Band T-shirts

[marisa]

let me start by saying everyone's shirts look great.

okay, i don't care if this hurts anyone's feelings: making a band t-shirt is shitty.  if you love a band enough to advertise for them on your body, shell out the cash.  i know some bands don't even have shirts available, or they're dead, so i think those are exceptions to the rule, but if a band is getting some of their income through merch, i don't think it's right to make a shirt (or anything) even if it's only for yourself.  if you want to be creative, buy their stuff and modify it.

[breeknee]

if you have a bealls outlet near you, i get my plain shirts there for .99 cents a piece. some of them are soft jcrew ones too. and in pretty colors and styles. bealls for those of you who dont know, is like a thrift store b/c there is usually only like one of everything, but everything is brand new. its the stuff not sold through clearance at the mall.

[Local Girl Denise]

Silk screening is possibly one of the best things in the world. I have made several band shirts, but only for myself and the odd person. I like my newest one the most. I made the image from an image in a radiohead book I got at chapters for 7 dollars.

[chikki sixx]

radiohead rocks.  that shirt turned out awesome!

[ChemicalsMyDear]

Wow that radiohead shirt looks marleous.   How'd you get it to look shaded with silk screening?

My friend is in an Art class where they can silk screen, so I asked her if she'd make one for me if I gave her the stencil. She's not finished yet, but when she's done I'll make sure I post it.

[ConanxheartsxAce]

I love those tees! I've made a few... dozen... (okay, I'll admit to having an obsession) of my own, + they're real easy. You can use anything from spray paint to paint pens to Sharpies. + you can make stencils out of any type of paper, easy, or hell, why not free-hand? All you need's an ounce of creativity + a paper bag inside the shirt as to prevent the dreaded bleed through.

[Le Conducteur]

That sucks about all that band business.  I work in college radio and used to be the MD...we'd get a couple of t-shirts a month from some cool bands, and of course some shitty ones too.  The only problem is that they send the generic men's XL.  I think that if some of those bands can get away with having such a large promotional budget to send a t-shirt to nearly every station in N. America (cause I'm in Canada and I still get the shirts)...then they wouldn't mind me making one in my size and wearing it around the station.

Oh, and I'm thinking of making a cute Snoop Dog t-shirt to wear with my chucks...and putting some sparkly bits in where the "bling" would be.  Any tips for someone who doesn't own a bedazzler?

[fairyprinzezzin]

A good place to get cheap, plain T-shirts is your local Salvation Army or Thrift Store.  Those are probably near everyone.  I get mine from the kids section for $0.49 - $0.99 each.  Great job on the T-shirts guys and gals!  

[SewcialDistortion]

I definitely recommend American Apparel too.  The tshirts are great quality, come in nice colours and last more than 5 washes which cheapies never do.  The fact that the tshirts are made sweatshop free and that I could order them over the internet and they were delivered within a week (that's US to Australia) made me even happier.  The sweatshop free practice and the use of band logos in your craft basically comes down to treating other people how you'd like to be treated yourself.  

If you value the cheapness over the quality of somone's working environment or don't mind exploiting someone else's name for your own benefit then don't be surprised when it happens to you and your art.  

If you are a fan and making them for yourself that's way cool and bands don't mind, but if you think you'll make a few bucks without the owners consent that's essentially theft.  

Every action has a consequence...its up to us.

[Anek]

Hi!
This is my first stencil It turned out rather good
and I'm happy I used a shirt with such a nice cut and fabric.
It's my fav. shirt I made it a couple of weeks ago using spray paint.