Simple Yet Stunning Christmas Craft Project

A Bit of History

When I was in high school, I had a very artistic friend. She drew beautifully, painted phenomenally, and had a flair for fashion that was enviable. She once “designed” her own shirt. She sewed buttons onto a plain shirt, and the result was just nifty. Since then, I’ve been dying to design my own clothing, and this Christmas I thought I’d give it a try. It’s no surprise to me that long after I lost contact with my old classmate, I found out she became an art teacher! I “stole” this idea from my high school friend.

Get Your Supplies

You will need a plain t-shirt or cotton shirt of your choice for this Christmas craft project. White is a good option, and a cream-colored shirt will work just as well. Red and green are obviously great choices, but depending on how dark your shirt is the same colored buttons might not show up as well against the background. If you have an extra supply of leftover buttons, you’re in luck. If not, you can find the buttons you need at your local arts and crafts store. Select buttons in green and red. Make sure you include buttons of varying sizes. The different sizes will create an interesting geometric quality to your final design.

Getting Started

The easiest way I recommend you figure out your design for this Christmas craft project is to lay your shirt down and spread all your buttons out. Once you’ve settled on a design, break out the digital camera. Snap a picture. Then you can print the picture and refer to it when you are sewing your buttons in place. Yes, this project will involve a lot of sewing (depending on how many buttons you use), but I always love sewing buttons on my shirts. I’ve had so many buttons fall off shirts that I always doubly reinforce them when I sew them back on.

You can also sew a button on the outer ankle of a pair of socks, so you will have a matching pair of socks to go with your new Christmas shirt.