Tattoos for Boys - Tattoo Shirt Sleeve Tutorial

Tattoos for Boys – Tattoo Shirt Sleeve Tutorial

My kids absolutely loved Moana! But what do you do for a little boy who loves a princess movie??? You turn him into a demigod! Maui’s tattoos are so cool in the movie and so I wanted to create a fun Maui demigod tattoo shirt! Here is how you can make your own shirt with tattoos for boys (or girls!)

Tattoos for Boys – Tattoo Shirt Sleeve Tutorial

Supplies:

Tank top

1 yard of flesh tone fabric

Fabric Markers

Instructions:

The first step is to draft the sleeve pattern. To do this grab a shirt that your kid doesn’t wear anymore or get one from the thrift store. Pick it apart. This is your template. The shirt I had was pretty small so I used it to get the right shape but added some length to make sure it was the right fit.

Trace the sleeve onto two layers of fabric. Cut out the sleeves. Before you start to add the drawings fit the sleeve and trim it to the right size. I trimmed right outside the pins after I fit this sleeve to my sons arm.

Now go ahead and draw your tattoos on. I was inspired by looking at images of sleeves online. Then I saw the preview for the new Disney movie set in Hawaii and I had to do something Hawaiian inspired!

I tried out both the fabric markers from the supply image at the top of this page and I really liked how both of them worked. There was definitely some hesitation on my part! I used cotton so if you wanted to use a knit you would definitely want to do a test area. But on the cotton it didn’t run or go outside the lines. I did like the double tipped ones because I could do fine lines with one side and brush strokes with the other.

Next press the bottom edge under and sew it in place. I used black thread and a decorative stitch to add to the tattoos.

Pin the sleeve right sides together and sew along the long edge.

Pin the sleeve in place around the edge of the tank arm on the inside of the tank with the wrong side of the sleeve facing out.

Sew the sleeve in place and repeat on the other side. I tried out some more colorful tattoos on the second arm, but I can’t lie I am definitely partial to the black tribal inspired tattoos!