Make a Super Back to School T- Shirt Without Breaking the Bank

It is easy to make a few changes to an inexpensive T-shirt and turn it into something exciting and fun for your daughter to wear to school. If your child is old enough you can at the same time, teach them how to sew on buttons. This is an easy first sewing lesson that could save them money later in life. The thing about sewing on buttons is that if you do it the wrong way, you have to do it again soon. While if you do it the right way, it will stay attached for years. That means that it is helpful to your child to learn how to sew on buttons so they stay.

For this project what you need: A T-shirt, a sewing needle, thread to match or contrast with the shirt, a pin, some scissors to cut the thread, some fancy buttons and some plain buttons about the same size as the fancy ones.(see photo) I found everything that I didn't already have at JoAnn Fabrics, but you can find these things at lots of stores. Many of the things you may already have.

Choose a shirt in a size and color that works for your child. Remember that cotton shrinks so larger might be better. Look in your button box for buttons that will add fun or sparkle to the shirt. If you don't have a button box, it is easy to begin one and in a few years you will be able to go to it when you need to replace buttons, or if you need buttons for a project. Whenever you discard an item of clothing, remove the buttons and put them in your chosen box. If you look at estate sales, you might find a ready made box of assorted buttons that have been collected for many years. Some of those buttons can be quite spectacular.

Before you begin, put your chosen embellishments (buttons or trim) into a hosiery bag, or other small closeable cloth bag, and put them, along with the T-shirt into the washer and dryer. Treat them the same way that you will when your child is wearing the shirt every day. After all the shrinking and fading are done you are ready to begin sewing on the trim. Gather everything together in one well lit place. Lay the T-shirt down and allow your child to place buttons wherever she wants them. Maybe draw a diagram so that you can know where they should go before you begin to actually attach them.

Cut a length of thread. I usually use about a yard, but less is okay as long as it is enough to completely sew on one button. Thread the needle. If you have trouble it helps to do it over a light colored or white surface. Pull the thread through until it is about ten inches from being doubled. Some people prefer to attach buttons with a double thread, but a single thread is in my opinion better. That way if one thread breaks, it takes longer for the button to fall off.

Make a knot in the end of the thread. When I learned to sew I learned to make a knot by wrapping the end of the thread around my finger and then rolling the circle of thread back and forth a few times and then off my finger, pulling the thread until the knot was settled. I have also learned that you can wrap your thread around your needle three or more times and then pull the thread through holding the wraps between the fingers of the other hand until they reach the end of the thread. By doing the latter method you can control the size of the knot. The more wraps the bigger the knot. For a T-shirt you need about six wraps because of the material.

Pick any button to start with and find the place where you want it to be. Bring the needle up through the material at that place. Take the needle through the button from the back to the front. Holding the button on the material of the shirt, go down through the other hole in the button. Before you pull the thread tight on the inside of the shirt, place a matching plain button on the needle and slide a straight pin through the top of the right side so that it is caught by the thread. (see photo) Then pull the thread through pushing the plain button up next to the shirt.(see photo) Next go up through the other hole in the plain button, through the material and through the fancy button on the right side. Make sure that the T-shirt material lies flat between the threads. Repeat this process about ten times, being sure that the pin remains under the thread and on top of the button. When you are satisfied that the thread will hold the button on the tee shirt, with the thread and needle on the right side of the shirt, remove the pin and wrap the thread from the needle around the threads underneath the button. Then sew back through to the other side of the fabric, and make a loop of thread almost underneath the other button and sew a short stitch inside it, pulling tight. Repeat that process twice and then run the needle under the button and out the other side before you cut the thread, close to where it comes out of the material.

Go on to the next button. You may find that after two or three buttons, your child wants fewer buttons than they first wanted. The purpose of the button on the wrong side is to give support to the fabric of the tee shirt, so that the button on the top doesn't rip because of the weight of the button. It is good to choose light weight buttons, since the tee shirt is light weight material. Normally when sewing on buttons you can omit the buttons behind, but if you want added stability, it is a good thing to do. Even if you omit the back button, do not omit the pin. Still wrap your thread around on the right side of the button before going to the back to make your sewing knot. You can make the sewing knot into the threads that have attached the button, before taking a very short stitch before you cut the thread.

If you are sewing a button with a shank, lay the button on its side when you sew up through the material and keep it in the same position the entire time you are attaching the button. You can place different buttons in a random pattern, or put similar small buttons in a particular shape, like a heart, star or circle. You can use plain buttons or sparkly ones. You can sew buttons around the neckline, or make an artistic curved line of buttons anywhere you want on the shirt. There are lots of possibilities.