Remember when Mish posted about Audrey Kitching’s new clothing line, Coco de Coeur? Well, I think Audrey’s great; I love her hair and DIY fashion style, but I can’t afford her clothing {poor and pretty, remember?}, so I decided to take a page from her book and make my own shirt inspired by one from the Coco de Coeur line {first two images below courtesy of Coco de Coeur}:

I picked the trouble maker shirt because it’s a simple design and it almost looks like the letters are made from pieces of tape. The Coco de Coeur shirt sells for $35, but you can make your own for under $10. Here’s what you’ll need:

• plain white cotton shirt {white is the best, but you can use another very light color if you’d like}
• permanent fabric marker {use a brand new one or it may run out as mine did, but hey, this is DIY!}
• transparent tape {like Scotch tape}
• ruler
• pencil
• a piece of cardboard or the lid of a box small enough to fit inside the shirt {see first image below}
• scissors

I happened to have this white burnout v-neck lying around {covered in baby blue blotches after Stan washed it with the dark laundry}, but you can buy plain t-shirts at your local craft store for typically less than $10 each. Or, if you plan on making a few {or if you just really like plain shirts}, you can buy them in bulk online through wholesalers like Got Apparel, Blank Shirts, Blank Style, etc. You’ll find permanent fabric markers at craft stores, too.

Got all of your supplies? Okay! Here’s what to do:

1. Place the cardboard or the box lid inside your shirt. This is so that you have a flat surface to draw your letters on and it will also prevent “bleeding” of your marker onto the back of the shirt or the table you’re working on.

2. Cut pieces of transparent tape to form “stick letters” {for lack of a better term!}

3. Use a ruler and pencil to draw a very light straight line across your shirt. You’ll place the pieces of tape to form the letters of “trouble” on this line to ensure they’re even. Form your letters on the line, then erase it. {I made the first image really dark here so you can see the translucent letters easier… and the blotches of blue}.

4. Trace around the pieces of tape with your chosen fabric marker to form the outline of your letters.

5. After you finish the outlines for “trouble,” use your ruler and pencil to draw a line for “maker,” then reuse the pieces of tape from “trouble” to form the letters of “maker”.

6. Repeat step #4 for “maker”.

7. Color in the letters, wear, and take some great punk-rock, wasted youth photos. <3