Learn how to make a simple owl iron-on t-shirt by repurposing a baby onesie. So cute!
I was rummaging through my craft drawers a couple of weeks ago looking for something when I came across a wonderful book of iron-on transfers
That’s when I realized I could probably use some plain onesies that I had purchased several years ago. I love embroidering onesies as gifts for baby showers and have several left in my craft drawers. I pulled out the largest one I could find and slipped it over my daughter’s head and it fit. Well, it almost fit. She’s too tall for it to snap so I figured I would cut the bottom off and make a t-shirt. Problem solved!
Make An Owl Iron-on T-shirt
You will need:
White onesie
Stitch Witchery
Scissors
Iron
Iron-on transfer (I used the owl from this book
Embroidery floss in matching colors (I used teal and brown)
Embroidery needle
Transfer pen
Embroidery hoop
First, I prepared the t-shirt. I cut the bottom of the onesie right above the leg openings. Then I turned the edges of the shirt under and ironed them to give them a crisp edge. This also allowed me to make sure the edge was straight before I sealed them with Stitch Witchery.
Since I don’t have a sewing machine that would survive this fabric and because I love Stitch Witchery, I decided to go that route rather than hem the bottom of the t-shirt. I tore off pieces of Stitch Witchery and tucked them in the “hem”. Then I ironed the fabric to seal the hem. I forgot to take a picture of this part, but hopefully this makes sense.
Next was the fun part! I cut out the owl transfer and positioned it on the t-shirt. I knew I wanted to embellish the owl with a branch and some leaves so I made sure that it was positioned so I could do that. I followed the instructions on the iron-on transfer packaging and found that 30 seconds of ironing did the trick for this particular transfer. It did crinkle a little bit so maybe next time I’ll cut down the time a bit. After letting it cool for a couple of minutes, I peeled off the paper, and wow, why have I never done this before?! It was so cool!
At this point, I took out my transfer pen and drew a branch and several leaves under the owl. I put the t-shirt in an embroidery hoop and used a back stitch to “draw” the branches and leaves. (See how to back stitch here.) After I was finished, I rinsed the ink from the transfer pen off and let the shirt dry completely.
I love how quickly this project came together and how satisfying it was since most of the difficult work was done by the cute design in the transfer.
Have you ever created a project using iron-on transfers? Where do you get your plain t-shirts? I’d love to know! Now I’m off to find more blank surfaces to embellish.
Have a lovely {and creative} day!
31 responses to “Make an Owl Iron-on T-shirt”
Such a cute idea! I would never have thought to embroider a small picture to add to the iron transfer.
Thanks, Lindsay! 🙂
Cute! Unfortunately all I have are boys 🙂
🙂
Oh so cute! Thank you for sharing! I must try this!! 😀
Glad you like it! It was so fun to make! 🙂
This is so adorable! I love it, looks easy too. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much! I really like how fast this project came together. 🙂 🙂
What an adorable shirt. My bff hosted an iron-on-onesie baby shower for me. We all sat together and made clothing for my soon-to-be-born baby girl. This would have been a precious idea.
What an awesome baby shower activity–so creative! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and congratulations!
Your embroidery really makes this shirt! Thanks for linking up today at the Pin Party.
Thanks! 🙂
LOVE the owl, but the stitching most of all.
Marie @ In Our Happy Place
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Thanks so much, Marie! 🙂
So cute! Great way of reusing too. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty
Thanks, Angela! 🙂
Cute! And you made it look so easy. 🙂
Ah, thanks! It really is a simple project, promise! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This is really cute! I love a good craft and will be adding this to my “try” list! Thanks for sharing with the Pretty Preppy Party! http://www.southernstateofmindblog.com/2015/03/pretty-preppy-party-march.html
I think you’ll like it! 🙂 The only sad part is how fast munchkins grow out of these cute outfits! :/
Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party! Pinned & shared. Hope to see you again this week.
Thanks so much, Theresa! 🙂
This is very cute! I love how you added the embroidery! Thanks for linking up at the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop! We hope you join us again next week!
Thanks so much, Samantha. I love your party–always get so much inspiration of things to do with my daughter. 🙂
This looks so cute! Loving it! Pinned and tweeted. Thanks for being a part of our party. I hope to see you tonight at 7. Lou Lou Girls
We’re going to give this a whirl for my almost 4 year old. She LOVES owls! 🙂
Yay! Let me know how it turns out! I was surprised how easy it was to do an iron on (where have I been?!) Have a great day!
So adorable! The stitched branch makes is so unique. My daughter is just learning some sewing so this type of project would be perfect for her — now to find a dolphin iron-on since it’s her favorite (I bet she could sew on some waves 😉
Oh my goodness, a dolphin in waves would be adorable! Love that idea!
This is so cool! Thanks so much for sharing how you did it! Have an awesome weekend!
Thanks, Cristi! 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend too! 🙂