August 07, 2011

Dragon Applique T-shirt ~ A Boden Knock Off

My son is not a happy camper right now.  His birthday happens to land on His First Day Of School, as in, he's-going-to-kindergarten-at-the-big-school-first-day-of-school.  It's a big deal for him and kind of over whelming at the same time.  Two big mile stones in his life wrapped up in one day...so, yeah, he's not happy.  
So in order to make His day super special, I made him a shirt to wear for His birthday on His first day of school.
My inspiration was this shirt from Boden.
First thing I did was pick-off the pocket from the $1 shirt I bought on clearance.  
I used freezer paper to make a pattern. Looking at the picture in the catalog, I drew my version of the dragon on freezer paper (not on the shiny side).  Can you see all the semi erased lines?  I had a hard time drawing the feet but I finally drew feet that I was happy with.
Using the hand drawn dragon as a template, I placed another piece of freezer paper on top and copied the spikes, eyes, hands and teeth.
I cut out my pattern 
and ironed it (shiny side down) onto the t-shirt fabrics that I used.  These came from t-shirts that don't fit my kids anymore. See the grey fabric?  It's the picked-off pocket and it became part of the eyes. 
Then I ironed fusible web to the back of the t-shirt fabric.  So, basically, the top has the freezer paper ironed on and the back has fusible web ironed on.  Then, cut out the pattern on the freezer paper. Here is the dragon pieced together.  
Remove the freezer paper.  An easy way to do this is to use a pin and make a slit in the middle.  Just run your pin across the paper and peel the paper off.  (I did this for both the freezer paper and the fusible web.)
Now this step you can skip if you want but I did it because my son does not like interfacing on the inside of his shirts.  In order to add some sort of stability and make it easier to sew, I ironed on the dragon to a thin piece of white felt.  Here is the dragon    with the fusible web ready to be ironed onto the felt.
Once the dragon was securely ironed onto the felt, I ironed fusible web to the back of the felt. I cut the dragon again,  this time leaving a small trim. Ironed on the entire applique to the shirt 
and sewed ALL the edges. I think this was the hardest part for me.  There was a lot of stopping and pivoting the needle to get the spikes, hands and feet done.  
By the time I got to the eyes, I wasn't too worried about making perfect circles...
My son was happy with his new shirt and his bribe...you know, just to stand still for a good picture.
This is his response to, "Mijo, give me a big smile"...
Minus the sharp teeth, I think he was trying to imitate the dragon's smile...love it!


I am entering this knock-off into this challenge:


Visit thecsiproject.com

41 comments:

Julie said...

How neat!!! I know my boys would love that shirt!! Sorry his bday lands on back to school day :( That's a bummer...but I have a feeling that you're the kind of mom that will make SURE his day is awesome :) Good job on the shirt! GREAT details!!!!
*FUN blog by the way! I'm a new follower!

Jill said...

That is such a cute dragon t-shirt! I'm sure his birthday will be brilliant! Such a special and memorable day too - starting school!

Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Kelly Innes said...

Wow, I absolutely love this: I might try copying some Boden stuff for my girls...

Sarah @ This Crazy Blessed Life said...

Oh my! I LOVED this! I'm so glad I found your blog...

I'm so making this for my little man...now to just find super cool fabrics like you used!

Sarah @ THis Crazy Blessed Life

Cristy @ Art•ing Shed•quarters said...

from the first time I leafed through mini boden, I wanted to make some for my little guy... years later and still haven't done it.
I totally like yours better than the inspiration shirt. such a great color combination!

Amanda @ The Little Giggler said...

SO CUTE! I love the stripes! I found you on Sew Cute Tuesday. I'm a new follower. :)

Amanda @ www.thelittlegiggler.blogspot.com

Laura said...

LOVE that shirt! I adore Boden, but the clothes are pricey so this is a perfect solution! And I like that the stitching isn't perfect, especially on the eyes. It adds to the texture and look of the dragon. Great job!

Krista said...

That's so cute!! Love it!

BreAna {Sugar and Spice and All Things Iced} said...

What a great idea!! Makes me wish I was more crafty!!

Andrea @ TheTrainToCrazy.com said...

Great work! Love it so much! Stop by and link up to Make It Wear It!

Just Jaime said...

Cute cute cute! Great job!

Amanda @ The Little Giggler said...

I wanted to let you know I'm featuring this tomorrow on Fabulous Finds on Friday at The Little Giggler. Stop by and grab a featured button if you'd like. :)

www.thelittlegiggler.blogspot.com

Mom Daughter Style said...

this is a great DIY! thanks for sharing

http://momdaughterstyle.blogspot.com/

Stephanie said...

The double pop tart bribe had me giggling. Good job on the shirt. Hopefully he's a bit happier now!

Kara @ June & Bear said...

I love Boden tees. What a great recreation.

Kimberly T. said...

That is such a cute shirt! That took some effort, whew! I never thought of using freezer paper as a pattern before, thanks for the tip.

Katie said...

I love this! Yours is lots better than the Boden one, no doubt much cheaper and unique! :)

www.katiescreative.blogpot.com

Carolyn said...

Love the dragon, love the smile!

Anabella said...

Really cute and easy idea! Love it!

Tammy said...

WOW---you are gifted---this one is better than the Boden one:) Be blessed!!!

Unknown said...

Great job mama!!! I featured you today!

http://polkadotsonparade.blogspot.com/

BollingWith5 said...

Would you sell them???

Tanya Anurag said...

The t-shirt looks funky and cool. Your son is adorable.. love that last pic of his!!

We have a link-up party going on - Tea Time Thursdays @ Kreative Korner. I would really appreciate if you'd link up some of your awesome posts there. Hope to see you at the party.

http://tanyaanurag.blogspot.com/2011/08/tea-time-thursdays-2-and-features.html

Laura said...

Beauteous!! I'm impressed with your creativity and sewing skills!!

Sewandthecity said...

I love making things for girls, and I am very happy that I have a daughter because I think that there are not enough nice things for boys out there. Well, your gorgeous t-shirt has completely converted me and I might have to make it for my daughter – how about a pink monster? Surely there are pink monsters :-) Thanks for the inspiration!

Amanda said...

We liked this so much over at Copycat Crafts that we have decided to feature it today! You can view it here
http://www.copycatcrafts.com/boden-inspired-dragon-applique-t-shirt

We'd love it if you'd like to display a featured button! You can grab your button on the right hand side of your post. Thanks!

Brandi said...

Such a cute shirt! You did a great job!

star said...

That is such a cute dragon
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