How To: Simple appliqué for funky fish tee

I have long admired those who turn boring old shirts into works of art with stunning appliqué pieces, so this weekend I decided to have a go myself.

As an appliqué novice, I didn't quite succeed in making the entire 'aquarium' design I'd had in mind, but I did get off to a flying start with a goldfish motif. If you're new to this surprisingly easy but very effective craft form, you might want to follow these simple instructions.

First, find a suitable fish-shape (or any other object of your choice that makes a neat silhouette). Take a piece of felt, the tougher the better as this may be spending quite a bit of time attached to your bod. Draw the shape on to the felt with a soft pencil:

Next, place it on a cutting-mat and take your scalpel to it. When cutting felt, it's important to keep the sheet as straight as possible, to avoid distorting the intended shape.

Now you've cut out your shape, it's ready to go! You can now embellish it with whatever extra markings or add-ons you want, before fastening it to your tee.

I added a wobbly eye to give mine that fishy glare...

At this stage, you have the choice of either sewing your applique directly to a garment or turning it into a brooch. If it's a brooch you want, you'll need to mount it on some sturdy cardboard, and glue on a pin like so:

Otherwise, it's time to take out the needle and thread, put on some music and get sewing!

Et Voila - your own DIY t-shirt.

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