4th of July Craft: Stars and Stripes T-shirts

One of the best ways to celebrate the 4^th of July is by wearing red, white and blue. These easy to make stars and stripes t-shirts will look great on the whole family during a 4^th of July party or parade. Your children will enjoy making their own 4th of July t-shirts and wearing them proudly this Independence Day.

This 4^th of July craft features a basic white t-shirt and turns it into a red, white and blue American flag.

Supplies for Your 4th of July Craft: Stars and Stripes T-shirt

1 plain white t-shirt

2 sponges

1 large bottle of red fabric paint

1 large bottle of blue fabric paint

Craft glitter

Masking tape or painters tape

Scissors

Newspaper

Paper plates

Directions for Your 4th of July Craft: Stars and Stripes T-shirt

First, prepare your t-shirt by putting a small stack of newspaper inside. This will prevent the paint from bleeding through the t-shirt.

Next, cut one of your sponges into a large star shape. You can do this either free hand or you can make a pattern. To make a star pattern, first trace a star onto a piece of white paper. Cut out the star and place the pattern on your sponge. Then trace around star. Finally, cut the star shape out of the sponge.

Next, put some blue fabric paint on a paper plate. Dip your star sponge gently into the blue paint. Next, press the sponge onto the t-shirt to make a blue star print. Repeat this step until you have blue stars all over the shirt. Don't worry about putting them in lines or rows. They should be painted randomly all over your t-shirt.

Now, sprinkle a little craft glitter on each of the blue stars. Then let the blue fabric paint dry. It should dry within a few hours. You can also leave it to dry overnight

After the blue stars are dry, you can begin adding your red stripes.

First, use masking tape to make stripes across your t-shirt. Don't worry about going around the blue stars with the tape. Just go right over them. If you want larger stripes, double the masking tape to make them thicker.

Next, put some red fabric paint on a paper plate. Cut your other sponge in half to make it easier to paint with. Dip the sponge into the red paint and carefully begin to fill in the white lines between the masking tape. When you come to a blue star, carefully go around it with your paint sponge. Continue this for all of the stripes. It is okay if you get red paint on the masking tape. The paint will not go through.

When you are done with the red stripes, let your t-shirt dry overnight. The next day, slowly remove the masking tape from your t-shirt. You should be left with a beautiful red, white and blue stars and stripe t-shirt to wear at your 4^th of July party or parade. Make them for the whole family and get the kids to help!