Stained Shirts

So I bought some nifty logo shirts. The problem is that I have paint stained on them. I can't get it out. Anyone have any ideas what to use?

Ivory Soap actually works pretty well - but if it has already been washed and dried... um, time and repeated washings will fade it.

Get shirts in black next time. I wear very artistic, multi-colored shirts or dresses w/ bright patterns(I love indian designs or tribal stuff). It hides & masks the paint. I also wear black tanks when I'm in 95 degree weather.

You know, I am not a huge fan of SF (don't bother asking - just little things here and there) but I have to say that the black shirt with the rhinestones "Face Painter" is really GREAT. It is soft and stretchy and is not one of those shirts that bind you all up, but rather stretchy and soft and a bit flattering, even. It is BLACK and still SPARKLY with a wee bit of FLASH I haven't tried Metina's shirts yet, but plan too!

I really want face painting tank tops. It's just too hot to wear a t-shirt. I like Metina's top. It's 1/2 sleeve & a thicker material, so I can only wear it in colder season. It's a bit short, so I have to layer it w/ a longer cami underneath so I don't "PB" the kids

Hi Barbie,

I've been curious about the SF rhinestone face painter shirt. Glad to know you like it so much. I've actually emailed them to ask about the sizing - no reply. Then I noticed on their 'new' website they have a talk to an operator now for help so I did this (being in Australia our times were out) so I left a written message & still no reply. I'm quite sad about this cause I really love the rhinestone effect. But I've given up on SF shirt & I've just ordered one from Vistaprint no rhinestones though

As for sizing, I think it runs *large*! I am normally a 12-14 and L/XL and I got the 1X and it SWIMS on me. I don't mind that, but I really should have sized down

BarbieSmith wrote:As for sizing, I think it runs *large*! I am normally a 12-14 and L/XL and I got the 1X and it SWIMS on me. I don't mind that, but I really should have sized down

See.. now I think they run small! I usually wear a size 14 and got the XL and it is too snug. Maybe there is a significant difference between the normal S-XL and the plus sizes 1X+..?? It is also pretty short and I have to wear a cami underneath it to make sure I'm not showing skin =).

Sonya

If you stained a white or light face painting shirt, I suggest getting a little tie-dye kit and tie-dying it bright colors!

I plan to make myself a few shirts with my favorite cool v-neck from target (and maybe a tank or two), tie-dying them in a swirl pattern with my favorite colors, and then screen-printing or stenciling on "face painter" on the back in big black letters, with my name in black on the top right chest area. It might not be as easy as buying a pre-made one, but I know for sure the shirts will fit and be comfy and not hot and LONG enough so children aren't pointing if my underwear pops up above my waistband. Also, no one else will have the exact same shirt and colors and font I use.

Sonya, I am with you on the wee-bit-too-short thing. Mine is just right, unless I sit down. Er, yes I WILL be sitting down. But luckily my chair has a back, so no one can see crack LOL.

My problem is seldom the size around, but almost always the length. I am NOT tall but I can't stand it when my shirts lift up if I raise my hands etc. I found some wonderful t-shirts at Kohls (Sonoma Everyday Tee) that are nice and long and very comfortable. Now I just need to figure out how I can design on them. If you have any advice, I'd love the help!! Hugs Helen

Helen, I've always used freezer paper for stencils on t-shirts. I find the freezer paper easily at walmart or large grocery stores.

The benefit of it over the iron-on transfer paper that you print on is that it's cheaper, and you don't waste expensive printer ink, and you can get much more vivid colors with paint that more easily mimic dyes or screen prints. downside is that stencils are not reusable usually, because the paper rips when you peel it off, and all the cutting can be frustrating is you do too intricate a design (hint: cuticle scissors!), but that's also true of iron ons, especially if you don't want either a white or filmy border.

You cut freezer paper (like wax paper but only 1 side is waxy) into a size that fits in your printer, and then design your stencil and print it on the non-waxy side. you can just lay out your text in word, and then add "bridges" by hand, which are the little connections that prevent the circle in the middle of the 0 from falling out of the rest of the stencil. Cut out everything in your stencil that needs to be "void", usually the stuff that you printed black.

Iron this on to your pre-washed shirt (the waxy side against the fabric to make it stick), and then use either fabric paint or some kind of acrylic paint with a little textile medium mixed in (all can be found at jo anns or michaels or even walmart craft section) to paint in your stencil (stippling the paint instead of dragging seems to work best). Don't forget to put a sheet of cardboard inside your shirt while you paint, so it won't bleed onto the other side. Let dry, peel off freezer paper, and voila! After you peel the stencil off, put a sheet of tin foil down and iron on the painted area to heat set it before you wash it.

Launder in not-too-hot washer and dryer with shirt turned inside out. doing too large and area or too thick can make the painted part a bit stiff, and after a lot of wear might even cause it to crack. this is why i think finding a fabric paint is best, as it has a softer "hand" to it when dry. there's a spray version of fabric paint that i keep seeing around and think would be great for stencils.

It's fairly hard to cover a black or dark color with a plain white. if you want a bright color, you can sponge on a white base over the dark fabric and then do your bright color, and it looks pretty even! But if you want plain white, I'd go with the kind of iron on transfer paper that is MADE for black shirts, and print out only the OUTLINE of your text so that you end up with plain white iron on letters. Follow instructions on the package for that.

Whew, that was detailed, but I've made my fair share of T-Shirts (and t Shirt mistakes), so I thought I'd share!

Or... you could trace stencils on and then use dimensional fabric paint... spread it with a brush to flatten if you don't want the "dimension."

I personalized my canvas director's chairs with fabric paint and it has lasted a long time - 10 years or so. I need to pick off the remaining stuff and redo them though now.

yeah, i've heard painting on the tulip puffy paint with a brush and then heat setting it looks very nice for stencils, but never tried it!

I did this w/ butterfly stencils & metallic fabric paint & then free handed swirls & twirls & it looks great & washes well. It was very time consuming.

Thanks for all the great advice!!!!

I'm not sure how I want to do it. I want to use a black shirt as I think it looks more professional. I was thinking about cutting out a guide on my cricut and then filling it in with gems using E600 to attach them. It would be really sparkly and a great attention getter. I want it to say MAKEUP ARTIST..... but I'm not sure if I want to add color or just gems...... I'll ponder it and when I make up my mind I'll post a picture. Hugs Helen

gems will look great! maybe also look into hotfix gems, which are commonly used for clothing?

i did sitck-on gems on my graduation mortar board to spell out words, and they stood out so great against the black even from far away, without any color underneath them.