DIY 4th of July Shirt Tutorial to Make an American Flag T-Shirt
Grab a white classic tee, sponge, paint and stickers, because we are making patriotic shirts, and American Flag shirt. This craft is perfect for Independence day, Veterans Day, or Memorial Day. This American flag clothing is perfect any time you want to be patriotic!
How to Make an American Flag T-Shirt for 4th of July
Here’s a fun and easy 4th of July tutorial for making a flag t-shirt with your kids. It uses an easy sticker and tape resist method.
The results are so dramatic! This American flag tee is great for the whole family. What’s great is that you’re making a custom American flag t-shirts meaning it will fit perfectly! Your USA shirt can be made from any plain tshirt whether you get it from the dollar store or old navy.
This American flag tee is an easy craft for older kids or younger kids, or really any patriotic Americans.
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Supplies Needed To Make This American Flag Shirt
- White T-shirts (cotton seems to work best) – kids shirts can be found here & women’s shirts here & men’s shirts here
- Piece of Cardboard (that will fit inside the t-shirts)
- Masking tape or blue painter tape
- Craft sponge
- Fabric paint in red & blue
- Star stickers
Directions for Making Fourth of July T-Shirt
Step 1
Place a piece of cardboard in between the two layers of the t-shirt. This will prevent the paint from leaking to the back of the shirt.
Step 2
Use masking tape to section off the star portion of the flag and to make the white stripes. I did the taping for this shirt myself, but an older child might be able to tape with guidance.
Step 3
Use a craft sponge to dab on the red stripes. I like the rustic look of dabbing better than regular painting for home painted t-shirts.
It makes irregularities look like “character” rather than mistakes.
It’s also good for sticker resist painting because it uses less paint; so there is less chance for it to get under the stickers.
Step 4
After the paint has dried, pull off the tape, and put new tape around the outside of the star section of the flag. This keeps the blue from mixing with the red stripes.
Step 5
Fill the star section with star stickers, making sure to press down firmly. This way, the paint can’t bleed under them.
Step 6
Dab with blue paint. Make sure to dab enough paint around the stars so that the star shapes can be sufficiently recognized.
Step 7
Wait until dry, and then remove stickers and tape. Removing the star stickers is especially fun. It looks like a real flag now!
What an amazing t-shirt for the 4th of July holiday.
Kids love wearing personalized shirts especially when they can help make them.
Our Experience With This American Flag Craft
I have all kinds of good memories from the 4th of July as a child. Everything about the day is a celebration- the food, the fireworks, the family get-togethers.
Fourth of July celebrations can be extra festive by creating these DIY American flag shirts for the kids or the whole family. And so we did!
We were able to show off our American spirit with these American flag shirts. We celebrated the United States Independence day wearing these. We went to the parade, we had a BBQ, and even went and saw fireworks in them.
Everyone had something kind to say about our U.S. flag shirts that the kids made.
DIY 4th of July Shirt Tutorial to Make an American Flag T-Shirt
Super easy tutorial to make your own custom American flag t-shirt with paint which is perfect for celebrating the 4th of July...fun craft for all!
Materials
- White T-shirts (cotton seems to work best) – kids shirts can be found here & women’s shirts here & men’s shirts here
- Piece of Cardboard (that will fit inside the t-shirts)
- Masking tape or blue painter tape
- Craft sponge
- Fabric paint in red & blue
- Star stickers
Instructions
- Place a piece of cardboard in the t-shirt to separate the two layers.
- Use masking tape to section off the star portion of the flag and to make the white stripes.
- Use a craft sponge to paint (dab) the red stripes.
- Once the red paint has dried, pull off the tape and put new tape around the outside of the star section of the flag.
- Fill the start section with star stickers.
- Dab with blue paint making sure you get enough paint around each sticker so you can see the outline of the stars.
- Wait until the blue paint is dried and then peel off the star stickers.
