Heart Cut-Out Shirt

What You Need:

• T-shirt in your child’s size
• Scissors
• Spare fabric or old T-shirt
• Scrap paper for template
• Needle and thread or sewing machine
• Optional: fabric markers, puff paint, rhinestones, sequins, etc.

What You Do:

1. First, your child will need to make a template for the “inside” heart. She can make her own by folding a piece of paper in half and drawing half of a heart shape on one side, then cutting along the line, or she can use the attached templates. The heart in the photo is about 7 inches across, but you can make it any size that will fit on your shirt.
2. Once she’s cut out the template, help her pin the template to the scrap fabric or old shirt she will be using for the contrasting heart. Once it’s pinned in place, have her carefully cut the fabric around the template. She may trace around the template with dress chalk, fabric marker or a disappearing ink pen as a guide.
3. Remove the paper template from the fabric and trim it by a half-inch, or trim the printed template down to the next smallest size. Have her choose a placement for the heart cut-out.
4. Help her pin this new, smaller template to the shirt she will be wearing, in whatever place she has chosen. Next, let her carefully cut around the template (you may need to get a hole started with a needle or a seam ripper so she can fit the scissors through). Make sure not to trace the template this time, as ink may bleed through.
5. Turn the shirt inside-out and pin the heart “patch” over the cut-out, so that the edges are visible only on the inside of the shirt.
6. Have her carefully turn the shirt right-side out again, taking care not to poke herself with the pins!
7. Next, she can sew the heart patch in place by hand using an overhand stitch, or by using a sewing machine. Contrasting thread or a zigzag stitch can add interest and color.
8. If she’d like, she can add extra pizzazz to the heart by decorating it with sequins, puff paint, or ribbons. She can also use fabric markers or small rhinestones to write out a classic conversation-heart message, like “Be Mine” or “Cutie Pie.” After a day of drying, the shirt will be ready to wear!