Decorate plain, inexpensive t-shirts for kids using buttons and some imagination. Create fun shapes, monograms, or colorful creatures. For Button Dragonfly T-Shirt project, I used a whimsical design and bright colors. Let the kids pick their favorite design and use buttons in their favorite color.
To make this Button Dragonfly T-Shirt, you will need the following materials:
Crafting with Buttons ½ inch Funky Ovals 470001304
Favorite Findings Fun Mini Stars 550001396
Favorite Findings Pretty Mini Hearts 550001394
Tweezers
Needle
Thread in Coordinating Colors
T-Shirt
Fabric Glue
Piece of Cardboard
To begin, follow the care instructions and wash and iron the t-shirt. Next, insert the piece of cardboard into the t-shirt. It will prevent the glue from bleeding through to the back side. Using the tweezers, start to lay down the buttons into the desired shape. Tip: if you can’t get the shape you want, try to use an image that you can trace.
Gluing the buttons works especially well with small buttons. It keeps the buttons in place when you sew them onto the t-shirt. Using the fabric glue, start to glue down the buttons in the desired shape. To make this process easier, pour the fabric glue onto a scrap piece of plastic or paper plate and using the tweezers, dip the buttons in glue and place on the t-shirt. Once the glue is dry, remove the cardboard.
Finally, sew the buttons to the t-shirt using coordinating color thread.
Now your Button Dragonfly T-Shirt is complete!
Get creative with the size of your design elements and also with their placement. Try placing them on the shoulder or towards the bottom of the t-shirt. You can also trim the sleeves, neckline, or bottom hem with matching buttons. Create coordinating designs for family photos! You can create a fun wardrobe for the entire summer!
HAPPY CRAFTING!!
We are a team of craft-obsessed, button loving people! You probably use buttons almost every day without giving it much thought – they keep our shirts closed and our pants up (hopefully!) - but buttons can be so much more! We created this blog to share all the fun, creative ways we’ve found to use buttons. Our product development team is always coming up with great new button shapes and colors, in addition to new products, so we will always have something new to share with you!