Easy tutorial for cute DIY stenciled shirts!

Learn how to add stenciled images to any shirt. It’s incredibly easy!

My oldest daughter Emma favors plain t-shirts, but my younger daughters Lily and Anna love things to be “fancy”. Lily inherited a bunch of Emma’s old shirts a few months ago, but they were sitting in her drawers unworn. I decided to surprise her by upgrading them with this easy DIY stenciled shirt look!

DIY Stenciled Shirt Tutorial

This DIY Stenciled shirt is easy to make! Here’s all you need:

Plain t-shirt – new or old.
Stencil – we used this butterfly one but you could also make a freezer paper stencil.
Fabric paint. We used Tulip matte grape and Tulip soft metallics platinum paint we had left over from Emma’s Doodle Crate.
Sponge Pouncer
Something to put between the shirt layers – a sheet of cardboard or plastic – to keep the paint from seeping through the back of the shirt.
Packing tape to secure your stencil to the shirt.

Place the cardboard or plastic liner inside the shirt, and tape on your stencil. Pour your paint on a plate or bowl, and then use your pouncer to dab it onto the shirt. Apply a second coat of paint if needed. Let the shirt dry for four hours, and wait 72 hours to wash (inside out).

Lily is very excited about her “new” shirts, and given the look on three-year-old Anna’s face I suspect we will be making a few shirts for her in the near future as well!

We have a lot of fun upcycling fabric in our house! Earlier this year the kids and I turned an old white sheet into a rag rug that we use every day in our kitchen. When my kids were tiny I used to turn old shirts into comfy toddler shorts and skirts. My older kids love to use clothes too worn out or stained to donate to create their own original fashions.

Have you done any fun upcycling recently?