Screen Printed Valentine Top

 

It is time to get the kiddos in the spirit of Valentine’s Day!  I started this for Project Run and Play and wanted a Valentine shirt that didn’t have lovey hearts all over it that screamed HOLIDAY!!!  So, instead I went for a modern take on cupid’s arrow, with the help of some screen printing.

I had a yard and a half of some inexpensive cotton fabric, so I made a pattern on some contact paper and used that as my image on my “screen” (which is just sheer fabric in a huge embroidery hoop).  I repeated the pattern the best I could, but since this is all by hand there are some imperfections.  The effect was EXACTLY what I hoped for, though! Geometric, modern, contrasting, simple, and not overly Valentine-y.

The print is supposed to be arrow fletching, the feathers on the back of the arrow shaft that helps it fly straight and true.  Plus, they look like little chevrons, which we all know and love right now.  They are classics!

The shirt is just a basic bodice that has been altered to add a lace detail, a placket, and a collar.  THAT COLLAR!  It gave me so much trouble; this isn’t the first one I made for this top.  Even with stay-stitching and a walking foot, the neckline would stretch out when I sewed the collar to the top, and I totally was angry with myself for using a cotton that couldn’t hold its own shape.  So, after a few attempts, I just gave up and called it good, and put the buttons low enough so the collar could flip open a bit and look normal.  Good thing I wasn’t up for judging this round!  Although, I probably would have come up with a solution if the stakes were higher. 

The lace I used also echoes the shape of the arrow.  I love it, I should use lace more often in clothing I think.  It is adorable!

So, there is the Valentine top!  I think I will try and perfect this top pattern to share with you, it really is awesome. (I do show how to sew a placket here)  And isn’t my big girl such a diva?  Seriously, she was cracking me up during this quick photo shoot.  She’s such a goof!

I’ll be back tomorrow with something for the baby that I made using one of the patterns from the Sew Fab Pattern sale going on right now.  It is such a great deal, $24.95 for $139 worth of patterns!  Who DOES that??  Go snag yourself the bundle, and thank me later ;)

*p.s. if you wonder why I used screen printing ink instead of fabric paint, I think the ink is much softer when washed.  Also, the clothes we have printed vs. the clothes we have painted have had the image last much longer too.  I get my ink at Hobby Lobby.