Baby Glam: the Rockin' Tie Tee

The Rockin' Tie Tee Tutorial

I know what you're thinking, "Fnally! A project for little boys." I know I know, I can't believe it took me this long either. I'm going to be posting more little boy projects in the near future, I just have to go out and buy some fabric that's actually boy-themed!

Anyways, on with the show. As with the Rockin' Necklace Tee, this project is quick and sewing-optional, and uses fabric paint as the primary medium.

Supplies:

• A plain onesie or t-shirt
• Fabric paint and paint brush
• Disappearing ink fabric marker
• Freezer paper or wax paper
• An iron
• Fabric scraps (optional)
• Fusible web like Heat N Bond or Stitch Witchery (optional)
• Embroidery floss and embroidery needle (optional)

First, turn the onesie inside out and iron on some freezer paper, shiny side down, to the inside front of the shirt. This is to make sure none of the fabric paint leaks through and gets on the back of the shirt (and it will if you're not careful!) If you don't have any freezer paper, insert a piece of wax paper, cardboard, or other protective material inside of the shirt before painting.

Next, use your disappearing ink fabric marker to sketch out a tie design on your onesie or shirt. I wanted mine to be a little messy, so I drew mine with the tail of the tie sticking out. If you don't have a lot of faith in your ability to draw free-hand, you can check out this post for a tutorial on how to fabric paint on a shirt using your own stencil. You can always find an image of a tie on Google.

Next, use your paint brush to apply your fabric paint to your shirt inside the design you drew. Don't goop the paint on, make sure it goes on smoothly and evenly otherwise you'll be able to see spots when your paint dries. Let dry overnight, or for however long the bottle says. If you're using a onesie for this project you may want to apply a couple of coats of paint because the fabric is so stretchy that it has a tendency to stretch apart, exposing white areas. Let the first coat dry for a couple of hours before applying a second coat.

At this point, you are done if you like the shirt as it is, or you can apply other colors of fabric paint to add some extra design if you like (maybe stripes or polka dots?). If you want to make the tie even cooler by adding scraps of fabric and thread to make an argyle tie, follow the steps below.

Take your scrap of fabric and use your iron to iron on the fusible webbing scratchy side down onto the wrong side of your fabric (the side that doesn't have any print on it). Don't skip this step! You can find fusible webbing in any craft store; it helps applique stick to shirts. After the webbing is fused to your fabric, draw 4 diamonds onto the paper side of the webbing and cut out. Remove the paper backing and iron the diamonds onto your shirt.

I didn't take a picture of this step, but you can find more information here about how to properly use fusible webbing and applique. Usually any webbing you buy will give you instructions as well.

Next, you want to mark x's through your diamonds to give you a guide for where you will be sewing with your embroidery floss. Mark a dot in the center of each diamond, then draw your x's in each diamond, meeting at the dot in the middle. Thread your embroidery floss through your embroidery needle, and make a knot in the end. Come up through the middle of one of your x's, and sew several backstitches to form x's in each diamond, extending outside of the diamonds by a stitch or two.

And that's it! Now all you need is a cute baby to put the shirt on. Luckily, I happen to have one of those.

Thanks for stopping by! If you missed it, GO HERE and check out the tutorial for the Rockin' Necklace Tee for girls.

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