Easy DIY Minnie Shirts With Attached, Washable 3D Bow

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In the two and a half years since I started this blog, this is the most viewed craft post, and one of the most viewed posts of all time. I thought it was time to bring it back for those that might be planning a Disney vacation and looking for an easy DIY Minnie Shirts tutorial.

A friend is heading to Disneyland and has two little girls. I thought it would be fun to make her girls some Minnie inspired shirts. I saw a lot of them on Etsy and Pinterest, but none of them had an attached 3D bow. They either had flat bows, done the same as the mouse head, or they were bows that had been made using glue so they had to be safety pinned on and could not be washed, leaving the chance of losing the bow. So I decided I wanted them to have ones that were 3D bows but were attached and machine washable.

I am a BEGINNER on the sewing machine. Up until now, in my adult life I have only made a few burp cloths (rectangle, nothing fancy) and a car seat cover. Both with heavy supervision from my mother. I did these completely on my own, so if I can do it- you can do it. I do suggest using a practice shirt first so you can get used to sewing curves.

For this project you will need:

• Heat n Bond  Lite (the sew-able kind)
• A T-Shirt of your choice, I prefer mine from Old Navy (better quality) or Jiffy Shirts
• Ribbon (I used a 5/8″ Red Polka Dot Ribbed Ribbon by Ribbon Boutique from Hobby Lobby (item # 191700))
• Thread of color of your choice- I chose red
• Black fabric (I used a heavy shirt from WalMart’s Craft section. An Adult XL was enough to make 6 shirts)
• This outline of a Mickey Mouse Head, change the % of the print scale until it is the size you want. I found 70% was good for toddler clothing, 100% for adult clothing.

After you have washed and dried all fabric- without using fabric softener- iron it to remove any wrinkles if necessary. (If it is a gift, I strongly encourage you use a free & clear detergent in case of skin sensitivities.)

Now, read all instructions on the back of your heat n bond.

Cut out your printed Mickey Mouse head. Cut on the inside of the black line or the shape will be off.
Once you cut out the head and verify it is the size you want, trace it on the paper part of the heat n bond.

Follow the directions on the package to apply the heat and bond to the WRONG SIDE (if there is a wrong side) of the fabric you are using for the head.
Then, cut out the Mickey mouse heads after it has cooled, it should look like this.

Be sure to fine touch the corners that are rounded, etc.
Follow the heat n bond directions to apply it to the shirt where you want it. Most people put them on centered, straight up. I liked the heads tilted a little.

After you have finished applying it to the shirt, and it has cooled, stitch just inside the head. I used a contrasting color. You don’t have to do it perfectly.

After you finish sewing around the edges, it should look something like this. (Please note that if you don’t want to sew around the edges, you can just use heat n bond if you get the “ultra, no sew” kind)

Now to make the attached, machine washable bow. While you can use fabric glue, etc that are made to be washable, I decided I preferred to sew mine. Again, I am a beginner, so it was really simple.

First, measure out your bow. You will end up folding it in half 2 times(ish) by the time you are done, so figure that in to the length. I cut mine approximately 13″ long for these toddler shirts, and they are a little big.

Fold the ribbon in half. If you want, mark the half way spot with a pen/pencil.
Now, fold each end over the half way spot. The ends need to overlap just a bit so that you can sew both in a single stitch.

Run them through the sewing machine. One straight line.

Now, take one end and fold the end in to make 2 loops at the end. You can make them equal in length. I ended up deciding I wanted them to be where the top one was a little bit shorter.

Tuck the inside in as close to the last seam sewn as much as possible. Run it through the sewing machine, one seam, as close as you can to you middle seam.

Repeat on the other side.

Now, With Ribbon that is still attached to the spool. Start in the back (in case it frays) and in the middle, covering the other seams, wrap it around the center. DO NOT cut it until AFTER you sew (but you will want to cut it in the back. I did not sew all the way down (so that I could cut the ribbon in the back.

Most likely you will sew through one polka dot. I decided this wasn’t that big of a deal. If you prefer, you can do separate stitching at the top and bottom to get around the polka dot.

Now, you need to attach it to the shirt.
Figure out where you want it on the shirt. If you need to, pin it on so it doesn’t move.
Lift up the top loop on one side. You will sew the bottom loop to the shirt (so the seams are hidden).

I went forward, reversed and did another seam backwards, and then one forward again, to be sure it was secure and would not come undone in the wash. Repeat on the other side.

Snip all the thread ends off and you are done.

Here are both shirts together.

These are great, personal Minnie shirts that cost much less than the ones you can purchase through Disney or Etsy. Just be sure to use the gentle cycle to be safe.