Summer Fete 2014
Design a t-shirt,
wear it to the fete,
enter the competition and perhaps
win the prize !
Previous Years competition
Hamilton Primary School PSA
The theme for the design is
‘Celebration’
Choose an design to put on to your
t-shirt
What is your favourite
celebration?
Your design needs to be:
 The picture needs to be based around
 Try to make your picture eye-catching
 Use bold, simple shapes – don’t make the
pictures too detailed or over-complicated
 Use strong, bright, fresh colours
 Think about the size of the picture in
relation to the size of the t-shirt
 Think of using patterns or repeated
images
Design considerations
The colour of the tshirt material will be
white as it is the
easiest to use as all
shades of colour will
stand out well against
white
If your design is
going to be
symmetrical you
need to know where
the middle lines and
centre are before you
start
Identify your picture area
on the t-shirt
The central chest is the
normal area but you
might want to use the
sleeve areas or the back of
the
t-shirt
Try to imagine what the
t-shirt will look like on and
try to imagine where the
creases of the fabric will
be and where the picture
won’t be seen in full
Planning your design

Firstly plan out your design on a piece of A4 paper

Use a lead pencil to begin with

If you can, find images to help get you started from the resources you have available –
books/magazines or perhaps from the internet

You could copy/trace images and them adapt them

Be prepared to make changes to your design at the beginning as your ideas might change once you’ve
started

Think about keeping the shapes you use simple and not too detailed to make it easy for you to paint it
on the actual t-shirt

Think about what colours you are going to use

Once you are happy with your design plan
you can transfer it onto the actual t-shirt
using a light coloured fabric pen/chalk or
charcoal pencil
What colours can be used
 Fabric paint comes in lots of different colours but can be mixed just like poster paint so you can
use whatever colours you like

Normal paint techniques can be used to apply paint
 Once the paint is dried and fixed by ironing, the t-shirt can be worn and washed again and
again
 Textures can be created by using sponges, coarse brushes or
splattered on but mind your other clothes or surroundings!
 Other materials include marker pens, highlighter pens,
crayons and 3D embossed squashy gel type pens
 Ribbons, sequins, feather or other things can be stuck or sown
onto the t-shirts but they might not be able to be washed and
will be ‘one off’ creations
Use of stencils
 You might want to think about using a cut out stencil for large areas of colour and use a
sponge to apply the paint – this a quick and effective way of applying paint
 You might want to find an image and copy/trace it to get the general shape of something and
then adapt it
Use block printing
 You could make your own printing blocks or use a potato to print on to your t-shirt. It is a
quick and easy way to create some really bright and eye-catching pictures
To make a good design
Keep your design simple
Not too detailed
Not many words, but a bold a picture
Clean bold use of colour
Start your design now
Remember to do a plan first and if
you come to a workshop
BRING the plan with you!
Do a plan of your design on an A4 piece of paper first.
Make it the same size as the size you want it to be on
the t-shirt
The T-shirt workshop booking forms will be
issued this Friday.
Be quick to return the forms to the PSA
as there are limited spaces!
This year there will be 4 different judging groups:
Reception
Years 1 and 2
Years 3 and 4
Years 5 and 6
What next?
 Take your design plans home at the end of the day
 If you want to enter the competition you can either ask your parents or guardian
to help you make the t-shirt yourself at home
or
 The PSA will be running a series of workshops where they will provide you with
a t-shirt and all the fabric paints and pens, as well as helping you to produce your t-shirt
 At the end of this week you will be given a letter
and booking form telling you more about the competition and the
workshops
 Make sure you get your name in quick for a place on the workshop!