Valentine Transfer Shirt Tutorial
Valentine's Day will be here soon and we have a great project for you and kids of all ages. Kids love to scribble and paint. This is a great way to take their artwork and make something special for them to wear or to give as a gift to parents or grandparents. It is so easy you can make one for the whole family. Let's get started on spreading the love!
Shopping list:
- Deco Ink Effect Sublimation Paint, #1 Pink, #2 Red, #7 Turquoise, #9 Violet, #10 Purple
- Plain paper
- Lettering sized to fit your shirt, we chose the word LOVE
- Scissors
- Assorted brushes
- Polyester shirt
- Basecoat (only if using a cotton shirt)
Let's get started!
Lay out a sheet of paper or two. Pick your first color and start painting. You can make all kinds of abstract marks or you can do an all over wash by using just a little water.
Keep layering colors, you will want to fill the whole page. Kids will have a blast with this part!
Let your papers dry for 30 min. While they are drying, cut out your text to make templates. Note: if you are using a cotton shirt now is the time to spray it with the Basecoat so it can dry before it is time to iron.
Once your paper is dry, trace the letters on your painted paper, then cut them out.
Pro-Tip: Be sure to reverse the letters so they end up the right direction when you lay them down for ironing.
Turn on your iron to high and let it warm up. Insert a few layers of newsprint inside your shirt to keep paint from seeping through to the other side.
Lay out your letters with the painted side DOWN against the fabric. Place another sheet of old or unprinted newsprint, parchment paper or a press cloth on top.
Iron the letters with a dry iron. Press down slightly and do not move the iron back and forth; rather pick it up and set it down to move to another part of the design. This will keep things from shifting under the paper or press cloth.
Let everything cool off and wear your shirt, or gift it to someone special.
Depending on the amount of paint you used when creating your drawing, you can re-use it several times until you start to see the colors fading when you transfer them.
