How to Make A Cute and Simple Thanksgiving Day Shirt for Kids

It’s that time of year again, a time to give thanks.  Around this time, most schools have a festival, play or holiday feast for all the students and families.  There are schools that encourage the students to get into the holiday spirit and even request they dress up if they wish.  Rather than scroll online for a cute ensemble or dash to the store for a pricey costume, you can create your own.  Here is How to Make A Cute and Simple Thanksgiving Day Shirt for Kids.

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Materials and Such

This project requires very little to accomplish.  Gather the materials below to start.  Some are negotiable.  Use your preference of mediums to achieve your desired look.

 

–White shirt (we used Hanes)

-3-4 Tea Bags (such as Lipton or other iced tea brand)

 -Scissors

-rubber bands

-permanent markers or acrylic paints

That’s all you need!  Hopefully you will already have most of these at home in a drawer or cabinet.

Tie Dye Time

The first step to creating your Thanksgiving themed shirt is to create the crunched tie dye effect.  To achieve this look you will need a few rubber bands.  Gather the end of each sleeve and secure with a rubber band like the image below.

Next secure the middle section of the shirt body and another toward the bottom of the shirt.  You can add more or less rubber bands to create some amazing effects.  There are many tutorials such as THESE that explain how to achieve certain patterns and designs when dying clothing.

Once all the rubber bands are in place it’s time to tan the fabric.  Fill your kitchen sink with super hot water, or boil up a pot of hot water to fill the sink.

Place three to four tea bags in the hot water and let seep for a minimum of fifteen minutes.  Using a wood spoon or chop stick, poke your shirt into the hot tea until fully saturated. Leave the shirt to soak in the tea overnight.

After the shirt has finished soaking up the tea, drain the sink and rinse the shirt under the faucet with cold water.  Carefully remove or cut the rubber bands and rinse the shirt again until the water runs clears.  Squeeze any excess water from the shirt and toss it into the dryer.

The results will be a lovely tanned shirt decked out with awesome tie dye details!

Add Fun Fringe

As soon as the shirt is dry you are able to embellish! Using your scissors cut two inch long strips that are about a half an inch wide across the bottom of the shirt and along the sleeves.

After these strips are cut, go back through and cut each strip in half once more.  Doing it this way rather than making a ton of little strips allows you more control and is less time consuming. Now the fringe is cut and finished!

Add Your own Twist

Next, you will decorate the front and back of the shirt.  Choose a design you enjoy or your child has chosen to draw onto your shirt.  For this project, we chose arrows that I had sketched the night before.  You can easily create a sleek line using a ruler and a permanent marker.

Once the lines are drawn on, decorate the arrows any way you choose.  I chose to paint over my markings using acrylics for this shirt.  Acrylics are not necessarily used for clothing.  However, the paint will not rub off or transfer.  I have multiple articles of clothing that I have splattered a few dots of acrylic on and they still remain there today.  Even after washing.

Finishing Touches

As soon as your design is finished, let the paint dry or marker set, to avoid smearing.  The last step is simple.  Run water over the fringe of the sleeves and shirt bottom until damp.  Then crunch the material in your hands.  This will break up the fringe creating a grunge effect opposed to the straight lines of the cuts.  Once the fringe dries, you’re finished!

Now you have created an adorable Thanksgiving shirt for your child that appears as though you have spent ages crafting, when really it only required a few simple steps.

Of course, there is no limit to this project.   Feel free to add as much detail as you want.  Sew on some beads, iron on letters or add glitter.  Have your child press hand or foot prints onto the material.  Create your own stamps out of apples or potatoes.  Get your creative juices flowing and whip up something spectacular!

Be sure to check out this fun kid activity too!

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