally, BRIGHT ORANGE shirts don't work for this project.

 

[DLB]

I think I will be attempting these for our trip! Thanks so much for the very detailed instructions.

 

[labdogs42]

Super cute! I totally love these! I want to maky myself a purple one right now! I wonder if 100% cotton shirts work better than 50/50?

 

[anl]

Did anyone use anything besides chalk to draw them? I forgot to buy chalk and wanting to make these...can't think of what else I can use that will wash out.

 

[AprilRenee]

Thanks for the instructions! Here are the shirts I made for my brothers. DH and I have some too but no pics.

They were all excited about them too...which is a lot to say for 13, 17 and 20 year old boys!

(Sorry that's so big...can't figure out how to make it smaller...the obvious method didn't work.)

 

[DLB]

They were very simple, a little time consuming. I think the hardest part is rinsing the bleach without getting on other areas of the shirt.

My DD (8) made this one.. Not a bad job at all.

one that didn't come out so well..

I sprayed this one with vingar and water before I rinsed it to neutralize the bleach and it made it start to run. The others I rinsed first and then sprayed with the vinegar until I could get it to the washer and I had no issues with blotches.

I would like to keep trying these until I get it just right. I had a few OOPS before I caught on. I have more pics if anyone is interested in seeing them - let me know..
-Danielle

 

[joelybelly]

They were very simple, a little time consuming. I think the hardest part is rinsing the bleach without getting on other areas of the shirt.

My DD (8) made this one.. Not a bad job at all.

one that didn't come out so well..

I sprayed this one with vingar and water before I rinsed it to neutralize the bleach and it made it start to run. The others I rinsed first and then sprayed with the vinegar until I could get it to the washer and I had no issues with blotches.

I would like to keep trying these until I get it just right. I had a few OOPS before I caught on. I have more pics if anyone is interested in seeing them - let me know..
-Danielle

I would love to see your other photos! I will PM my email.
Thanks

 

[ksloane]

These are really cute and do look really simple. After doing custom shirts for 4 trips, I've been trying to think of something unique to do. Copying and pasting this into my "Surprise Trip" folder so I can try it when my daughter's not around.