How to Make Chess Team T-Shirts Using Fabric Spray Paint
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at 9:28 AM.
For full instructions on this project, see my other blog post about making t-shirts here. I used the same general technique for making the chess team shirts but with some specific embellishments.
Materials:
Aerosol fabric paint. Something like this. In black.
White t-shirts.
A cardboard rectangle big enough to slide inside the shirts.
Xacto knife and cutting board.
Freezer paper.
Iron
Iron-on letters (optional)
1. Find or draw your design. You are looking for a simple silhouette of a chess piece. You can use whichever piece is your team's favorite. We used kings because our coach refers to the kids as King Benny, King Ben, etc. Maybe you want to be knights or even pawns. You know, the pawns are the most powerful pieces on the board. Or something. Look for something very simple in silhouette, like this:
On the kids' shirts, I put the black king on the back.
Father and son shirts. Yes, this is their game face.
Chess shirts in action at the Championship Chess Norfolk tournament in May.
The Benjamins
Chess warriors
Materials:
Aerosol fabric paint. Something like this. In black.
White t-shirts.
A cardboard rectangle big enough to slide inside the shirts.
Xacto knife and cutting board.
Freezer paper.
Iron
Iron-on letters (optional)
1. Find or draw your design. You are looking for a simple silhouette of a chess piece. You can use whichever piece is your team's favorite. We used kings because our coach refers to the kids as King Benny, King Ben, etc. Maybe you want to be knights or even pawns. You know, the pawns are the most powerful pieces on the board. Or something. Look for something very simple in silhouette, like this:
2. Print out your design at about 10 inches high.
3. With an Exacto knife and cutting board, cut the design out of freezer paper. Save the inside! If you need a visual on this process, check my other post.
4. You now have two pieces of freezer paper -- one in the shape of a chess piece (to make the white king) and one with a chess piece shaped hole in it (to make the black king).
5. Position the freezer paper with a chess shaped hole in it in the spot you want the black king, and iron it down.
6. Slide your cardboard piece up inside your t-shirt to protect it from seeping paint. Spray your fabric paint into the stencil. Spray LIGHTLY! This is not a job for kids. Back up about a foot from the shirt and spray in gentle bursts. If you spray too close or too heavily, it will get clumpy and gluey and will not dry properly. Ever. As long as you live. Even if you live to be 37, like I have.
7. Let it dry for a few minutes and then peel the freezer paper outline off. You now have a black king!
8. Position the king-shaped freezer paper where you want the white king. and iron it down.
9. Spray your fabric paint around this reverse stencil. This is supposed to look a little graffiti, a little rock-and-roll, so spray in a zig-zag and let your inner tagger out. You do have an inner tagger, don't you? You didn't poison your inner tagger with too many violin lessons and tae kwon do tournaments did you? Good. So tag away.
10. Let it dry for a while and then peel the freezer paper off. You are done!
You can also add letters, iron-on jewels, and other embellishment. Go mad. The beauty of custom t-shirts lies in the creative potential; you can put anything you want on them and have a lot of fun doing it, so go nuts! Chess is a battlefield, and you may need to employ all the iron-on weapons in your arsenal. More pictures:
3. With an Exacto knife and cutting board, cut the design out of freezer paper. Save the inside! If you need a visual on this process, check my other post.
4. You now have two pieces of freezer paper -- one in the shape of a chess piece (to make the white king) and one with a chess piece shaped hole in it (to make the black king).
5. Position the freezer paper with a chess shaped hole in it in the spot you want the black king, and iron it down.
6. Slide your cardboard piece up inside your t-shirt to protect it from seeping paint. Spray your fabric paint into the stencil. Spray LIGHTLY! This is not a job for kids. Back up about a foot from the shirt and spray in gentle bursts. If you spray too close or too heavily, it will get clumpy and gluey and will not dry properly. Ever. As long as you live. Even if you live to be 37, like I have.
7. Let it dry for a few minutes and then peel the freezer paper outline off. You now have a black king!
8. Position the king-shaped freezer paper where you want the white king. and iron it down.
9. Spray your fabric paint around this reverse stencil. This is supposed to look a little graffiti, a little rock-and-roll, so spray in a zig-zag and let your inner tagger out. You do have an inner tagger, don't you? You didn't poison your inner tagger with too many violin lessons and tae kwon do tournaments did you? Good. So tag away.
10. Let it dry for a while and then peel the freezer paper off. You are done!
You can also add letters, iron-on jewels, and other embellishment. Go mad. The beauty of custom t-shirts lies in the creative potential; you can put anything you want on them and have a lot of fun doing it, so go nuts! Chess is a battlefield, and you may need to employ all the iron-on weapons in your arsenal. More pictures:
On the kids' shirts, I put the black king on the back.
Father and son shirts. Yes, this is their game face.
Chess shirts in action at the Championship Chess Norfolk tournament in May.
Benny's concentration pose.
