rorschach shirts

I'm sure you all have done this at some point, even if it was on a piece of paper. Sometimes we just forget. I really dig these Rorschach patterns. I thought it would be hilarious to make several up and then have my 6 year old tell me what he saw in them and title them as such....he normally comes up with the craziest things but when I asked him what these were his reply for every one of them was "butterfly". Not exactly what I had in mind.

step. 1. Lay out your shirt and materials. You will need fabric paint in any color (this demo is in orange and blue because it's homecoming week here and those are our school colors). You will also need a piece of cardboard to fit inside the shirt (I used an old album cover that I had left over from a vinyl project - you could use the cover of a pizza box or some other heavy, clean cardboard)

Step 2. Score your cardboard so that it folds in half and insert it into the shirt, line the fold up with the center of the shirt. Make sure you put the cardboard in so that it folds in half the correct direction.

Step 3. Squirt paint on randomly. In this photo I was trying to see if it would come out shaped sort of like an Indian (our mascot). My advice is DO NOT do this, it won't turn out like you want and defeats the purpose of the "test". Okay, try it if you want but mine was a craft fail.  Other tips, add some fabric medium to your craft paint to make it thinner, this paint came out in clumps and blobs. The black and green paint I used was thinner and created better patterns.

Step 4. Hold the shirt in place and fold it over onto itself at the center. Press firmly but be careful not to smudge or slid the shirt.

It only takes a few seconds.

Step 5. Gently unfold the shirt and spread out on a flat surface to dry. If you really don't like your design, you can add more splotches of paint and refold - taking care to align the center up. Do you see an Indian in either of these images? Me neither.

This last photo was from another batch that I did where I let the paint free form, much cooler designs. I love the Halloween green and black paint too. This image looks like a video game character or sad space alien.

Leave your shirts to dry for several hours. I put mine in the laundry room out of reach of the kids and cats overnight then washed to soften the paint.

have fun!!