More Customized T-Shirts from Kids Activities Blog
- We have a fun tie dye 4th of July shirt tutorial you might want to check out as well!
- Make your own Minecraft Creeper t-shirt with this simple step by step guide.
- Make a DIY glue batik t-shirt in the design you desire!
- Make a stamped t-shirt design – it is fun & easy!
- Have you ever made a bleach t-shirt design?
- Create your own t-shirt stencil kit.
- Turn one of our 300+ coloring pages for kids into a t-shirt design from coloring page.
More American Flag Crafts & Food Celebrating the 4th of July
- 30 American flag crafts for kids
- Free American flag coloring pages to download & print
- More free printable American flag coloring pages for kids of all ages.
- 4th of July coloring pages
- Popsicle American flag craft for kids…this is so fun!
- Oh so many red white and blue desserts!
- 4th of July cupcakes…yum!
- Check out these red, white, and blue pony bead crafts.
How did your 4th of July t-shirt turn out with the American flag?
Love it! I am a huge fan of the fourth of July!
Thanks, Lindsey! I hope your family has a good one this year!
Katey, this activity is AWESOME. How great and easy. Plus the result is a really fun design. I love resist painting, especially with little kids involved!! 🙂
Thanks, Marnie. I agree- resist painting is wonderful with littles- so many dramatic possibilities.
What kind of paint did you use?
I used TulipArt soft fabric paint. But I if you happen to just have acrylic, that will work fine too- it will just be a little stiffer.
Thanks! I am going to try this 🙂
This turned out great Katey! Love it!
Thanks, Kristina! It was really a fun project!
My boys, ages 5 & 9 and I are making these over the weekend for the 4th this year. One for each of them and for their dad and I. Can’t wait. Thank you for the fantastic idea…
I hope you have a fun time!
My two oldest children and I made these today! We love them! Thanks for such a great idea! I was just wondering if we need to heat set the paint at all?
We didn’t heat seal the paint, and have already put them through the washer and dryer a couple of times- no problem!
We appreciate you linking up in our Crafty Showcase! This shirt is a lot of fun! We love your tutorial-very helpful to visualize those steps! It is so fun to see you bringing the kids into your projects. You will be tweeted, facebooked and pinned today. You are being featured on our blog. Feel free to stop in and get the Feature Friday Badge.
We hope to see you again starting Saturday at midnight for a new round of the Crafty Showcase. Thanks for sharing a part of your blog with us!
Susie @Bowdabra
http://bowdabrablog.com/2012/06/29/feature-friday-bowdabra-top-crafty-showcase-picks-3/
Thank you, Susie!
Thank you for the tutorial. We don’t celebrate the 4th of july here but we love american flag. That’s an idea to do on a pillow.
A pillow is a great idea! Especially if you use the soft fabric paint so it’s not scratchy.
Hey there!! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for this wonderful project. My kids (9 and 8), absolutely LOVED doing this! Every year I buy a 4th of July shirt for my kids, it’s just something I like to do, ha! This year, money is a bit tight and I figured you know, we could make this totally awesome shirt that my kids would have so much more memory of doing then going out and just having them pick one. The shirts turned out AMAZING and both my kids are thrilled to have them. In fact, we made them about a week ago and both wanted to wear their shirts immediately!
So yes, once again, THANK YOU :). If there was a way I could post a pictures, I would. Just so I could show you how happy my kids are and how cute the shirts came out 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Love these.
What did you stick the stars down with?? So that you can take them up after?
Wow!Love it! I am a huge fan of the fourth of July!
Nice post Thanks for sharing this awesome post This New Year
How long does the paint take to dry? I won’t have blue paint until Monday, and I have a Cemetery Memorial to be at by 9 or 10:30 am. Want to make this shirt for my son to wear to the Memorial.
Hi, Cheyenne! You have to check the box of your paint for exact drying times. Check out this post I found that has fast-drying tips! https://sewingiscool.com/how-long-does-fabric-paint-take-to-dry/