Thanksgiving DIY Hand Print Shirt

With Thanksgiving quickly approaching, I want to share one of my favorite holiday DIY's with you.  I love the idea of preserving my child's sweet little hand print for years to come but it seems that paper crafts get stuck in the memory box never to be seen again.  They are also less likely to hold up over time- that's why I love working with fabric! Although my son can't wear this shirt year after year, I know that for years it will be as perfect as the day he wore it and when he gets older and I have a t-shirt quilt made for him, I get to include this shirt on it.

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{My sweet boy at the tender age of 1}

Here's what you'll need:

- Blank T-shirt (I personally like this brand. They also have a variety of colors and short & long sleeves options)

- Felt (This is a great price for a bundle. You can also buy individual sheets at a craft store)

- Thread (If you don't already sew, buying a  assorted collection like this is much cheaper if you need multiple colors)

- HTV & Silhouette or Iron on Letters

- Scissors and a Needle

- Paper & Pencil

Here's how to make it:
I didn't take step by step photos since I made this a couple years ago but it's so easy you wont need them.

[Step 1] Trace your child's hand on the piece of paper.  Cut around the outside of the design and then cut the "fingers" off (keep them in order so you remember which is which!)

[Step 2] Using the paper hand/fingers that you just cut as a pattern, cut a hand from brown felt and fingers from the colored felt.  This will be the body & feathers of the turkey.

[Step 3] Hand stitch the turkey parts onto your shirt.  This takes a little longer but I like the look of it over machine stitching for this craft.  I recommend using thread that matches the felt for each piece.  I do not recommend using heat-n- bond or fabric glue (non sewing alternatives) with felt.

[Step 4] Using thread, make legs, a beak and an eye.

[Step 5] Using your Silhouette machine, cut out your child's name and the year (or age) out of HTV.  Don't forget to mirror it before you cut when working with HTV!  If you don't have a cutting machine, iron-on letters (link in 'materials') will work just fine!

That's it!
Every time I see this shirt I think back to the first year he was able to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast and how much fun he was to watch! Those little hands have grown but he'll always be my baby and I'm so glad I have this memento to keep forever.