I’m not a big one for character clothes, and sometimes it’s hard finding kids’ clothes that don’t have cutesy sayings all over them. So in getting ready for the first day of school, consider customizing a plain ol’ dress or shirt!  You can usually find pretty inexpensive plain clothes any ol’ where, hiding in the kids’ section of WalMart or your local craft store–shirts for around $4 or a little dress shirt (like the purple one above) for around $9.

A tricky, fun tool to have is this fusible, iron-on web.  The directions are very easy, written on the back side of the package.  Super easy.

Simply stick the web like a sticker to the back side of the fabric you’d like to fuse to your clothing (in the case above, a brachiosaurus and pteranadon my daughter wanted on her dress shirt).  Then draw the design on your fabric and cut it out (it’ll have the fusible web stuck to it).  Then iron it on your clothing, and BOOM you have a customized piece of clothing of whatever you like!

You could do this for all sorts of things.  When I was in roller derby, we’d customize all sorts of things for ourselves.  It’s not just for kids!  Backpacks, bags, pants.  So far, it seems to have held up after several washings, and with living through the wear and tear of a 4-year old.  No sewing required, but I’m sure if you wanted to get crafty, you could embellish with beads or embroidery.  So have at it!  Get creative!

(On a side note, if you want to get your kid involved, I’ve also let ours go crazy on a $4 shirt with some Sharpie markers.  Now it’s one of her favorite shirts!)