Quick and Easy Father's Day Crafts for Dads and Grandpas

It's nearly Father's Day, and if the men in your life are anything like mine, they already have everything they need. This leaves me searching for new ideas every year. Here are a couple of gifts we have made that the Dads and Grandpas loved:

Battery Garden


One Christmas, we gave my father-in-law a pack of batteries to power a new lantern that was separately wrapped. He opened the batteries first and went on and on about how he loved them and always needed batteries. Even after he opened the lantern, he told us how much he loved the batteries. So, it made me realize that men really do always need batteries, so why not make a cute little garden out of them and give them as a gift? My four-year-old decorated it herself and it was a fun project. I just helped cut holes in the boxes to hold the sticks, and added a little glue at their bases to hold the heavier batteries.

She had fun making it, and the Grandfathers both thought it was really cute. Be sure to tell them that they're new batteries so they'll be able to use them!

Painted T-shirts with Hand Prints and Footprints


Painted T-shirts are are a fun and simple gift, and my daughter always loves getting paint all over her, so be sure to wear old clothes if you make them! All you need is fabric paint (available at most craft stores) and plain T-shirts (they're cheaper at Wal-Mart, Dollar General, or a similar store than they are at craft stores).

Here are a few hand print / footprint designs:

"World's Best Daddy, Hands Down" with hand prints

"Best Granddaddy, Hands Down" with hand prints 

"My Granddaughter Walks All Over Me" with footprints

The best part of painting your own T-shirts is that you can customize them with whatever you call the Dads and Grandfathers in your life: Papa, Papaw, Grandpa, etc. Then, there's the added bonus of just getting messy with paint, so have fun with it!

How to Make a Ruffled Heart T-shirt

So, I have all these colorful T-shirts that I've been using for crafts, and I love the look of those little girls' ruffled heart t-shirts. I happened to have a colorful Tangerine Tango T-shirt and my daughter had a plain white T-shirt, so I decided to put one together myself.

To make the ruffles, take the T-shirt you'll use for the heart and cut it into strips about 2 inches wide. The T-shirt I used had seams down each side from the armpit to the hem, so I cut horizontally along the bottom of the T-shirt then trimmed the seam off each side to get the strip you see here. Doing that would make two of these. If your T-shirt doesn't have seams down each side, you would end up with a large loop after each horizontal cut which you could cut in two to give you these strips.

To turn your strips into a ruffle, stitch a long stitch down the middle of the strip (I set my machine on the longest setting - 5), and do not back-stitch the beginning or the end of your stitch.

Hold the strip at one end, and pull one of the threads (either the top or bottom, but not both) in one direction (toward you) while pushing the material in the other direction (away from you).

You'll end up with a ruffle like this! Space the ruffles evenly by sliding the material along the thread, then place it onto your T-shirt and pin it into place. Continue making the ruffles and placing them onto your T-shirt until you have the size and placement you want.

You'll want to be sure to place the centers of the ruffles as close to one another as possible, otherwise when you wash it, you'll end up with gaps inside the heart in which the T-shirt underneath shows through.

Once you have everything pinned, simply sew the ruffles onto the shirt (taking extra care not to hit any pins!), and you're done!

Even More (Yes, I Know!) T-shirt Yarn Crafts

Okay, my obsession with this stuff is never ending. I'm working on some necklaces that will allow the wearer to change out the beads and charms, but in the mean time...I bring you the T-shirt yarn watch!

This was really just so easy, I'm planning to make a few more.

Basically, I just picked up a few of these at my local craft supply store:

I used beading wire and findings to attach the watch to a piece of T-shirt yarn, then I wrapped it around my wrist.

The best part is that if I get tired of the orange, I can always just attach it to a different colored strand for a totally new look. I could also layer this one with another color for a different look. The possibilities are endless!

More Experiments with T-shirt Yarn

In my previous posts, I made three types of scarves from t-shirt yarn. Now that Spring is near, I wanted to use some colorful t-shirt yarn to make a necklace or two, though.

I found a bright blue, solid t-shirt at our local thrift store for $1. When I last made my t-shirt yarn, I made parallel cuts to create many long loops (the dark green infinity scarf in this post). This time, I decided to make a continuous piece of yarn by removing the hem, then cutting a single layer all around the bottom until I reached the armpits.

This made a lot of yarn, a big heap of it.

My four-year-old daughter found it all very intriguing and wanted to help. Who am I to refuse? She also wanted me to make a video of her showing us all how to make it:

As you can see, we have a future McGalver on our hands, which makes me really proud!

I learned a very important lesson, though - as you turn your cut t-shirt into yarn, make sure you either roll it up into a ball as you go, stack it, or somehow otherwise keep it nice and tidy. If you don't, you'll end up with a big ol' knotted mess, like I did.

It took me an hour to turn this:

into this:

Once that was tidied up, though, I was good to go. I have had my eye on Sailor's Knot necklaces, like this one, for a while, and set out to learn how to make one like it.

I found a wonderful, step-by-step guide to the Carrick Bend (often used in Sailor's Knot necklaces) here. I viewed other websites and videos, but this one was, hands-down, the easiest for me to follow. I decided to try it using the t-shirt yarn, even though it isn't as stiff as the twisted rope that is often used in these necklaces.

This was the result:

I like it! I used 4 strands of yarn on each side, for a total of 8 when the necklace is finished. I also varied the knot a bit, too, by tucking the bottom 4 strands on each side through the back of the upper loops. I finished it by knotting each side, then adding a dab of fabric glue to hold it. I then used jump rings and a necklace clasp, and it was complete!

