Imitation Mini Boden Shirts

I love the appliqué shirts from Mini Boden.

I thought I could make some on my own using 4 of my son’s current shirts: one from Grandma Thomas and the others from thrift stores. I started by finding some graphics I thought he would like. I found a nice coloring book site called Free Printable Coloring Pages. I also searched on Google Images for stencils and found some nice ones.
Of course, I was thinking I was saving time by finding them on the internet, but I probably could have drawn them just as fast. Anyway, I used Adobe Photoshop to make them a full page in size and printed them out.

Next, I traced the images onto WonderUnder with a permanent marker. I roughly cut out the image. I ironed an old t-shirt first, and then ironed the WonderUnder tracing onto it.

I let it cool and cut along my lines and removed the backing. Next, I placed the cut out onto the good t-shirt and carefully ironed it on.

(For the images with more than one color, I cut out the WonderUnder shapes needed for another color and ironed those shapes onto another colored t-shirt fabric. Then I cut them out and ironed them all onto the shirt.) If there are details, you will need to draw them on with an erasable marker or chalk.

Next, I sewed around the edges. I wanted to get the rough edge effect, so I sewed inside the shape slightly. I haven't washed these shirts yet, but I anticipate a little ruffling of the edges after washing.

I thought the beginning and ending stitch might unravel, so I used a needle and brought the excess thread to the inside and knotted them. I used black fabric paint on the eyes of the octopus.