I came across the idea for making crayon drawings into iron-on crayon transfer designs several years ago. But it wasn’t until I was looking for some way (other than the promise of cupcakes) to get my young children excited about attending their older cousin’s baby shower that I realized how beautifully this quick craft might transform into a handmade gift. 

A few days ahead of the event my 4 and 6yo sat down with pieces of sandpaper I’d cut down to fit some plain white cotton onesies. My only instruction was for them to draw something fun and happy for the baby to wear.

We also created designs for ourselves, naturally.

Once they had done the hard work of coloring, I took over with the iron. The whole project took only a matter of minutes, honestly.

I was a little nervous at the outset, but these turned out SO well! I was delighted with the final results, and proud of my kiddos imaginative drawings.
What’s truly best was the plan to get them involved and invested in the baby shower worked. My children were excited and proud to wear their own designs, and to give their cousin a set of custom made onesies for her new baby!

To make your own one-of-a-kind masterpieces, you will need:

• spray bottle of water
• crayons (standard – not washable)
• sheet of sandpaper (trim to size)
• an iron

Then, just follow these simple steps:

1. Color on sandpaper
2. Flaten shirt/onesie
3. Spray water on drawing on sandpaper
4. Place sandpaper face down on t-shirt/onesie
5. Run the iron (NO steam) over the sandpaper from edge to edge – approximately 10-20 seconds
6. Lift one corner gently to see if the image transferred. If not, repeat with iron.
7. Remove sandpaper and toss the shirt in a low dryer for 30 mins to set the crayon into the fabric.
8. The finished creations should be washed cold and dried low.

TIPS: Do not use washable crayons, as they will bleed and transfer in the drying process. Do not OVER color one area – again, it will lead to excess crayon being transferred to other parts of the shirt in the dryer.