Another T-shirt Yarn Scarf

After I made the last scarves from T-shirts, I came across this awesome-looking scarf made from t-shirt yarn and a crocheted cuff. I decided to give one a try, but since I don't crochet, I used a felted wool sweater. For the T-shirt yarn, I used three large t-shirts.

For the most part, I followed her directions, but my t-shirts didn't quite give me 12 strips that were 144 inches long. Mine were about 96 inches each, so I went with that. 

Since the felted wool sleeve's knit was very tight, I used a chop stick to push the edge through the bottom of the sleeve and out the other side, then I was able to pull them through until they hung evenly out each side. 

It isn't perfect, but I like it!

T-shirt Yarn Crafts

I found a beautiful necklace on Etsy, and it's made from T-shirt yarn.

Isn't that gorgeous? How have I never heard of  t-shirt yarn before? So I did a little investigation (aka a search on Google), and it turns out that it isn't all that hard to make.

Here is a handy tutorial on how to make t-shirt yarn (or t-rope, as the instructor calls it), and this video shows you how to use t-shirts to make a couple of different types of scarves. I happen to have a few old t-shirts that I was hoping to do something with, so I pulled them out and started experimenting.

My first attempt wasn't exactly what I'd hoped it would be: I started with the blue and it didn't seem full enough, so I added in a couple of pieces of white to each side. It still just looked like an old, shredded t-shirt to me, though.

 

I had much, much better luck with the loose t-rope strands, though. I thought they turned out awesome, and I wanted to dress them up a bit. I loved the look of the fabric rose on the one pictured for the scarf tutorial, so I found this online tutorial to make a pretty, fabric rose.


I think it turned out great! The rose really does dress it up, and I love the look that burning the petals' edges gives it.

I sewed the rose onto a fabric-covered elastic band to make it easy to attach to the scarf (or a hair band, or anything else!). I can just loop the elastic over the rose, then fold the outer petals down to cover it.

So, I still wanted a flouncy, ruflle scarf, so I hit up the local thrift store and found a couple of t-shirts for $1, brought them home, and got to work.

I'm still in shock at how quickly you can make a t-shirt scarf using the methods in the video above. I made two new ones in about 30 minutes, at a cost of $2, plus the cost of a little fabric glue.

These turned out much, much better! I found the secret to getting a pretty ruffle is to start wide then taper slowly as you go, ending with a narrow cut. That really did make all the difference!

Here are the two new ruffle scarves:

 I would never guess that they were made with t-shirts!

Now, back to that necklace...I'm pretty sure I'd never be able to make something that cute, so for now I'll just have to leave it in my Etsy favorites. Hopefully I'll be able to buy it (or one like it from her lovely shop) very soon!

How to Jazz Up a Plain T-shirt

It's really easy to turn a plain t-shirt into something special. I love orange, and an over-sized orange T-shirt recently caught my eye in the Men's section of a local thrift shop. I picked it up for $1.99 and brought it home. It was bulky and had gray layered trim:

The trim was first to go. I cut the edges above the seams, leaving them raw with no more gray. I was interested in a more fitted and contoured look, so I turned the shirt inside out and used pins to fit the shirt to my hips, waist, and underarms. I removed the shirt and sewed new seams up each side, where I'd pinned. I tried on the shirt to make sure the fit was right, then trimmed the seams (down to 1/4" to 1/2" - to remove the bulk). If you don't want to try pinning the shirt while you're wearing it, use a T-shirt that you already have that fits well and has the same silhouette you're after - just turn your new shirt inside out, lay your existing shirt on top, and pin your new shirt to follow the seams of your old shirt.

I didn't want to leave the edges raw, but I also didn't want to go to the trouble of hemming all the edges. So, I decided to do a lettuce edge using a zigzag stitch along the edges. The trick is to set your machine to the widest zigzag, a short stitch, and then stretch the fabric as you sew. Sew this zigzag right on the edge. The more you stretch the fabric, the more ruffle you get along the edge. I personally like a contrasting thread for the lettuce edge, so I just used an off-white thread for my orange shirt.

Finally, I wanted something to do something to make the T-shirt prettier. I had some beautiful fabric that matched the orange shirt and also added a splash of vibrant colors. I sewed a few pieces together, forming a narrow tube scarf. You could also use an existing scarf, a ribbon, or any piece of narrow fabric. I started in the middle back of the shirt and cut two holes in the shirt, roughly an inch or so apart from each other, and a couple of inches down from the edge. I then cut pairs of similar holes every few inches, going around the neckline, each pair a couple of inches down from the edge. My motto is that I avoid measuring whenever possible, and most of the time it works out fine. I like to just use my fingers to do a rough measure to try to evenly space, but if you're more of a perfectionist, you could measure the neckline to ensure your cuts are evenly spaced.

Once I had my pairs of holes cut, I wove the scarf through the holes and gathered it gently to pull in the neckline. Since I'd cut the neckline away, this pulled it back up to avoid the Flashdance off-the-shoulder look (fine for many, just not for me). The T-shirt material shouldn't unravel or tear where it's cut, but if you have a particularly fragile piece of fabric and are worried about fraying, you could finish the cuts with Fray Check prior to adding the scarf.

The scarf can be tied in a knot, bow, or just left hanging, to change up the look a little. If your scarf is washable, it can be left as is for laundry. If not, just remove it prior to washing.

I really like the end result. Here are the pictures!