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Little brunette girl wearing handmade T-shirt with rainbow printed on it

Sandpaper Printed T-shirt

By Cindy Hopper

This is a super simple sandpaper printing technique that will keep your kids busy and make one cute shirt! The best part about this fun little craft is that the supplies were bought at the Dollar Store, even the T-shirt! We used crayons we already had so we only spent $2.00 on our new T-shirt.

Supplies for Sandpaper Prints

good quality crayons, a t-shirt, iron and fine sandpaper. Our package of sandpaper had a selection and we used the finest. The more coarse sandpaper will provide more texture. Give them all a try!

supplies for sandpaper printed t-shirt (crayons, white tee, sand paper)

How to Make Sandpaper Printed T-shirt

Color a fun design on the sandpaper. Remind children that the image will be reversed. Once the design is colored go back over the design giving the sandpaper an extra thick layer of crayon.

rainbow being colored onto sandpaper

rainbow colored on sandpaper

Place a piece of cardboard inside the t-shirt to keep the design from bleeding through to the back of the shirt. Position the sandpaper right side down on the t-shirt.

sandpaper on top of t-shirt

Place a piece of parchment paper or paper towel on top of the sandpaper to protect the iron. Iron, on cotton setting, the sandpaper for about 30 second. Gently lift one edge and make sure you have a good print before totally removing the sandpaper. Iron a bit more if you need to transfer more of the crayon.

iron on tshirt

Remove the sandpaper. You’ll have a print with loads of cool texture–not to mention a new darling t-shirt.

child wearing a rainbow sandpaper printed t-shirt

To set the color, place a couple of paper towels on top of the design and iron. This will remove some of the extra wax. Toss t-shirt in the dryer for about 20 minutes to set the color. Launder by itself the first time.

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About the Author

Cindy Hopper

Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has cont...

Cindy Hopper was fortunate to be raised in a family who appreciated the arts. This background led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education. With a keen eye for design and color, Cindy has continued her love of art and is now passing her creative skills on to her three children. Cindy’s family and friends are the beneficiaries of her passion for fun and meaningful creative projects.

Cindy’s personal blog, Skip to My Lou, has taken her love of a project to new levels. Postings keep the family busy -– from testing new recipes for holiday treats to designing and building floats for a neighborhood parade to making fabric rolls to hold crayons to creating themed parties. Cindy seems to have an unending supply of ideas for gifts, parties and rainy days.

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