DIY Father’s Day T-shirt Filled with Faith

It’s a tradition at our house that every Father’s Day, my husband gets a new T-shirt to add to his wardrobe. But these T-shirts aren’t any normal shirts. Oh no! It’s a DIY Father’s Day T-shirt handcrafted by his four little kiddos, and they are always treasured and worn with pride! We’ve had fun with lots of creative ideas over the years. My husband loves it when we feature the kids’ handprints on his Father’s Day T-shirts. It’s a fun way for him to go back and see how much they’ve grown from year to year. My favorite was the year we turned their handprints upside down and decorated them to look like aliens!

This year, with the children getting older, I wanted to create a Father’s Day T-shirt that represented our bond and our faith as a family. Joshua 24:15 came to mind, and I thought it would be perfect!

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. — Joshua 24:15

I love this verse! It embodies such a sense of family unity. I created a simple design on the computer, and printed it onto T-shirt transfer paper. After I trimmed the design close to the edges, I ironed it onto the shirt we had purchased for this project.

Next, I had each of the children place their handprint onto the shirt, and we used a fabric marker to write their names underneath each of their handprints.

They were so proud of their masterpiece! Now, if we can only keep it a secret till Father’s Day (shhhh… don’t tell him if you’re reading this blog)!

Want to make your own Father’s Day T-shirt based on Joshua 24:15? Download the iron-on printable and print onto T-shirt transfer paper (found at most craft stores). Don’t get scared when you see the printable and it’s backwards! Once you print it onto the transfer paper, iron it on, and peel off the paper backing, it will be right. If for some reason you are using T-shirt transfer paper that doesn’t have a paper backing on it, you can use this printable download instead.

After several years of crafting T-shirts with the kiddos, here are a few tips for you:

• If your T-shirt design includes handprints, use a paintbrush! Instead of just dabbing their little hands onto a plate covered in paint, it’s so much easier, and makes for a better outcome, if you use a paintbrush and “paint” the paint onto their hands first. Then gently place their hand onto the shirt and tell them to freeze, while you gently put pressure on their hands and each finger. Finally, gently and slowly remove their hands from the shirt.
• Don’t expect perfection! I promise your husband will not care if their little handprints or drawings aren’t perfect. In fact, he would probably prefer that they aren’t! Those little imperfections are what make these types of t-shirts such a great reminder of life with kids.
• Use fabric paint! Acrylic paint doesn’t work as well on fabrics or last as long. It also dries stiffer, and can make the T-shirt uncomfortable to wear.

When working on this project with your kids, take the opportunity to chat with them and talk about how amazing their Daddy is. I love to hear my children’s funny stories about my husband, or what they love about him the most. If you have little ones, sit down and read Thank You, God, for Daddy by Amy Parker. This is such a cute book and reading it together is another way to encourage them to be thankful for their Daddy this Father’s Day!

Click here to download the free printable for Joshua 24:15.