Name: Lori
Message: HI, I have a neat tie dye tshirt I would like to give my dad for father's day. Am wondering how do I put "World's Greatest Dad" on the front of it???? This has got me stumped. Didn't know if I need to free hand it, or what? or batik the letters in wax. Never done batik either. thx. Lori 

If the shirt is already tie-dyed, you can't use batik, since the way batik works is by preventing the dye from reaching the fabric. Instead, what you can do is either hand-paint your wording on, using an opaque or black fabric paint, or you can create an iron-on using your computer or a photocopying machine.

To the right (click on the picture for a page with more details and a link to a much larger image) is an example of a shirt that has been hand-painted using opaque puffy paint.

I hand-cut a stencil using self-adhesive shelf paper (Contac brand), stuck it on the shirt, then used a stiff brush to work the paint onto the shirt, getting it down into the fiber as much as possible (for durability). Without the stencil, the letters would have looked much less professional, although I drew the original letters in freehand with a pencil.

Any opaque fabric paint will work, if the color contrasts sufficiently with your background colors. A transparent paint will work only if the background is much lighter in color than the lettering.

To the left is another example which shows the use of a non-opaque inkjet transfer paper to add words to a hand-dyed shirt with light colors. (Click on the picture for a page with more details and a much larger image.)

I used a non-opaque inkjet transfer paper because I wanted the color of the shirt to show between the letters, but this works only if the color of the shirt is light enough. If the shirt is too dark in color, the letters will not show up, and you will have to get opaque inkjet transfer paper, and include the background around the letters in your design. While I often prefer the look of black lettering on a tie-dyed shirt, you are not limited in the colors you use with an opaque iron-on inkjet transfer. Here, to the right, is an example of a dark-dyed cotton canvas totebag onto which I applied photos using the opaque inkjet transfer. (The image is linked to a larger copy of itself.)

Note that both fabric paint and iron-on inkjet transfers can show significant wear after a number of launderings. Be sure to turn the shirt inside-out before every washing. It is best to wash gently, either by hand-washing, or machine-washing in a lingerie bag.


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