DIY Halloween Shirt – Freezer Paper Tutorial

As much as I would like to dress Raya up appropriately for the Halloween season, I just can’t see spending the money on a shirt she is going to wear once, maybe twice. So I decided to give the freezer paper method a try – and I am HOOKED. I love how easy this project is! She has a creepy spider T-Shirt to wear now and I can’t wait to try my hand at some other designs!

If you haven’t tried freezer paper designs yet, I will show you a quick how-to. It’s extremely easy and fast. Depending on the design they choose and their skill leel with scissors and paint, the kids can even help make their own.

Freezer Paper T-Shirt

Time: 15 minutes for the project and cleanup, 1 hour drying time

Supplies:

• A shirt/onesie/etc. I shopped the clearance rack and found something not very Halloweenish, but I liked the $1.00 price tag so I will make it work!
• Freezer Paper
• Iron
• Scissors or an exacto knife and self healing mat, depending in the design you choose (and the age of whoever is doing the cutting)
• Fabric paint
• Paintbrush

The great part about freezer paper, if you haven’t worked with it before, is that one side is paper and one side is waxed. You can trace, draw, and I’ve heard you can even print from your printer (though I haven’t been brave enough to try it myself). Then, you can iron the waxy side onto your fabric, and it peels off at the end of the project with no residue.  It makes the perfect template for those of you who are like me, and hopeless at freehand painting.

I traced a great big spider onto my paper. You are essentially making a stencil, so you need to carefully trim the center out. I used an exacto knife because of the long, slim legs. If you have a design that creates any “islands”, cut those out and save them because you’ll be using them too. (For example, if you’re making a big letter “A”, you will need to cut out the triangle from the top of the letter and use that too.)

Now, iron your stencil onto your fabric. I used a medium-high setting. Be sure to iron any “islands” on where they belong. I put an extra sheet of paper inside the shirt, in case any paint bleeds through. I did end up with two tiny spots – you don’t want these to end up on the backside of your shirt.

Shake your fabric paint well, then squirt it sparingly onto the center of your design. Use a paintbrush to smooth it out, and paint all the way to your edges. Your freezer paper should give you a nice seal, so it’s pretty forgiving if you paint messy, like I do. I like to use two thin coats to make sure the paint job is nice and even.

Let it dry, and peel off your freezer paper. That’s it! As you can tell, I am too impatient to wait for it to dry all the way. That’s ok as long as your edges are dry and you peel carefully.

And now my daughter has a cute and creepy shirt for $1. Have you made some Halloween wearables this year with freezer paper? Leave me your link, I’d love to see!

~Adrianne

I link to these fabulous parties!