Easy Handmade Heart Shirts and More
Heart patterns are growing in popularity beyond Valentine’s Day— kids and adults alike have learned to love sporting the heart-shaped icon year-round! Look your loveliest no matter the occasion and find a new way to wear your heart on your sleeve (or your shirt) with this list of 15 handmade heart projects with shirts and more!
- Classic heart tie-dye technique with cool tones
- Classic heart tie-dye technique with warm tones
- Crumple heart tie dye with cool colors
- Crumple heart tie dye with warm colors
- Conversation hearts tie-dye shirts
- Anti-Conversation heart tie-dye shirt
- Glitter heart tee with fabric spray paint
- Heart tank top with spray dye
- Heart shirt with reverse tie dye
- Heart shirt with salt resist tie dye
- Tie-dye overalls with heart pocket
- Tie-dye heart hoodie
- Best friends matching tees with fabric markers
- DIY faux cross stitch heart socks with Puff Paint
- Heart-shaped glue resist tie-dye backpack and pencil pouches
1. Classic Heart Tie-Dye Technique with Cool Tones
If you’re going to make a handmade heart shirt, you’ve got to try the classic heart tie-dye technique with Tulip One-Step Tie Dyes! Fold your damp T-shirt vertically in half and use a washable marker to draw a half heart shape with the center aligning along the fold. Tightly pleat your shirt along the marker line so that the line appears as straight as possible when all the pleats are together, then wrap a rubber band tightly around the pleated fabric at this marker line. Wrap another rubber band a few inches below the first, keeping with the pleats. You can stop here or continue adding a few more rubber bands down the length of your shirt, depending on how many dyed sections you want. Each banded section can be a new dye color! This shirt uses cool tones like blue, green, and gray to create a lovely calming vibe.
2. Classic Heart Tie-Dye Technique with Warm Tones
If you’ve got a love that’s burning hot, try this classic heart tie-dye technique with warm colors! The hottest fires burn blue, so a bright blue tie-dye heart in the middle makes this shirt look like a burning flame. Warm tones like fuchsia, orange, and yellow One-Step Dyes come together to create a handmade heart shirt that looks like the embodiment of a warm hug!
3. Crumple Heart Tie-Dye Shirt with Cool Colors
You’ve probably got the heart technique down by now, but did you know there’s an even easier alternative to this technique? Create your own handmade heart shirt by folding a damp T-shirt vertically in half and use a washable marker to draw a half heart shape with the center aligning along the fold. Tightly pleat your shirt along the marker line so that the line appears as straight as possible when all the pleats are together, then wrap a rubber band tightly around the pleated fabric at this marker line. Here’s where the shortcut comes in: Crumple the remainder of the fabric and apply dye as desired. Wrap, let set, rinse, and reveal your cool heart-shaped tie-dye designs!
4. Crumple Heart Tie-Dye Shirt with Warm Colors
The crumple heart tie dye technique looks just as great with warm colors, too! Use pink, orange, and yellow One-Step Dyes to create a handmade heart shirt that’s as sweet as sorbet. Can’t decide on using warm or cool tones? Experiment with our colorful kits and try ALL the color combinations— remember, there’s no wrong way to tie dye!
5. Conversation Hearts Tie-Dye Shirts
It’s just not Valentine’s Day without conversation hearts! This year, try swapping out those chalky candies for some sweet tie-dye style. These handmade heart shirts use Tulip One-Step Tie Dye and Puff Paint for a colorful take on conversation hearts. Making these matching shirts with a loved one is a fun and creative way to spend your Valentine’s Day, and you can wear these tees together all month long!
6. Anti Conversation Heart Tie-Dye Shirt
Don’t worry, we’ve got a project for those who are flying solo this Valentine’s Day, too! This handmade heart shirt features what we call an “anti-conversation heart” for singles who aren’t looking to be wooed. Ditch the classic V-Day colors for moody black One-Step Tie-Dye, then add an anti-Valentine mantra with Puff Paint. This playful piece is perfect for independent people who don’t need a partner to have fun!
