How to Make an 'I Can Do It!' Colour-In T-Shirt with Your Child.
Lola Olajide, founder of Ruthy Michaels mindful colouring books, is smiling and holding two colouring markers on an orange background.
In my last post, I shared how colouring an affirmation page can help a child start to believe "I can do this." [Read it here: I Can Do This: Colouring for Children's Confidence | Ruthy Michaels — Ruthy Michaels
But what about the moments away from the colouring table? The playground. The classroom door. The first swimming lesson.
So I took our "I Can Do It!" page off the paper and onto a plain white T-shirt. Now the reminder goes wherever your child goes, and they coloured it themselves.
Here's exactly how I made it, mistakes included, so you can make one together at home.
Watch how I made it
Prefer to read? The full steps are below.
What you need
A plain white or light-coloured cotton t-shirt, pre-washed
Fabric markers: a black one for outlines, plus your child's favourite colours
A piece of cardboard to fit inside the t-shirt
The "I Can Do It!" template, printed on A4
Masking tape
An iron and a thin cloth or tea towel
How to make it, step by step
Print the template at the right size. Use chunky outline letters with a little space between each one. For ages 7 to 9, aim for about 20 cm wide. For ages 9 to 11, about 23 cm (print that one in landscape). Always print at "Actual size," so it doesn't shrink.
Prepare the T-shirt. Wash it first without fabric softener, so the colour soaks in. Iron it flat, then slide the cardboard inside to stop the ink bleeding through to the back.
Position the template. Slip the printout under the front layer, on top of the cardboard. Place the top of the words about three fingers' width below the neckline, centered. Tape it down so it doesn't slide.
Trace the letters. On a white T-shirt, the lines show through. If they're faint, tape it to a sunny window. Trace gently with short, steady strokes.
Colour it in. This is your child's part. Let them choose every colour, one letter at a time. Fabric soaks up ink more than paper, so small strokes work best.
Outline in black. Once the colours are dry, go around every letter with the black fabric marker. This makes the words crisp and bright.
Add a little extra. We added a small cloud and a heart for fun. Your child could draw a star, a rainbow or their initial.
Set the colours. Let everything dry fully. Then iron over the design, with no steam, through a cloth, for a few minutes. Check your marker packet for exact timings. Wash inside out on cold.
My honest tip: don't skip the black outline
My first version didn't look quite right. The colours were lovely, but the ink spread into the fabric, and the letter edges went soft and fuzzy.
Version one: lovely colours, but the edges needed a little help.
So I went around every letter in black. It made all the difference. The words became bold and clear, and the colours finally popped.
After the black outline: bold, clear and ready to wear. "I can do it!"
And honestly? That's a lesson in itself. The first try doesn't have to be perfect. You can always go back and improve it. That's what "I can do it" really means.
Why wearing the words matters
A colouring page stays on the table. A t-shirt goes out into the world.
Every time your child catches it in the mirror, or a friend reads it out loud, they hear that sentence again. And because they coloured it themselves, it doesn't feel like something an adult told them. It feels like theirs.
It's also a gentle conversation starter. "What's something you did today that you thought you couldn't?" is an easier question when the answer is written across their chest.
Make one together
Want a little calm for yourself too? Grab our free 10-Minute Reset Kit.
Looking for more affirmation pages to colour? Explore our children's colouring books: [https://www.ruthymichaels.com/for-my-child]
If you make one, I'd love to see it. Share a photo and tag us [@ruthymikky]
