T-Shirt Wall Art

by JSTArollin

94K57319

Intro: T-Shirt Wall Art

Do you have old t-shirts that you used to wear a lot and loved but no longer wear? Do you want some unique wall art? Or are you just bored? If you answered yes to anyone of those questions then this project will be great for you! You will need the following items:

-Cool T-Shirts
-12" x 12" Canvases
-Scissors
-Stapler

Before you get started you may want to choose some shirts and see if the design will fit on the canvas. If the design fits on the canvas you may choose to iron the shirt before you get started that way there are no wrinkles in your final project.

STEP 1: The Sides

Fold the sides over the canvas and pull the shirt tight. The tighter it is the nicer it will look when you are done. Then put staples all along the side of the canvas. The more staples the better. The minimum you should put is five. After you have stapled down the sides cut off the sleeves.

STEP 2: The Top

Now, fold over the top of the shirt and staple it down. Remember that the hook to hang the canvas is on this side. Make sure your staples are above the hook so you can still hang it up. If you mess up and the hook is on the wrong side simply get a hammer or screwdriver, pull it off, and put it where you want it. Once you have the top stapled down cut off all of the excess. Especially make sure to cut enough off so the hook is accessible.

STEP 3: The Bottom

Once you have finished the other steps fold the bottom over. Staple the shirt to the canvas and cut any of the excess off.

STEP 4: Finished Product

Once you have finished the last step you are done. All there is left to do is hang them up and admire them.

14 Comments

bleighf 9 years ago

instead of a canvas, use a shoebox lid or some other cardboard box lid, depending on the size you want!

Deltic 10 years ago

I wish I hadn't used all my great old band tour shirts as dusters now! I used to make pin-boards for a company manufacturing display cases and can offer some advice on stretching your shirt over the frame. It will be much easier if you can cut off the front of the t-shirt and work with only one layer of material, this will depend on the quality of the shirt you are using. You will find that the material is more stretchy in one direction than the other, these are the sides that you will staple first. Get your shirt positioned over the frame roughly where you intend it to finish up. Put your initial staple in the centre of the frame then gently pull the t-shirt just taut enough to leave a smooth, crease-free surface & insert your 2nd staple in the frame directly opposite. Now is the time to check that your shirt is correctly positioned as the more staples you insert the less opportunity there is to rectify any mistakes! If you staple one side entirely first then you will be unable to stretch the shirt in the perpendicular direction and run a big risk of ending up with unwanted creases in your final product. Once the first two staples are in & you are happy with the positioning you can then pull the shirt taut in the opposite direction & insert staples in the centres of the other two sides of the frame. Now all four sides are secured in the centre you can proceed to finish off the stapling into each corner, pulling the t-shirt gently taut across the diagonals as you do so. When you get to the corners it is worthwhile taking a little bit of time to get a neat finish as they can be a little tricky. The technique is basically the same as that used for wrapping gifts, pinch together the excess fabric from the two adjoining sides then pull both together flat against one of the edges before pulling behind the frame & securing with staples. This should leave a nice neat tight 45 degree fold of material showing on one corner. Hope this helps anybody trying it out & thanks JSTArollin for posting this great idea.

Casabamelon 10 years ago

This is an awesome project idea, that's made even better by your good advice. Thank you!

Deltic 10 years ago

It was a little long-winded I know but I'm glad you found it useful.

AndrewDouglasBird 10 years ago

Might have to do this with some of my favorite shirts that are too worn to wear. The graphics on many of them look great, but the shirt it self has holes in various places.

destructopop 10 years ago

Cool project. I can see ways to change this and make it more workable for my situation! My situation is that I own and LOVE a couple hundred t-shirts, and would never cut them up or trash them. I never thought of a frame base, before! I could use alligator clips for a quick and dirty way to affix them, if it came down to it!

kinderdm 10 years ago

Really nice idea for those old t-shirts that I never get a chance to wear anymore. I love the designs but they never get any usage sitting in a drawer or box somewhere.

homesteadcat 10 years ago

I love your idea! My old rock concert t-shirts would look great displayed on my walls instead of hiding in the dresser drawers. Thanks!!!

bethmwl 10 years ago

Grand idea, I never cared for the quilt ideas for old t-shirts 'with sentimental value' and never thought of something like this

Lost Moai 10 years ago

WHat a great way to display race t-shirts!

jessyratfink 10 years ago

This is a great idea! I had some classic gaming shirts I wish I would have done this with. Awesome! :D

andrea biffi 10 years ago

nice idea, the more the t-shirt is used, the more interesting will be the canvas!