Go Back

DIY Clover Shirt with a Cricut Machine

Making a shirt for St. Patrick's Day using your Cricut machine and some fabric paint!
2 days 2 hours
Total Time 2 days 2 hours
Author Angie Holden

What You Will Need

  • Americana Paint in Holly Green, Festive Green, Sour Apple, Yellow Green, and Citron Green
  • Fabric Painting Medium
  • White t-shirt
  • Stencil brush
  • Freezer paper
  • Ruler
  • Iron
  • Cricut machine
  • Clover SVG file

Instructions

Cutting the Freezer Paper

  • First, you will want to cut your freezer paper into a clover shape. I used my Cricut machine to do this along with a clover SVG file. You can see more about cutting freezer paper with a Cricut machine here. Freezer paper can be cut on any Cricut machine with a fine point blade. Be sure to put the shiny side down on the mat and DO NOT mirror your design. Then use the copy paper setting to cut.

Add Freezer Paper to Your Shirt

  • Remove the cut freezer paper from the mat and locate your design on your shirt. Put the paper with the shiny side down onto the shirt. Once the design is in place, use an iron to go over the freezer paper for a few seconds. The freezer paper coating will melt and bond it temporarily to the shirt.

Painting Your Clover Shirt

  • Mix each of your paint colors 2 to 1 with the fabric painting medium. Be sure to follow all instructions on your bottle of fabric medium in order for the product to work correctly.
  • I wanted my colors evenly spaced on my shirt. Here I used a ruler to draw lines on the freezer paper only with a pencil. That will give me a guide for each stripe when painting.
  • Be sure to add scrap cardboard or card stock between the front and the back of your shirt. Then start painting with each color. I used the darkest at the bottom and worked my way to the lightest color. I just used the ruler as a guide for each stripe as I painted.
  • The lines between your colors should slightly overlap. I found that my shirt took 2 coats of paint. Just allow to dry in between coats.

Heat Setting and Care Guide

  • Once your final coat is dry, you can remove the freezer paper stencil by just pulling it away from the shirt. It will pull up easily. You will want to air dry your shirt for 24 - 48 hours before heat setting the paint with an iron for 30 seconds. Remember that the shirt should be washed inside out on a gentle cycle.