I sometimes struggle to think of things to make for Ethan, not that he doesn’t have enough things he likes, it’s just much easier for my brain to think up girly ideas. So Izzy sometimes ends up with more things sewn for her than Ethan, so I’ve decided that I need to make them more even. So hopefully you’ll be seeing more boy projects around here!

Today I’ll walk you through how to do the reverse applique dinosaur. It’s really simple, and I find it easier to get right than the traditional applique!

Start off with a clearance tee (it was £3 for both, love H&M’s sales!).

Chalk on your image where ever you want it to be. I decided I wanted mine to be walking around his top to the front.

You may notice that this shape appears a lot on Ethan’s things. Turns out that he loves triceratops and I get to use the stencil I cut lots of times. Win for me! In fact I save all the stencils I do, the insides can be traced around over and over, and the outside can be used for freezer paper stenciling.

Use a scrap of fabric larger than your design and pin it on the inside of your tee. (This is me checking it’s big enough.)

All pinned…

Then sew around the chalk outline with a contrasting thread.

Trim the fabric around the back, it doesn’t need to be at all neat.

This bit’s tricky to photograph, but pinch the tee layer away from your scrap fabric layer and cut a little hole in the shape.

Then trim around the whole shape, leaving a small margin. If you were really neat you could start cutting at the edge and use the inside of the shape as an applique for something else! I know, I’m that cheap and lazy!

There you have it. One super thrifty, unique top for the little guy in your life.

And you could mix this up anyway you like. A flower or butterfly for a girl would look really cute too! Or embellish a tote for yourself.

Related posts:

boy applique tee footstool slip cover (tutorial) Easy bunting tutorial