You Will Need

cotton or cotton-blend T-shirt
red and blue fabric paints
paint brush
stiff paper or light cardboard for star templates
heavy aluminum foil or shirt size cardboard
pencil
scissors
masking tape - 2 inch wide

4th of July Crafts -- Stars & Stripes Shirt
by Heidi Ott

Prewash and iron the T-shirt. Fold the T-shirt in half lengthwise to find the center; mark with tape. Place foil or cardboard inside the shirt to stiffen the fabric and protect the back. Smooth the front of the shirt flat.

Cut off a strip of masking tape a little wider then the width of the shirt. Place it across the front of the shirt so the bottom of the tape meets the bottom of both sleeves. Place another strip of tape down the center front of the shirt between the previous tape and the bottom of the shirt. Measure 2-inches on each side of the center tape and mark lightly with a pencil. Place two more strips of tape with the edges along your marks so all strips of tape are 2-inches away from each other. Continue placing strips of tape in this manner across the shirt (see photo). These will be your guidelines for painting the stripes.

Cut a star out of a piece of light cardboard. Use this star template to trace a star in the center of the shirt above the stripes. Trace two more stars on each side and slightly above the center star. Paint the stars with blue fabric paint. Paint the stripes between the strips of tape red. Let dry for several hours. Remove the tape and the foil or cardboard from inside the shirt.

Press heat-set the paint if required by the paint manufacturer.