Get The Technique
There are a few craft projects that we often refer back to—projects that fellow coworkers loved and look forward to making themselves. One came from a guest crafter, Regina Lord, a few seasons back. She joined Martha on the show to make a clever, reverse-appliqué eyeball T-shirt. The spying eyes were such a hit that yesterday I crafted another one for one of our TV stylist's friends who just happens to be an eye surgeon. What a perfect gift!
Click through the pictures for the how-to:
1 Cut a white T-shirt into a bunch of rectangle pieces measuring about 4.5 x 6 inches each.
2 Paint circles using fabric paint. I made green irises but mixed in a bit of blue and brown as well.
3 For the pupil, the easiest way to get a smooth little circle is to push the paintbrush down and twist, as shown. It helps to add a dab of water so the black paint is extra smooth.
4 Accent by painting a white dot onto the pupil for shine. You can also create bloodshot eyes by adding red streaks onto the whites of the eyes.
5 Odd is always good—I made 7 eyes for the t-shirt. Once completely dry, I ironed each one in between some scrap fabric.
6 Trim each eye into an almond shape, leaving 1/4 inch all around for seam allowance.
7 Turn a colored T-shirt inside out and pin eyes into place, face down. I scattered 5 on the front of the shirt (as shown) and used the remaining 2 on the back of the shirt.
8 Sew around each eye.
9 Instead of doing a back stitch to secure the stitches, I pulled the bottom threads through the shirt so all 4 thread ends were on the same side.
10 Tie all the thread ends together in a knot and snip off tails.
11 Turn the shirt right-side out. Cut a small hole in only the top layer of the center of the eye area. Trim fabric inside the stitches to reveal the eye, leaving a small amount for eyelid.
12 Now the shirt can see!
From: Doris | 8/25/10 at 8:53 am
That is incredibly awesome! What a clever way to use reverse applique!
From: rough around the edges | 9/5/10 at 9:39 pm
I love the way these shirts turned out! I must try this at home one day:) thx for the idea!
From: Gaby | 9/25/10 at 4:35 am
How cool is that.....?
Thanks for the great tutorial.