Introduction: Transfer Images Onto a ANY Color Shirt

Materials:

  • Smartphone with LED light (or other small light)
  • Fabric Paint
  • Shirt (any color. The flashlight allows you to trace your design on dark or light shirts)
  • Large Saucepan
  • Tape
  • Paper
  • Printer
  • Word processing software like MS word
  • An image that you like!

I've seen a lot of tracing tutorials that only work on light or white shirts. I own mostly black shirts so I figured out a way to do it on whatever color shirt you want! :)

Step 1: Import the Image Into Word

Find and download an image you want to transfer to your shirt and import it into MS Word.

(It will be easiest to work with a high contrast design. Like an image with black text and a white background or vice versa.)

Click on Insert>Picture and click on your image. You might want to play around with the size of it. I recommend holding a piece of printer paper up to the shirt so you can see about how big your printed image will be in relation to how big it is in Microsoft Word.

If you want a big design, I also recommend switching the page layout to landscape. Go to Page Layout>Landscape.


Step 2: Tape Design to Shirt

Turn your shirt inside out.

Print your design and place the printed image face down on the front of your shirt. Try to get it as straight as possible. Then tape it down (one strip of tape for the top, and one for the bottom.)

Step 3: Pull the Shirt Over the Saucepan

Activate your phone's flashlight (you can download a flashlight app from the app store if your phone has a flash.) Place your smartphone inside the saucepan with the flashlight facing up.

Turn your shirt right side out and place the saucepan inside the shirt. You'll want to arrange it so that the handle of the saucepan is sticking out of the neck hole of the shirt.

Then bunch the shirt up on the back side of the saucepan and secure it with a rubber band.You'll be able to see the design you printed through the shirt because of the flashlight.

Step 4: Trace Your Design!

Trace your design with the fabric paint.

Depending on how concentrated the light from your phone is, you might need to (gently!) rattle the phone around a bit to get the flashlight under the part that you're working on.

After your design is traced, you're done! Slide your hand into the neck hole of the shirt to retrieve your phone.

Keep your saucepan inside the shirt and let dry for 24 hours.

Enjoy!