To create a permanent mark on a t-shirt, there are several things that can be used. These drawing implements are all quite permanent, however, and they will not come out of the t-shirt later. For this reason, it’s important to use a non-permanent way of marking the t-shirt before drawing over it with the permanent instrument. This ensures that you get the design you had in mind.
Use a pencil to make the basic shapes or letters that you want drawn in. If you don’t have a pencil, a ballpoint pen can be used to lightly sketch in the shapes. After this is completed, make sure that the sketched design is what you want the t-shirt design to look like. There may be a few revisions needed to get it exactly right. If any stray ballpoint marks get into the t-shirt, they will wash out the first time the t-shirt is washed.
To make the permanent marks, there are two great tools to use. The first is a black permanent marker. These are readily available in any office supply store and in many grocery stores and pharmacies. These will make a thick, black line that will never wash out. Recently, different colors of these markers have been introduced on the market, but the colors tend to fade over time. There are also a limited amount of colors available.
Another way to draw on a t-shirt is to use fabric markers. These come in a variety of colors and are specially made to keep the ink on the fabric. These come in bright colors that won’t fade from a t-shirt like an ordinary marker. Fabric markers can be bought in general merchandise stores and craft stores.
To use fabric markers on a t-shirt, draw over the sketched design just as you would with an ordinary marker. When you’re finished, the t-shirt will have to be put into a dryer for about half an hour to set the ink. After that time, the t-shirt is ready to wear. Washing it will not wash out the design and it will not fade for many washings.
There are also fabric crayons that are made fro kids to draw on t-shirts. These can be a little more difficult to use than fabric markers, however. Fabric crayons need to have a t-shirt that is kept flat in order to allow the crayons to color the fabric. The t-shirt can be taped down to make this easier. After the t-shirt is colored with the crayons, it may need to be dried or ironed, depending on the instructions with the crayons.
If the crayon needs to be ironed into the shirt, lay out a sheet of wax paper on a flat surface. Turn the t-shirt inside out and lay it on the wax paper. Iron the portions that have crayon on them, being careful not to burn the shirt. The instructions should have the exact ironing time. The shirt may also have to be dried after ironing, depending on the type of fabric crayons that were used.