T-shirts and fashion items with emblems are popular these days.
It’s cute as a accent on a plain T-shirt, and if you design it with a few emblems on it, it’ll become a cool original T-shirt! If you put an emblem of your favorite animal or vehicle on your child’s belongings, it will be convenient as a mark.
It’s hard to find an emblem of your favorite pattern or size.
Here’s how to make your own “T-Shirt w/Emblem” using ingredients from a dollar store, and what you need to be careful about.
How Do You Find an Emblem?
Let’s think about a design of an emblem. There are four ways to find designs you might like.
- Look for a favorite design from books of emblems and embroidery
- Finding emblem designs on the web
- Search for a free image
- Draw your own illustrations/designs
This is my first time making an emblem, so I decided to draw a design for my plain T-shirt.
I Actually Made an DIY Original Emblem
1. Preparation for Making Embroidered Felt Emblems
There are 5 in total up to 1 ~ 5.
Embroidery Threads
Let’s prepare embroidery threads of the color you need for the pattern you want to make. They are sold in sets of several colors at a dollar shop.
Embroidery Needles
This time, embroidery is done with three threads. When using 2 ~ 3 embroidery threads, the embroidery needle is size 7, so I prepared a set of embroidery needles for a dollar with size 7.
Double-sided Fusible Interfacing
It is a piece of double-sided fusible interfacing which looks like a net and can be used with an iron. If you put it between a T-shirt and an embroidered felt patch and iron it, you can attach the patch. You can get it at a dollar store.
Water Soluble Marking Pen
This time I will draw a preliminary sketch directly on the felt, so I will use a water soluble marking pen. There are also a water soluble marking pen that can be erased with water and a marking pen that can disappear over time at dollar stores.
Felt
This felt is the base for the embroidered emblem. Let’s prepare a washable felt to match the size of the emblem. This time, I will use a piece of felt after cutting the felt from a dollar store into 6 x 6 cm [2.4 x 2.4 inches] pieces.
Draw a Preliminary Sketch on Felt
The image is a little hard to see, but I drew an apple illustration with my hands. These days, cute one-point T-shirts for adults are popular! I’m drawing a semicircle on the left because I wanted to make it like a bit of an apple.
3. Let’s start embroidery!
Since it’s an apple, I’d like to embroider it a little thick.
Long and Short Stitches
The stitches are embroidered with long and short stitches. First, start from the center and embroider the upper half of the apple.
It looks like this. Next, embroider the lower half of the apple in the same way. Long stitched bottoms are short stitches, short stitched bottoms are long stitches. The red embroidery of the apple is over after stitching so that the gap is not noticeable.
The core of the apple is stitched to the left and right.
Next, I’ll embroider the leaf part.
Leaf Stitches
The embroidery looks like the letter Y. Pass the thread from left to right, and hold it small between them.
Then, I embroider the part where the apple was bitten.
The entire embroidery is finished.
Satin Stitches
Finish up the gaps by shifting a little by little by the width of the thread.
I stitched around the apple and the indentations under the apple core.
4. Cut the Felt Around the Embroidered Part
Cut around the embroidery to around 5mm [0.2 inches].
The emblem is now about 4cm x 4cm [1.6 x 1.6 inches]. Cut a piece of double-sided fusible interfacing into a smaller piece than the emblem.
5. Attach the Embroidered Patch to the T-shirt
I put the embroidered emblem on the desired position of a T-shirt.
- There is a double-sided fusible interfacing between the embroidery emblem and the T-shirt.
- Put a piece of cloth on the patch.
- Iron on medium heat (about 150 degrees) for about 10 seconds.
- You turn over the T-shirt and iron it from the back of the emblem.
- Let it cool for about 15 minutes so that it adheres firmly.
6. Sew the Emblem on the T-shirt
I used to put a commercial emblem on my child’s belongings, but it came off after washing several times, so I decided to sew it after gluing it with a double-sided fusible interfacing this time. It is easier to sew because it does not slip off when it is glued than when you just try to sew it without using fusible interfacing.
Blanket Stitch
I sewn around the felt while putting the thread.
Finished! However…
This time, I made an emblem to put on my left-chest pocket, but it was bigger than I expected and it looked more childish (crying).
I wanted to wear a cute one-point T-shirt which looks like more for adults. And it’s more like a tomato than an apple!? Maybe I should have made it a little longer (^ _ ^;).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Making a DIY Embroidered Emblem T-Shirt
Once I was done with the design, the embroidery of the emblem itself would have taken less than 30 minutes, but the finish was not as I had imagined.
However, all the tools are available at dollar stores, so I was satisfied because I could make an emblem with minimum effort.
Advantages for Making Your Own Embroidered Emblem T-Shirt
You can make it with your favorite design
You can make an emblem of your favorite design. You can choose the size and color.
You can put it anywhere on the T-shirt
Like this time, you can put an emblem on your pocket, hem, or anywhere you like.
It can be easily made into an original T-shirt
Even if it’s a mass-produced T-shirt with the same design, you can make it an original T-shirt by just putting on your own emblem.
Disadvantages for Making Your Own Embroidered Emblem T-Shirt
Design Size is Difficult
Even if you imagine putting illustrations on a T-shirt, the size and design may be different from what you expected when the emblem is actually completed.
Limited Emblem Design
Embroidery is difficult and takes time if you make an emblem with complicated designs and letters.
Not Capable of Being Made in Large Quantities
It is quite difficult to put many emblems on a T-shirt.
