step by step

DIY Galaxy travel T-shirt

Everyone knows the feeling of having clothing in your wardrobe that you simply don’t wear anymore. Donating is a good option, but so is upcycling! Here we show you a fun design to upcycle your old T-shirts with. The galaxy design works best on darker colors, but feel free to experiment!

Design by Siona Snel
Instagram: @sionasnel

Everything you need:

Black t-shirt (At least 50% cotton and washed without fabric softener)
A3 Board with plastic around it: to put into the shirt
(Make-up) sponge: used to apply the paint
Small round brush for the details
Big flat brush to splatter
Textile paint opaque: pure white, sunny yellow, warm orange, powerful red, stunning violet and royal blue
Textile paint: Elegant black and nightlight
Paint palette
Painter's tape (double-sided tape)
Scissors
Knife and cutting board
Template of the van (downloadable)
Pencil
Thick paper
Greaseproof paper
Iron

Download the stencil

Step 1

We start by making a stencil. For this you have to copy the template of the van to a thicker piece of paper (or plastic sheet). Use a graphite pencil to cover the back of the template and lay this on top of your thick paper (with the graphite touching the paper). Draw over the lines of the template by using a pencil or pen. If everything goes well, the image of the van will be copied on the paper.

Step 2

Use scissors to cut the outline of the van. For the windows, use a knife and cutting board. Save the windows and tape them back in with painter’s tape.

Before we start painting, we also have to protect the back of the T-shirt. Start by putting the plastic around the (card)board. Stick the board with the plastic on top inside the t-shirt. This will prevent the paint from ending up on the back of the T-shirt.

Step 3

Lay your van on top of your t-shirt and adhere it with the painter’s tape or use double-sided tape. Make sure that the tape that is holding the windows is on top, so you can remove the tape and the windows without removing the whole stencil. Use a different sponge for every color, so that the colors do not mix.

Step 4

Start by applying thin layers of paint. It does not matter where or with what color you start. The most important thing is that the whole stencil is covered, so that the image will be visible when you remove the stencil. Try to make the paint fade into the background by using only a thin layer of paint at the edges.

Step 5

Cover the parts of the T-shirt that do not need stars. Then, use a big brush and thin the paint a little with water. I use white as a base color, but you could mix it up with the other colors to make more colorful stars. Now start splattering the T-shirt! And yes, the splatters will end up everywhere 😉

When the paint is dry, remove the windows of your van. Use white paint and a sponge and paint the windows. When the white paint is dry, you can paint over the nightlight paint in the same way. Make sure the layer is not too thin, otherwise it will not glow in the dark.

Step 6

Use a thin brush to add some details (or cover some mistakes). Like the headlights (same way as the windows), the baggage carrier on top of the car and the handles on the bags. Maybe even the windshield wipers?

Step 7

After drying and before washing you have to fixate the paint. Use greaseproof paper to cover your painting and iron for 5 minutes at cotton temperature. After this, your T-shirt will be washable at 40 C. And that's it!

This tutorial was made for Royal Talens by Siona Snel. Check out her instagram right here!