Lemon Print Tee

So… apparently now I’m lusting after kids clothes! I came across this perfect collection of printed clothes from Bobo Choses and fell completely in love with the bold prints and bright colours. Then I realized they were kids clothes and my heart suddenly longed for the days when I could still squeeze myself into clothes designed for littlies.

Let’s be honest, my curves aren’t going to compact down any time soon, so I thought I’d try my hand at my own version of this awesome Lemon Print Tee. It also gave me an excuse to try out a new product that I bought recently; allow me to introduce to you Fabric Fixative. Essentially it allows you to turn any normal acrylic paint into fabric paint! Pretty neat huh? Finding it was a complete accident, but it now means that I don’t have to buy new paints if I want to  use them on cloth and fabric. Hooray! A 250ml pot set me back about $15 which I thought was pretty decent considering I can now have fabric paints in whatever shade I want!

What You Need:

A Plain Cotton Tshirt
Masking Tape or freezer paper
Fabric Fixative (or fabric paint if you have it)
Acrylic paint
A sheet of Cardboard
An Iron
A spare cloth

What You Do:

1. Start by taping off the shape of your fruit on to the tshirt using small pieces of tape to get a nice round shape. If  you have access to freezer paper you can instead cut out the shape and iron onto the fabric as a stencil.

2. Place a sheet of cardboard inside your tshirt. This will stop the paint from seeping through to the back so ensure your cardboard is big enough to sit behind the shape you stencilled off. Wrap the excess fabric around the cardboard so that the area for painting sits flat with no creases.

3. Mix together equal parts acrylic paint and Fabric fixative and paint directly onto the shirt in an even layer. Cross hatch your brush strokes for even coverage.

4. Allow to dry and add another layer. Repeat this step until you have achieved the colour and opaqueness you desire.

6. Once the painted area is dry, carefully remove the tape and complete any touch ups/add ons you may need. I wanted to add some pitted spots on so, I mixed a small amount of black paint with the fixative and applied with a small paint brush.

7. Allow the paint to dry completely before ironing to set. Cover the painted area with some calico or cotton fabric – I used an old thin tea towel -  and iron over the painted area. Do not allow the iron to touch the paint or it will stick to your iron.

Ta da! A printed tee! I found a bit of cardboard stuck to the fabric on the inside, but never fear, it came off easily after a quick run through the washing machine. The paint held up fine to washing as well. Hooray! Have you ever used this product? Any tips?