AKA the “Check out my fine motor skills, I’m 20 months old!” tee. I get so sentimental about these little baby developmental stages. While Cohen was drawing one day I thought of this idea to preserve his cute little scribbles, a scribble tee! It’s simple to do and can be such a great way to keep a memory. I think it would be equally as fun with an older child’s drawing.
When I was in Kindergarten had a shirt that had a picture I drew printed on the front. It had a momma horse and about 5 baby horses. They had stringy hair. I was so proud of it and I LOVED wearing it and telling the story about the horses that were on it and how there was one inside the momma’s belly. (Weird kid.) So I think this can be a great project for building confidence and encouraging creativity in kids that are a little bit older.
1. You’ll need a drawing from your kid and a plain white tee.
2. Cut out around the drawing and pin it onto your shirt.
3. Trace along the lines with your sewing machine.
4. Make sure to backstitch each time you pick up the presser foot.
5. Continue until you’ve traced all the lines.
6. Gently peel off the paper. You might have to wash it to get the tiny pieces out. And you’re done!
The scribble tee in action!
Stop growing! No just kidding, I love watching you grow little boy!
(As I type this my little scibbler is asleep on the floor in front of his door. His newest developmental milestone is jumping out of his crib in 3 seconds flat, landing on his feet. Which also means the end of naptime. Which means fussy nights and sleeping on the floor. It’s never dull over here, guys! I love it!)
Anyways, you can do this technique on other things besides a white tshirt. Do you have any ideas? I’d love to hear!
Aubrey
05/09 at 1:17 PMonce again, a brilliant idea!
so adorable!!
Daffy's Dream
05/09 at 1:35 PMvery cute and brilliant idea
Melissa
05/09 at 2:12 PMSuch a cute idea – thanks for sharing!
Samazing
05/09 at 2:18 PMWhat a sweet idea! I’m not a mom yet, but I think it would be really neat to have an older sibling draw a picture for the new sibling and have that sewn onto a onesie for the new one. It would be neat for the older one to see a creation of his/hers being worn by the newcomer, and maybe (just maybe) stave off some of that jealousy that comes.
kristin
05/09 at 2:38 PMsuper cute idea, kate! we’re thinking on the same lines once again – i JUST thought about doing this with one of Em’s latest elephant drawings!
Marina
05/09 at 3:41 PMYou are a genius, in my book, Kate! I love this idea so much, I am off to the store to get some T’s!!
Laura
05/09 at 5:31 PMOMG I need to try this! <3
Maybe for myself, since I have no kiddies yet c:
Emily
05/09 at 5:50 PMOh that is such a sweet tee! And your little boy is so darling! I was going to do this with fabric markers but I think I could use some practice following random lines. ha. PS I hate the end of naptime. Hugs to you.
Ashley
05/09 at 6:05 PMI love this idea!!! I can’t wait until my little guy makes some art work so I can make one of these!
-Ashley
TanyaMac
05/09 at 6:41 PMThat is such a great idea and i love the finished result too! I can’t think of a cuter way to present it either! my little fella, Charlie, is 20 mths too so i’m awaiting the whole jumping out of cot thing – fun, fun, fun ;)
Lauren
05/09 at 7:41 PMYou could do this on a tote bag or pillow cover for a fantastic grandmother gift.
I’ve also thought about uploading some of my kids’ art to Spoonflower and having fabric printed. What fun!
Margaret @ Chica es Artistica
05/09 at 10:29 PMI’ve been following your blog for a while now and I love it! This tee is way too cute (and so is the one wearing it!)
Lolly Jane
05/10 at 1:29 AMLove it, Kate!
Madalynne
05/10 at 1:32 AMthis is so unique! although I have seen many tutorials on how to transfer a design onto fabric, transferring a non designed design (scribble) onto fabric is a really new and cool idea.
Lynn
05/10 at 2:33 AMlove this!
Ginny Rucker
05/10 at 2:42 AMKate you are such a good Mom! I love that you relish in your son’s particular stage by showing off his great art work in your great art work.
michael ann
05/10 at 3:34 AMAh I love his little curls! My mom had a shirt screen printed from my doodles when I was little, but I love the idea of stitching it! Just so much more crafty haha
feelincrafty
05/10 at 3:35 AMCute idea! I have kept almost all of my kiddos ‘sketches’ as we call them. This is a great way to ‘keep’ them. Then once he outgrows the shirt, you can make the shirt into a quilt…. :)
Vanina
05/10 at 8:13 AMWhat a great idea Kate! I wonder if could be applied to quilting. I’ll try it with 16 months old Paloma! :)
Delia
05/11 at 3:31 PMSimply so creative! I LOVE this shirt. Pinning it!
kiki comin
05/11 at 8:53 PMi.love. this. so genius..will try soon.:)
Panic
05/14 at 7:27 PMWhat a cool idea, I have no sew maching, but I’ll try it by my hands.
moniculture
01/20 at 3:49 PMthat idea is so georgeous!!! i instantly tried it and it looks great!