4th of July Necklace Shirt

Painting a necklace on a shirt is certainly not a new idea.  I've seen these cute shirts everywhere.  I remembered that I made this type of tank for my daughter to wear on 4th of July last year.  The red and blue painted necklaces were perfect for the holiday.  I used red fabric paint to outline a felt star with dots and then hand stitched it to the shirt. 

We were in San Diego last year on the 4th.  Unfortunately the only picture I have of my daughter wearing the shirt is of her using the handrail at the zoo to swing like a monkey. 

I'm sure the top still fits her but it probably could use a little length.  I plan on adding a few ruffles to the bottom for a festive tunic she can wear this year with leggings.

A couple of years ago I started making my daughter shirts and tanks with painted necklaces.  I found an easy tutorial online somewhere but can't remember the source.  I apologize if it was from you!  You can use a variety of fabric paints to create the necklaces.  Initially I was using Tulip's dimensional fabric paint but later started using Tulip's soft fabric paint.  I started by ironing a crease down the middle of my shirt as a guide.  I slid a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to make sure the paint did not bleed to the back.  I used the back of a pen to create the beads on the smaller necklace by simply dipping the pen in the paint and gently stamping it on the shirt.  I started in the middle and worked my way to the neckline for half of the necklace strand. I repeated on the other side to complete the first strand.  I used the back of a large marker to paint the larger beads.  The necklace can be left plain or embellished. 

I pulled out some old pictures of necklace onesies I've made in the past. 

Last year Jessica planned to dye a onesie from white to black.  She ended up with a steel grey instead of black.  You can read about her experience with fabric dye in her Wednesday Wowzer post here.  She asked if I could turn her onesie into something cute so I added a white necklace and pretty flower embellishment.  I love the white beads on the darker fabric! 

Remember that these can be done on long sleeve shirts too.  Last year my daughter wore her pink necklace shirt a lot.  I hand stitched a red and pink striped bow to the corner.  It was incredibly easy and dressed up an otherwise plain pink shirt!

I'm sure older girls would have a blast making these at a birthday party!