4th of July Applique Shirt

Okay, I know this is seriously last-minute.  I told you that I had a basket of crafts I never got to!  I promised my daughter I'd make her a 4th of July shirt, though, so in my little bit of spare time this afternoon, I got to work.

This is a project that didn't turn out anything like my original plan.  First I was going to do a freezer paper stencil.  Then I was going to applique some stars out of my scrap fabrics.  Well, I couldn't find my Heat N Bond, so then I thought maybe a ruffled flag.  Anywhere, several ideas later, I remembered a bag of patriotic scrap fabric strips I had from AGES ago.  I think they were originally used to make rag flip-flops for Girls Camp one year.  Anyway, I thought they would be perfect for my shirt- if only I could figure out what to do with them.....

(Yes, I'm indecisive.)

I finally settled on an "abstract" version of an American flag.  It doesn't scream "4TH OF JULY" but it is patriotic.  I think she can wear it throughout the summer.

This was super simple to make.  The strips were precut, so I just arranged them how I wanted, pinned them to a t-shirt, and sewed around the edges of each shirt.  Since I didn't use Heat N Bond, the edges will fray, which is actually what I wanted.  To finish off, I hand-sewed star buttons to the blue stripes.  It's a flag- but it's not!

I used a $2.99 Walmart T-shirt, but this would also be a great way to reuse an old t-shirt  with a stain or something!

Happy 4th of July, American friends!  I hope you have a wonderful day!

Even though it's late, I'm linking up to some of these parties.  Go check them out!