Watermark Tee Tutorial: Glue Batik

I've made it my goal for 2015 to blog at least once a week (on Sunday). As I've been searching for content to share on the blog, it occurred to me that I've never shared my "Watermark Tee" tutorial on my own blog. This was originally a project that I shared on the blog, UCreate. It has been, hands-down, my most popular project. I still get regular traffic from the post I shared on Kari's blog. I even won a Silhouette with this little project. For some reason, though, I've never shared it on my own blog.

It seems like, 3 years later, it's about time.

This really is a fun little project that is pretty easy to get supplies for. A lot of people have contacted me and let me know that it was the perfect project for their kids/grandkids or to make t-shirts for an event. It's cheap, easy, and a lot of fun. Sounds great, right?!

What I love about this project is that it's completely customizable. I used favorite quotes to decorate my shirt but you could also use song lyrics, bible verses, favorite book excerpts, etc. You can also choose whatever color you like. I think it would be a very kid-friendly project as well. There are so many possibilities! 

Materials:

Elmer's Blue Gel Glue (it must be the blue gel, white won't work)

Fabric Dye (RIT is my tried and true brand)

A white cotton Tee, Tank, Dress etc. 

Tutorial:

If you're unfamiliar with Batiking, it's a method of dyeing fabric in which you create a design with a dye- resist. When you dye your garment in cold water, all will be colored except where you've placed your dye resist. In traditional batiking, you would use wax as a resist. I tried this out and found it to be messy and difficult to control. Using store bought glue is much more convenient and very easy to control. 

Step 1: Prepare

Wet your tee with cool water and place a water resistant board between the layers of fabric. I used the lid of a bin.

Step 2: Design

 I'm not much of an artist, so what worked best for me was writing favorite quotes right across the front of the shirt.

This quote was found via Pinterest

Source

You could also try drawing a simple design like my very amateur sailboat:

Let dry completely. This will take several hours. 

Step 3: Dye 

Your dye bath should be prepared using cool water. Experiment with different amounts of dye until you find the right concentration. Keep in mind that the color that comes out of the dye bath will be a couple of shades darker than the dry, finished garment. 

When you get the color you want, lay your tee flat to dry. 

Step 4: Wash

When your tee is dry (to let the dye set) soak it in cool, soapy water for about 15 minutes. This soak washes the extra glue out. Throw it in the washer and dry as you would normally.

Step 5: Wear and Enjoy!

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