Easy Applique T-Shirt

I was recently browsing through old posts on a blog I started reading about a month ago and came across this adorable appliqued t-shirt.

 

Jones Design Company

It reminded of the sweet applique shirts that Mini Boden always has for little girls.  The best part?  This project doesn't have to involve any sewing.  Have you heard of fusible webbing?  I had not prior to reading the tutorial on JDC, but it is awesome.  I'm now having to hold myself back from appliqueing shapes to items all over my house.

The gist is this.  You buy fusible webbing at your local fabric store (got mine at Joann) by the yard.  It's smooth on one side and has little bumps on the other.  You cut a piece of the webbing large enough to cover the shape you want to make and lay it bumpy-side down on top of the fabric you'll be using, which needs to be backside up, so the "right" side of the fabric is facing down.  You press a hot iron over the paper firmly and let it cool slightly.

You then draw or trace your shape onto the fabric and cut it out.  I was making a bird and branch applique so traced the bird from an image I found online and drew the branch and bird's wings freehand.

After your shape is cut out you scratch at an edge a bit with your fingernail and the paper should come up, much like double sided tape, and you then peel off the paper.

 

Lay your pieces on the shirt to decide how you want them layered and positioned and then starting with the bottom piece first (in this case the branch) lay them glue side down (the side from which you removed the paper) and iron them on to the shirt.

If you're not into sewing, you are done!  Fusible webbing is washable, though it's recommended that items be washed inside out.

With the amount of washing a baby item usually goes through - I was making this onesie for a friend's new baby - I wanted to be sure the design would stay put so decided to stitch around the edges.  I think a zigzag stitch would have looked nice too.

I'm hatching some plans to make an accent pillow for Ellie's room using this same technique.

We'll be laying pretty low this weekend after all of our recent travels.  I hope to have some trip photos to share Monday and also am plotting a rich little bite-sized dessert that I'll share as a Sweet Friday feature next week if it turns out!

Linking to Tatertots and Jello, Create Craft Love, The Winthrop Chronicles, and I Heart Naptime.