It's Complicated | DIY RELATIONSHIP STATUS T-SHIRT

DIY Relationship Status T-Shirt | Motte's Blog

Let's just make this easy for ourselves. Not only on Valentine's Day, but all year through.

Am I in a fully committed, hopefully lasting and presumably loving relationship?

Yes. No. Maybe so.

Minus the "maybe so" because that's a little vague and doesn't help much at all.

It seems to be a thing, sharing our thoughts, feelings and personal details on the World Wide Web.

If you ask me nobody really needs to know whether I'm dating Jim, Bob or Bonny, but somehow we feel compelled to shout it from the rooftop. Virtually speaking. Through a speech bubble. On Facebook.

Single. Taken. Stalking my three boyfriends online.

Single. Taken. Will die with 50 cats.

I have friends who love to have their Facebook relationship status updated at all times because, well, because they're attention seekers. But others, they just want to make it easy for others to understand whether they are "available". Or, differently put, whether they're interested in being "pursued". You see, the words "in a relationship" can easily act as a protective shield blocking (most) unwanted evil disguised as the boy next door, the friendly barista, or the smiley co-worker.

It has, however, no guarantee to work against grabby drunks. A punch in the nuts is the only thing that really does the trick there.

Single. Taken. Too busy obsessing over fictional characters to date anyone real.

So if you know anyone who doesn't like a big fuss, just likes to get the information out there, or if you - like me - simply want a simple tee with a little bit of humor for this year's V-Day, this is the thing you should be making next!

Single. Taken. Depends on who's asking.

Even an on-again-off-again relationship is no longer a big deal. You simply reattach the little heart as needed and can head back out into the open.

Single. Taken. Hungry.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

MATERIALS.
- white t-shirt
- sticky back velcro
- sequins
- felt

TOOLS:
- fabric pen
- cardboard
- masking tape
- sequin glue
- scissors
- paper
- printer

Step 1: Print off your design onto a sheet of paper and, using the masking tape, attach to a sheet of thick cardboard that will fit nicely inside of your t-shirt.

Step 2: Insert the cardboard in between the front and back layer of the t-shirt. Once you are happy with the placement, trace the design onto the front with a fabric pen.

Step 3: Cut the velcro into squares. You need three squares from the loop (soft side), and one square from the hook (rough side). You can best figure out the placement of the velcro loops by cutting a heart from a piece of paper to see how much space it requires to sit nicely next to the font.
Peel the protective film from the back of the loops and stick those onto the shirt. This should hold pretty well. For extra security, hand sew the velcro onto the shirt with a few whipstitches.

Step 4: Trace the paper heart onto a sheet of felt. I used white felt, but would recommend red or pink felt in retrospect as it makes the heart shape more prominent.

Step 5: Embellish the heart by attaching sequins using sequin glue. Start with the outer rim, then add more sequins in the middle. Once the glue has dried, flip the heart and attach the velcro hook onto the back.

Attach the velcro hook to the desired loop and let everybody know where your heart truly lies.