Adventures in Crafting . . The TIE T-Shirt

I absolutely LOVE all the applique shirts for little boys.

While searing the web for the perfect Easter outfit for my ultra casual cool 2 year old I came across T-Shirts with ties appliqued onto them.
My first thought was I CAN DO THAT!
This line of thinking often gets me into trouble. So I set out in search of all the crafting ingredients that I thought I would need.

Ingredients:

 - T-Shirt

 - Cute Fabric
   for said tie

 - Fusible webbing
   for the backing,
   I used wonder under

 - Matching Thread

 - Iron

 - Sewing machine

 - Pattern Thanks Saltwaterkids

Begin by printing a pattern out or you can make your own drawn on paper.

 

Then cut out the patten, place it underneath your fusible backing and trace lines on paper side of backing
(smooth side).

  I spent most of the afternoon googoleing just the best way to do this applique and there were SEVERAL. So did a little experiment since I am ultimately making 2 shirts. With one I cut the tie out of the fusible material and with one I left fusible material around the outline of the tie. Then proceeded to the next step.

Next you need to fuse the wonder under to the fabric. This is done by laying the bumpy side of the material onto the wrong side of the fabric and ironing on hot for 5-8 seconds to get a good bond.

You can see in the photo that one is cut to shape and one has extra material. I recommend the extra material to be left and then the tie cut out of it. This way was much easier to handle and the edges did not fray.

Cut fabric and backing in the shape you traced. Also optional you can cut the tie at the neck to make a 2 pies tie I DID NOT DO THIS. I thought one pies was plenty for a first timer like me.

Now you are ready to Iron the tie to the t-shirt.
Remove the paper backing from the cut out. Place it where you want it on the t-shirt. I attempted to get mine a centered as possible but if its not perfect no one will notice. Follow the directions of the fusible fabric backing, mine said to iron on wool setting  for 10-15 seconds using a damp pressing cloth
(a damp piece of scrap fabric or bandanna will work fine) 

Lastly you are ready to sew on the applique. I used a ziz-zag stitch on my sewing machine. I am forever wondering what setting to use so at the end I am including a photo of my sewing machine settings for reference.

 

In order to avoid double stitching I used the stitching pattern in the photo to the left. I started at the narrow part, sewed across the tie and then UP -- left -- down -- down-- down -- up -- up -- that brought me to my starting point. On the backside of my t-shirt I used a little dab of fray check/fabric glue to make sure my stitching stayed in place. Or you could back stitch a couple stitches to ensure that the stitches are secure.

And TA-DA finished Tie t-shirt!!!
Ready for my special little boy.

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