Customizing t shirts and jeans is a great way to show off your personality, or maybe show support at an event, or creating a personal gift. There are many different ways that you can customize t shirts and other clothes. There’s iron ons, bedazzling, paint and more.

Iron Ons

Iron ons are a simple and easy way to customize t shirts and other clothing. You can buy them in an already made design, or customize your own. To create your own iron on, buy a plain one, draw a simple design on it, then cut out the design. Don’t add anything else to it until after you’ve applied the iron on to the clothing.

First, before doing anything, read to see if there are any specific instructions for your iron on. But normally to apply the iron on, put the shiny side down on the clothing, or the side with the adhesive on it. After making sure it’s it the correct spot, turn your iron on, and then use the iron on top of the patch. Don’t just put down and hold the iron in place though, that could burn your clothes and the iron on. Slowly move it back and forth, just like when you’re ironing your clothes.

A shirt with iron on letters

Bedazzling

Another way to personalize t shirts is bedazzling. Bedazzling is basically decorating your clothes with rhinestones. Nowadays you can buy things that make bedazzling easier and more efficient, or you can glue them all on individually. You can also bedazzle your iron ons, after you’ve applied them to the clothing though. The rhinestones would get in the way of the ironing, and maybe be scratch your iron or be ruined by the iron.

A fabric sign with painted snowflakes and one bedazzled snowflake.

Paints, Markers and Crayons

Using a variety of fabric art materials you can create a totally personalized t shirt to support a team, your school, or maybe write your favorite quote and just be downright creative. You can do anything so long as you can draw it.

For paints there are many different types of fabric paint. There are some that come with nozzles that allow you to draw with the paint, directly from the bottle. Another option is to put the paint on a paint pallet, or a paper plate works just as well, and paint a design with a paint brush. To add something a little extra to a design you can use puff paint. Puff paint when used from the bottle, puffs up a little from the clothing instead of laying flat, and creates an extra effect to the design.

There are also a variety of fabric markers and fabric crayons. When using these make sure you read the directions. I made a design with fabric crayons and an iron once, and my mother didn’t read the washing directions and washed the design off the shirt! So, make sure you always follow the directions! There will be some you can directly draw on the clothing, and others where you draw on a special paper and iron onto the shirt.

Personalizing shirts can be a fun activity for kids and adults. Be sure to check out our kid’s t-shirts to find some high quality options to customize. Did I miss your favorite customization technique? Let me know! I’d love to hear about other methods that I missed, or maybe don’t know about. Until next time!