DIY Father’s Day Gift – Handprint T-Shirt

Father’s Day is quickly approaching. If you’re looking for a quick DIY Father’s Day gift to do with the kids, this “We Love Daddy” with handprints freezer paper stencil T-shirt would be a great gift for the daddy. Scroll down for the tutorials on how to make a stencil with freezer paper, how to stencil on a T-shirt, and how to do the handprint.

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I have attached the stencil design in the tutorial section below. You can use my stencil PDF pattern or create your own; the font I used is “American Typewriter.”

If you can’t find freezer paper in your area, you can always substitute sticker paper, which I used on my son’s skeleton Halloween costume last year.

We cut the stencil with a craft knife, so it takes a little more time to complete the making of the stencil. If you own a cutting machine like Brother’s ScanNCut, Cricut, or Silhouette, it will be so much faster.

If you only have one child, I’ve prepared another letter with an “I” so you can make an “I Love Daddy” freezer paper stencil T-shirt instead. Simply stamp both your left and right hands on it for the handprints. If you have more than two children, adjust the handprint placement so that each child has a chance to touch the daddy’s “heart.” When printing, you can always enlarge the heart shape to accommodate more handprints. 

Last year, I sewed a pair of boxer shorts for Father’s Day, and he has loved wearing them till now. This year the kids made him a great freezer paper stencil T-shirt, he sure is one of the luckiest daddies in the world to have 2 consecutive handmade from his loved ones in 2 years and more to come lol…

Seeing him wearing them makes me so happy, and I want to make more for him!!! Next year, I have to get prepared earlier for 2 Father’s Day crafts, one for the kids and one for me to make.

DIY Father’s Day Gift – Stencil & Handprint T-Shirt

Download the stencil design in a PDF document and print it with your inkjet printer.

Material:

1. White plain T-shirt (pre-wash)
2. Freezer paper, cut 2 sheets of letter size (8 1/2″ x 11″).
3. Fabric paint or acrylic paint: black, red, blue and green

Tools:

1. Printer (inkjet or bubble-jet, not laser printer)
2. Craft knife Or you can use a cutting machine like ScanNCut or Cricut or Silhouette
3. Cutting mat
4. Iron
5. Soft paintbrush
6. Paint palette plate or some swallow containers
7. Cardboard as backing to prevent paint from penetrating the back of the T-shirt

Preparations

Pre-wash and dry the T-shirt if it is new to remove any sizing added by the manufacturer.
Gather all the tools & materials to get ready for this quick craft.

I used permanent acrylic paint, which is good for fabric painting. The texture is a little stiff compared to normal fabric paint but it is fine for this project because the coverage is not a lot and won’t irritate the wearer if he is particular on comfort clothing like my hubby.

Otherwise, you may add textile medium to the acrylic paint to provide a softer texture if it is available at your local store [Read the instructions on the bottle on how to use it].

How To Make A Stencil Template

Option 1:

Download the stencil design in a PDF document and print it with your inkjet printer.
Feed the letter-size freezer paper into your printer and print the artwork/pattern on the “paper side” (the non-glossy side) of the freezer paper.

Slowly cut the letters out with a craft knife (place a cutting mat at the bottom to protect your table). If your kids are too young to handle the knife, help them. I did it for my kids, for their safety, and also for the beauty of the work.

Option 2:

If you have a cutting machine, you can skip the printing step and manually cut out the word. Instead, simply convert the PDF file to the cutting file. Load the freezer paper (non-glossy side facing upwards_to the cutting machine to cut the design.

How To Stencil

Place the freezer paper stencil on the T-shirt with the glossy side down and position them as you like. Trim off excessive freezer paper so that it won’t block the letters when overlapped. Maximize the coverage area on the T-shirt to protect them from being soiled by paint when the kids work on it.

Set your iron to medium heat setting. Press the hot iron starting from one corner, then glide it slowly and firmly across the freezer paper. The freezer paper will bond to the T-shirt. Continue gliding the iron on the entire freezer paper. Pay attention to the edge of the stencil letters and the heart pattern, and make sure they bond to the T-shirt without leaving any gaps to prevent paint bleeding.

Insert cardboard inside the T-shirt and fold the sides and sleeves under it. The cardboard acts as a barrier to prevent excessive paint from penetrating the back of the T-shirt. It also helps to smooth out the T-shirt to make stenciling easier.

Squeeze some black acrylic paint on a paint palette or a swallow container. You don’t need a lot of acrylic paint for stenciling, so squeeze a little at a time if you don’t have enough to prevent wastage.
Dab the paint with a flat-tip brush on the letters.

I let my daughter do the “daddy” word after I demonstrated to her the “We” word. Check the stencil to make sure that the paint has fully covered the letters. Touch up if necessary.
After finishing all the letters with black color, repeat the same to the heart with red acrylic.
Wash the brush and hand while the paint is still wet.

Wait till the paint is about to dry, stretch the T-shirt at the corner a little to free the freezer paper from bonding, and slowly peel it off entirely.

A closer look at the stencil work before peeling off of the freezer paper.

It gives a very clean and crisp outline on the stencil. Another thing I love about freezer paper stencil (apart from it convenient and easy to use), the wax on the backing really helps to prevent paint from penetrating through from the paper side. No staining or bleeding happened, and even my daughter painted them quite wet.

The “We Love Daddy” stencil T-shirt before the hand printing.

How To Handprint

Brush and cover the whole palm with blue acrylic. Press the palm onto the T-shirt immediately. Acrylic paint dries quickly, so wash their hands with soap after the print.

Repeat this with a left hand on the left side and use another color.
Always print with the darkest color first and the lightest color last.

Set it aside to dry overnight. Laid a clean cloth on the stencil work and press with a warm iron. Wash it before wear.

The kids woke up the next day; the first thing they wanted to see was this freezer paper stencil T-shirt… their first “big project” for their darling daddy. See, they don’t even want to brush their teeth and change their pajamas before taking this photo; it’s embarrassing!!! The kids are so happy with their freezer paper stencil work and cannot wait to see their daddy wearing it.

What’s Next:

• Gather the supplies and start stenciling!
• Share your creations on Facebook and/or Instagram. Remember to tag us @craftpassion so that we can see them.
• Not making it now? Pin it to Pinterest for a future To-Do List.
• Browse more kid crafts for the kids to make. For adults, make another t-shirt with tie-dye for your gentleman.