R.A.G. New York

Below are instructions how to make a graphic t-shirt at home, when you don’t feel like buying someone else’s design.

Coming up with the design of a graphic t-shirt:

You have to ask yourself what you want to say with your graphic t-shirt. Are you using words, images, or both to convey this message on the t-shirt? And what effects if any do you need to apply to these to add to the message. A graphic t-shirt can be funny, offensive, or both at the same time. There are ironic tees and some that just don’t mean anything. In any case, find the graphic t-shirt design that you wish to achieve and then move on to the making of the design.

How to make the design for a graphic tee:

If you are using today’s technologies, then to make your graphic t-shirt design, you should definitely use Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. You can design your own patterns and text or borrow free imagery from the Internet. Say you wanted a skull and bones, you could probably find free images that you could style any way you wish on your t-shirt. When doing this at home, it is a good idea to keep your design as simple as possible so that you can easily cut it out. The graphic t-shirt design should fit a regular-size piece of paper: 11″ x 8″ 1/2.

Placing your design on your t-shirt:

After printing out what will become your graphic t-shirt on to iron-on printer paper (which by the way, comes in 2 kinds - one for white t-shirts and one for colored t-shirts - you can find it at your local office supply store.) you cut out the design with an exacto knife, or scissors, if you prefer. This is probably the hardest part of making your own graphic t-shirt. But after this, it’s smooth sailing. Follow whatever instructions were provided with your iron-on print paper, an iron your design on to your future graphic t-shirt.

Time to wear your graphic t-shirt:

Let the t-shirt cool down a little, and then it’s time to put it on.