A State Shirt

Today is Tiny Texan Day at Tate’s school and she’ll be sporting this cute bandana-print state shirt along with her boots!  This project may have stemmed from a bit of fifth child mommy guilt {it’s so much easier to just let her wear hand-me-downs from the others – wink} and I decided I’d share its simplicity in case any of you are wanting a state shirt of your own!  After all, state pride has become quite the trend, hasn’t it?

I started with a plain white shirt from Walmart.  They’re always my favorite for embellishing.  For less than $4, you can buy a shirt that has a nice shape to it, varying necklines, a cute sleeve {sometimes they’re capped, sometimes they’re slightly gathered}, and will wash well.  They look so much better than the plain shirts you can buy at craft stores.

For the applique, I used fabric from my stash.  This cute bandana patchwork print is from Michael Miller.

I cut a square of fabric and applied a craft fuse product to the back then removed the paper.  I knew I would be cutting the shape with my cutting machine so I used the product they recommend.

If you’re cutting by hand, find your state image online and trace around the edges.  Any double-sided craft fuse will work and you’ll want to leave the paper intact until after you cut it {the paper is actually a great place to draw your shape … just be sure to trace or draw it in reverse}.

Once the shape is cut, fuse it with a hot iron onto the shirt and machine stitch around it.  You can use an applique stitch but I like to use what I call a scribble stitch, haphazardly sewing a few times around the perimeter.  I think it looks really cute on kids’ clothing and allows the edges of the applique to get just a bit shabby, which I love.

So simple.  In just a few minutes, you can have a really cute personalized shirt to represent the state you love!  And if you don’t want a shirt, use the same technique to make a fun tote bag or blanket!