7. Glitter Heart Tee with Fabric Spray Paint
Here’s a fun handmade heart shirt that will make you stand out no matter the occasion! This sparkling shirt uses Tulip One-Step Tie Dye and ColorShot Fabric Spray Paint for a shimmering silver heart. Our fabric spray paints are perfect for painting with stencils— if you don’t have premade stencils, you can easily make your own heart-shaped stencil using freezer paper!
8. Heart Tank Top with Spray Dye
Isn’t this unique handmade heart shirt lovely? You can create heart-shaped designs like this easily with the Tulip Confetti Spray Dye Kit and some stencils! The Spray Dye Kit offers a fun alternative application to traditional tie dye— each dye comes in individual spray bottles, so all you have to do is add water before spraying on bold, beautiful color!
9. Heart Shirt with Reverse Tie Dye
The reverse tie dye technique is a fun way to tie-dye on dark fabrics! This handmade heart shirt uses the Tulip 4-Color Reverse Tie-Dye Kit for bright and bold reverse tie-dye designs. This kit has everything you need to try reverse tie dye— just fold and bind a dark-colored tee for the heart technique, then use the included Color Changer to remove the color from your shirt as desired. Then rinse, wash, and apply dyes to add more color to your creation!
10. Heart Shirt with Salt Resist Dye
Here’s a handmade heart shirt that you won’t be able to resist! This design uses the salt resist technique to create its unique look. To try this technique, lay a damp shirt flat onto your work surface and pour coarse grain salt into the shape of a heart. Crumple the shirt around the salt and apply Tulip One-Step Tie Dye to the unsalted area as desired. Wrap, let set, rinse, wash, and reveal your lovely tie-dye creation!
11. Tie-Dye Overalls with Heart Pocket
Aren’t these kids’ overalls the cutest?! Send your little ones off with a pocket full of love when they wear these adorable handmade heart overalls. It’s easy to create small freehand designs with Tulip One-Step Tie Dye! Use the dye to draw a heart shape on the pocket, then apply dye as desired to the rest of the overalls. Wrap, let set, rinse, wash, and reveal this cute and colorful kids’ outfit!
12. Tie-Dye Heart Hoodie
Once you’ve perfected your handmade heart shirts, take the technique to the next level with a stylish cropped hoodie! This handmade heart hoodie is perfect for keeping you cozy on chilly nights. A bright royal blue heart pops against a mint and fuchsia background for this lovely hoodie, but you can make it your own with your favorite Tulip One-Step Tie-Dye Kit!
13. Best Friends Matching Tees with Fabric Markers
You can easily make a handmade heart shirt with Tulip Fabric Markers, too! Fabric markers are great for writing and drawing on t-shirts— they won’t skip or snag, and they dry permanently without fading! To make this DIY for yourself and your BFF, use a black fabric marker to draw half of a heart and half of “BEST FRIENDS” on each shirt. These handmade heart shirts are made with lots of love!
14. DIY Cross Stitch Heart Socks with Puff Paint
Show some love from your head to your toes with handmade heart socks! This faux cross stitch project uses Tulip Puff Paints as easy alternative to traditional cross stitching; the puffy texture mimics classic needlework and takes a fraction of the time to finish! Alternatively, you can use Puff Paints on the soles to create DIY grip socks with a heart-shaped design. This versatile project has love in every “stitch”!
15. Heart-Shaped Glue Resist Tie-Dye Backpack
Have you tried the glue resist technique with your tie-dye creations? Here’s a unique tie-dye project that we know you’ll love! Use Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue to draw handmade hearts all over your project, then allow to dry completely before tie dyeing with your favorite One-Step Tie-Dye as usual. Rinse your project once the dye has processed, then allow to soak in warm water to soften the glue. Use your fingers to rub away the glue and reveal your heart-shaped designs!
What other handmade heart shirts and other heart projects will you create with Tulip? Show us your heart-shaped crafts and tag on social media @TulipColorCrafts!
Do you <3 making colorful creations like we do? Check out these links to get inspired for your next project!