Circular: Upcycle a Shirt Using an Eraser and Fabric Paint

For a recent Featured Project on CraftFoxes, I embellished a plain white T-shirt using fabric paint and a pencil eraser. I really like this simple stamping technique, so decided to apply it to a green shirt I found at the thrift store. 

I wanted it to have big circles, so decided to use embroidery hoops as stencils. The other materials I used were:

- Folk Art Fabric Paint from Plaid (colors #4425 and #4408)

- a Fine Point Disappearing Ink Pen by Dritz

- an unused pencil

- two pieces of thick cardboard

- and a plastic plate. 

To make my design, I first laid out my embroidery hoops in the design I wanted on my shirt.

Then using my disappearing ink pen, I traced the design onto my shirt. This pen is great because the ink really does disappear after a light wash or on its own after a few days. 

Once my design was completely transferred onto the shirt, I put the pieces of cardboard in between the shirt, in order to prevent the fabric paint from bleeding to its back side. The shirt I used was quite thick, but I still did this to be on the safe side. 

Then, I put a small amount of fabric paint on my plastic plate.

Using my pencil's eraser, I began to paint my shirt. I decided to fill each circle I stenciled with dots. 

I used orange fabric paint for one of the circles, and really like the overall look. 

I let the fabric paint dry for 24 hours, then used a towel and iron to heat-set it, according to the fabric paint's instructions. 

After about 72 hours, I hand-washed it in cold water, then placed it in the dryer on the low setting. You can also air dry it, if you want.  

Voila! My "new," painted shirt is now ready to be worn.