The Benjamins
The Brocketts
Chess warriors
Labels: chess, custom, fabric spray paint, how to, t-shirts, tournament
How to Make Custom T-Shirts at Home
0 CommentsBy Lostcheerio on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 at 11:50 AM.
So you want to make t-shirts, just a few, and you don't want to deal with the hassle and uncertainty of cafepress or maybe you need them *right stinking now* and you can't wait to order them online. Okay! I have your messy, irritating, dangerous answer! Aren't you glad you came to this blog?
I made six t-shirts for our small homeschool co-op with this method, and it worked great. I let Benny pick the color of the paint and Sadie pick the color of the shirt, but apart from that they weren't able to help too much because of the razors involved. Hey, you can't always make it a teaching moment. Especially when there are razors.
Supplies list:
T-shirts
Acrylic, permanent, unwashable paint
Paintbrush
Freezer Paper
Masking Tape
X-Acto knife
Iron and ironing board
Piece of cardboard as big as design
1. Make your design.
We named our co-op "Phi Bensa Zoe Academy" using our kids names to invent new and serious-sounding Greek letters. Then we invented the "new" Greek letters to go with, and that was the shirt. Whatever design you choose, print it out in black and white on a piece of paper. How complicated can it be? Depends how fussy you want to get with the cutting out and the ironing later.
2. Tape six pieces of freezer paper to a cutting board, and your design on top.
If you're making six shirts, use six pieces of freezer paper. Make sure the wax side is down!
3. Cut out your design.
Using the X-Acto knife, remove all pieces of your design. With a sharp knife or razor, you can easily go through seven layers of paper.
4. Make sure you save any inner pieces, because you'll need them later to complete thhe stencils.
5. When the stencils are all cut out, remove them carefully from the cutting board and peel off all the tape that was sticking them down.
6. Lay one shirt on the ironing board and slide the piece of cardboard up inside it, under where you want the design to go. Iron the stencil on, wax side down, and make sure all little edges and bits are firmly ironed into place.
7. Now replace all the little inner bits and iron those down too.
8. Paint over the stencil, and make sure every bit of exposed fabric gets fully covered. This is pretty much the only part the kids can help with in anything but an advisory position. You don't have to glop on a whole lot of paint, but use a stiff brush and work the paint down into the fibers.
9. Peel up the stencil. Here, mine is peeled except for the inner bits.
10. Before washing this shirt, you should iron it to set the paint. Iron on the back, and put paper under the front so it doesn't get on your ironing board if it bleeds at all. Then you can wash it as usual!
Final product:
Is this your first time at my blog? Welcome! Hey, I have an idea! Come to the Little Blue Idea Box for more craft suggestions, homeschooling lesson plans, and outrageous projects.
Also, while you're here, won't you bookmark this page on Delicious?
I made six t-shirts for our small homeschool co-op with this method, and it worked great. I let Benny pick the color of the paint and Sadie pick the color of the shirt, but apart from that they weren't able to help too much because of the razors involved. Hey, you can't always make it a teaching moment. Especially when there are razors.
Supplies list:
T-shirts
Acrylic, permanent, unwashable paint
Paintbrush
Freezer Paper
Masking Tape
X-Acto knife
Iron and ironing board
Piece of cardboard as big as design
1. Make your design.
We named our co-op "Phi Bensa Zoe Academy" using our kids names to invent new and serious-sounding Greek letters. Then we invented the "new" Greek letters to go with, and that was the shirt. Whatever design you choose, print it out in black and white on a piece of paper. How complicated can it be? Depends how fussy you want to get with the cutting out and the ironing later.
2. Tape six pieces of freezer paper to a cutting board, and your design on top.
If you're making six shirts, use six pieces of freezer paper. Make sure the wax side is down!
3. Cut out your design.
Using the X-Acto knife, remove all pieces of your design. With a sharp knife or razor, you can easily go through seven layers of paper.
4. Make sure you save any inner pieces, because you'll need them later to complete thhe stencils.
5. When the stencils are all cut out, remove them carefully from the cutting board and peel off all the tape that was sticking them down.
6. Lay one shirt on the ironing board and slide the piece of cardboard up inside it, under where you want the design to go. Iron the stencil on, wax side down, and make sure all little edges and bits are firmly ironed into place.
7. Now replace all the little inner bits and iron those down too.
8. Paint over the stencil, and make sure every bit of exposed fabric gets fully covered. This is pretty much the only part the kids can help with in anything but an advisory position. You don't have to glop on a whole lot of paint, but use a stiff brush and work the paint down into the fibers.
9. Peel up the stencil. Here, mine is peeled except for the inner bits.
10. Before washing this shirt, you should iron it to set the paint. Iron on the back, and put paper under the front so it doesn't get on your ironing board if it bleeds at all. Then you can wash it as usual!
Final product:
Is this your first time at my blog? Welcome! Hey, I have an idea! Come to the Little Blue Idea Box for more craft suggestions, homeschooling lesson plans, and outrageous projects.
Also, while you're here, won't you bookmark this page on Delicious?
Labels: crafts, custom, homeschooling, projects, t-shirts
