Hi, I love H&M t-shirts, they're cheap and fit me amazingly. However, most of the ones with logos on them are horribley cheesey so I usually just go for the plain £2.99 ones. Now I've been thinking I could draw on them just to make them a bit more interesting, the trouble is, what with?

my friend had this newspaper print stuff but it was really crap and the design was like a big slab of plastic stuck to the t-shirt that cracked very easily. similarly I looked at fabric paint pens and the packaging was all "leave a cool raised design." raised is not cool, flat like it's stained into the t-shirt is cool.

so, is there any products that you can use that stain directly into the t-shirt. I'm not bothered if they're paint or ink or pens, i'll make do, but i just want it to be like it's stained on the t-shirt. do you know what I mean when I say that?

well, my friend draws designs on then bleaches them on with a toothpick, it looks quite good but it's horribly complicated and i wouldn't be able to do it

that sounds really painstaking. is bleaching and permanent dying in tiny amounts the only way to go you think?

i might still try it.

you could try using permanent screenprinting inks. i made some shirts from them in high school 3-4 years ago and they've held up well. making the stencils and getting the ink to spread evenly is a pain though.

i read somewhere (maybe on kr?) of someone who used a spray bottle of bleach and a stencil and i've been meaning to try it.

i don't know to be honest, i guess it's worth a try
just use an old shirt in case it doesn't work out

When I customise t-shirts I tend to make a design on paper and use it as a stencil with normal fabric PAINT (that doesn't come in tubes it comes in a pot.) It can be pretty labourious but the results come out really well and it looks good DIY rather than oops I let a five year old make my t-shirt. Although be careful the paint doesn't bleed too much as the cotton on H&M t-shirts isn't that high quality (The t-shirts are nice, but it's very thin fabric in my experience.)

How exactly do you do the bleach thing your friend does? It sounds really cool.

If you're using fabric paint/ printing inks, you can achieve an even spread by stippling the paint on. In other words, dab lightly at the fabric; and use the ink sparingly.

Also, instead of using paper templates, print or draw a design onto the back of sticky back plastic and stick it onto the fabric. This helps to eliminate bleeding.

i might just buy some paint, mix it with water and do some sort of stone roses thing on it.

why don't you just get some dylon fabric paint? Its only about £2 a pot and its colourfast.

or you could try batik
i haven't done it myself but my son took a class on it (hes 12)
and you use wax to make your design and the tie dye all around it
theres lots of info and kits if you google

also, we have fabric paints and if you apply it lightly and sparingly and kind of spread it all out as you go along it doesn't look raised up
you just have to take your time with it more than if you wanted it raised

__________________
should i choose a noble occupation
if i did i'd only show up late and sick
and they would stare at me with hatred
plus my only natural talent's wasted

That's such a brilliant idea! I'd never have thought to do that.

batik is quite fiddly though, i remember the stuff i did at school looked horrific, i got little drips of wax everywhere and it showed! i guess it'd get easier with practise though