As my kids have got older I have looked at ways to entertain them and their friends at their birthday parties. When my eldest turns nine and although he still loves pass the parcel etc. He would like to do something a bit different with his friends at his birthday. So we thought we might try out a throwing a decorate t shirt party.

Decorate plain white t shirt

We have done a trial run to test it out, before we launch into doing it at the party. So both my eldest and youngest had a go the previous rainy Sunday. We started with plain white t-shirts, as this gave a fresh base for colours to be applied.

What to decorate t shirt with?

As a textiles teacher I had loads of bits in my craft stash for the boys to try decorating their t-shirts with. So I created a little decorate a t-shirt kit. In the kit I included:

• Fabric markers,
• Crayons for fabric,
• Fabric paints,
• Pom poms,
• Sequins,
• Fabric glue.

If you have access to a cricut machine you could also include some pre-cut vinyl shapes or some stencils.

I have some free svg files that you can choose from that might be popular with the children.

• 11 free svg dinosaur silhouettes
• cute faces
• Free Bears and buttons svg collection
• 15 stars svg (free)

Ways to decorate t-shirt

Both boys chose different routes for decorating their t-shirts. The youngest favoured the paints, followed by immense pom pom application, with the look of a spiny dinosaur in mind.

Where as the eldest favoured the fabric markers and the fabric crayons. As he wanted to do more illustrative designs.

He drew his favourite things, so there was lego and Pokemon included. He found the fabric pens easier to work with than the crayons.

Top tips when decorating T-shirt

• Have some card to insert in between the t-shirt so the design doesn’t ruin the other side.
• Use light coloured t-shirts so you get the best colours.
• Choose fabric markers for quick and less mess application.
• Read instructions on fabric paints and crayons as some require washing or ironing to fix the design in place.
• Put a cover down and wear something old as you don’t want to ruin furnishings and clothes with the paints and pens. They don’t wash out!

So will we use this activity at our next party? Probably, the boys had great fun and they love having something truly unique to wear that they made.

My advice would be to keep this to a small party where only a few very special friends are invited.

If you love the idea but not the mess, you could get the kids to create designs on paper that could then be digitised and sent for tshirt printing. This would be perfect for an extra special birthday.