DIY Graphic Tee with SoSoft Fabric Acrylics from DecoArt

Have you ever been out shopping, when you see an article of clothing that makes you say, "I could totally do that myself"?

Well, that's me....most of the time.

One thing I've seen everywhere are hand-painted graphic shirts. The simple designs and sleek lines really make for an interesting piece.
So instead of just thinking hey I can do that--I actually decided to do it!

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Let me show you how you can create your own cool, modern graphic tee so you can rock it out for the last days of summer and into the fall!

Step 1: Stretch the shirt over the cardboard so that you have a smooth, taut surface to work with. 100% cotton is always the best choice. And remember, if you choose a dark colored tee, the colors you choose may not show up as brightly as you'd like. I decided to stick with white.

That black stuff was a previous design I did with black that stuck to the cardboard backing.

Step 2: Choose a quality fabric paint in varying colors.  I have a set of RAD fabric paints from the cool people at DecoArt. Their SoSoft Fabric Acrylics paint line is the bomb dizzle. A lot of paints claim to be made for fabric, but end up feeling hard and thick once they dry. Nobody wants crunchy paint on their clothes. The SoSoft paints really do feel so...soft.....yeah. Just like the name implies.

look at all the pretty colorssssssssss

I even got a few bottle of the fine glitter finish.

Step 3: This next step is when you can really flex your creative muscle. Choose your color palette. You can then paint a design you may already have, you can incorporate a stencil, you can use a brush to give it a painterly effect or you can use your fingers. I decided to use a silkscreen technique of "squeegeeing" the paint onto the tee.

I choose these four colors.

I placed four very generous blobs of the fabric paint on my tee. It's okay if they touch. You decide where you want them on  your tee. I chose right under my v-neck tee so it could be positioned on my chest.

Here is where the squeegee comes in. I used a thick piece of watercolor paper folded in half as my squeegee, but you could also use a plastic one from a hardware store. Press down on the paint and with a fluid motion, spread the paint in the direction of your choosing, once, using even pressure.

I like how the paint faded toward the bottom of the design. And the tee is super soft and so is the painted design. Simple and modern and most of all, SUPER COMFORTABLE!!!

I really dig the abstract vibe of the design. I'll definitely be making more of these!