Wednesday, February 26, 2014

DIY Tutorial | Make Your Own Graphic Tees

I don't know about you, but I love graphic tees that feature adorable fonts. Only problem is, I typically don't like what the shirts say & would never wear the shirts in public [let alone out of my bedroom or bathroom]. Of course, there are some cute graphic tees out there where I love both the font & the words, but they usually cost a lot or are sold out of my size. Hence this tutorial on how to make your own.
Of course, silly me forgot to take a "what you will need" photo. So I will just list the things you will need to collect for this DIY project.
  • T-Shirt Transfer Paper [the kind that goes through a home printer]
  • Tee Shirt [my favorite is from Forever 21, as they are only $3.80 and super soft!]
  • A Computer [I'm using a Macbook] with internet & Pages or Office Word
  • Scissors
  • Iron
  • Paper Bag or Cardboard
1. The hardest part about making your graphic tee is coming up with the design you want, as you have endless possibilities. The whole world is at your feet. Once you have a good idea on what you want to do, it is time to make the "text" part of your graphic tee in a program like PicMonkey. 
 2. Click on "Design"[you don't have to pick a canvas size]. Keeping it simple folks.
3. Now you will crop your canvas. I like something around the 2000x800-ish range. Of course, this works best if you are only doing just one word. 
4. The most fun part for me is choosing the font for your tee! The tee shirt that I'm making during this tutorial is my "Bonjour" one, so I picked the "La Belle Auore" font. 
5. Click the font you want to use. A text box should pop-up, like shown in the picture.
6. Type out what ever you want your tee to say. Size up your font to fill in as much space as possible. 
7. For the best image, you will want to crop the design as close as you dare to your font design.
8. Next you will want to get rid of the white canvas background. Click on the "Canvas Color" tab and check the transparent canvas box.
9. Save your image as a .png to your desktop [this makes it way easier to find when design your tee to print].
 10. Create your design in Pages [You could try doing this in Office Word too], by adding the font image to a blank document [in Pages you can just drag the image]. If you will be creating two tee shirts with just one small phase or something like in the above image, then by all means layer two font images -- just be sure to leave some space between the two.
 11. Print out your design & see if you approve of the finish look, before printing it out on your special paper. Once you have everything how you want it, flip everything to be backwards [in Pages look for the button "Flip Horizontally"].
12. Your design should now look like the above picture. Fun, huh? Next print out your design as instructed by the transfer paper brand.
 13. Once you have it printed out, cut out your designs as close as you dare [leave perhaps a 1/4" of space or so] to your design. Doing so helps your design look more professional [which I learned, by my third tee].
14. Stick your tee shirt onto an ironing board. Be sure to iron out any wrinkles before placing your design onto your tee. Slip a paper bag, or piece of cardboard between the tee & the ironing board.
15. Place your design onto your tee, with the printed side facing the tee. Move your design around and find the perfect placement BEFORE ironing it down.
16. Once you have decided where you want it, iron down the design in circler motions. Make sure the edges are firmly ironed down, you don't want your design peeling up.
 17. Follow the instructions that came with your transfer paper, but mine recommended that I removed the paper when warm for a satin finish [which is what I did], or when cool for a glossy finish.
 18. Ta-da! Your tee is finished. When you wash your tee, again follow the instructions that came with your transfer paper.

 The second tee shirt I made simply says, Tres Chic.

Then for something fun, I made myself a Sherlock tee. Which I adore. [I just layered the two separate images into Pages to create this look. I found the Sherlock graphic here. Oh, the font I used is called, Tall Dark and Handsome on PicMonkey.]

If you do this tutorial, I would love to see how your graphic tees turn out! Just post pictures on our Facebook page, or tag me on Twitter [@BramblewoodF] or Instagram [@Bramblewoodfashion].

~Ashley

15 comments:

  1. Sounds like a really fun project!! Maybe I'll give it a go.....I love graphic tee's but, like you, I either find them too expensive or they are vulgar. :/

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    Replies
    1. I was going to do it yesterday because I went to Hobby Lobby and got the supplies but the printer wasn't working so I had to get another one and we haven't set it up yet.

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  2. This is awesome! Thanks girly :)

    -Charlotte
    boyerfamilysingers.blogspot.com

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  3. I am totally going to use this as gift ideas!!!

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  4. I don't have time to make fabulous stuff like this. PLEASE START SELLING THEM!;D I promise I would buy at LEAST two from you haha

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    Replies
    1. I'm going to be selling shirts like this very soon on etsy! My username is xMugShots if you wan't to look me up they will be there sometime soon. :)

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  5. What a great idea! :) I especially love the mint color your picked for the shirt! I'll have to try it out myself -Alexandra

    Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things

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  6. This is such a cool idea!!
    ~Sarah♥
    cutecombinations.blogspot.com

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  7. Awesome tutorial Ashley! I'll have to give this a try sometime! :D

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  8. such a great diy (the sherlock tshirt *swoon*)
    seriously loving all of them, thanks for the ideas!

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  9. Amazing tutorial! I will definitely be making some of these! (Sherlock? Yes!!)
    Thanks!

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  10. What a great idea, Ashley! I'd love to try this sometime.

    walking in the air.

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  11. This looks absolutely amazing....I have to try this sometime!
    Have you tried making T-shirts with colored graphics? If so, is it harder or just as easy?

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  12. Thank you so much! I tried this and really liked how it came out. (http://www.pinterest.com/pin/431501208019661109/)
    Endless possibilities! :)

    ~ Patti

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  13. What brand of transfer paper did you use?
    Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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