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Boy wearing a handmade navy blue t-shirt with a silhouette of Wall-E and a starry galaxy background.

Easy Galaxy Wall-E T-Shirt (& Disney Castle Shirt)

Last Modified: June 3, 2020 // by Tracy Ariza, DDS // June 2, 2020 I may receive a commission if you purchase through links in this post. Learn more here.

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How to make a quick and easy galaxy Wall-E t-shirt, a fun bleach spray shirt that's embellished with fabric paints to make a simple yet stunning design. #thethingswellmake #MIY #walle #bleach #tshirt #disney #crafts #kids #disneyprincess #fireworks #painting #paintingclothes #disneycastle #silhouette #tinkerbell #silhouettecameo #freezerpaper #silhouetteprojects

Kids love making these easy Disney shirts with some supervision. Learn to make a galaxy Wall-E t-shirt or a Disney castle fireworks t-shirt using the same simple method.

Boy wearing a handmade navy blue t-shirt with a silhouette of Wall-E and a starry galaxy background.
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When I first wrote this post in April of 2013, my son was obsessed with Wall-E. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to find Wall-E merchandise. My son wanted a Wall-E t-shirt, and since I love making t-shirts, I was happy to oblige.

The first Wall-E t-shirts I made him ended up being more complex than I hoped. I wanted something easier for the blog.

While watching the movie for the 48th time (that may be an exaggeration), the idea came to me!

I loved the scene of Wall-E reaching into the stars, and thought there must be a way to make a galaxy t-shirt with a silhouette of Wall-E.

We later ended up making another one of these t-shirts for his Wall-e birthday party.

DIY galaxy t-shirt

I didn’t expect that I was the first person to want to make a galaxy t-shirt. (Although I imagined that I might be the first person to want to make a galaxy wall-E t-shirt. ? )

So, I did a search for “how to make a galaxy t-shirt,” land came across a tutorial that used a basic bleach technique and fabric paint. (I used to link to the tutorial I followed, but it has since been removed.)

I wanted to take it one step further, though. My idea was to mask out an area with freezer paper. The freezer paper protects the material underneath from bleach and paint. That allows the silhouette to really stand out.

Materials

  • A dark blue or black t-shirt
  • Freezer paper
  • A spray bottle
  • Bleach – If you can find a gel-type laundry bleach, that’s best.
  • Fabric paint
  • Sponges
  • A fine paintbrush or old toothbrush
  • An iron
  • Parchment or baking paper

Making the silhouette t-shirt

First, choose the silhouette you want to use. I chose a silhouette of Wall-E for our first shirt. (I’ll show you an alternate idea for a Disney princess castle shirt below!)

I then cut that shape out of freezer paper. You can cut it out by hand using a pair of scissors or an x-acto knife.

If you happen to have a Silhouette Cameo, though, I made a silhouette cameo stencil. Click on the link to download the studio file for the Cameo if you have one.

The cool thing about freezer paper is that you can iron it onto fabric (shiny side down) and it will cling to the fabric. It can later be peeled off and won’t leave a residue on your shirt. That makes freezer paper an ideal stencil for t-shirts and other cloth projects.

Spray on bleach

Using a spray bottle, spray bleach over the stencil and lightly over all areas you want to be lighter in color.

Warning

Before you spray with bleach or paint the t-shirt, place a piece of cardboard between the top and bottom layers of the t-shirt. This will keep the bleach and paint from bleeding onto the backside of the t-shirt.

  • T-shirt with freezer paper stencil of Wall-E silhouette ironed onto the bottom.
    Iron the freezer paper silhouette onto the bottom of a dark, navy blue t-shirt.
  • t-shirt with freezer paper Wall-E stencil after having been sprayed with bleach
    Spray bleach over the stencil.

Advice

Before spraying the bleach on the t-shirt, practice with water in the spray bottle on a different surface. That will allow you to adjust the nozzle to the right amount of spray. Once you are able to control the spray, switch the water for bleach.

Add Fabric Paint

Next, dab on paints in a variety of colors to represent different groups of stars in the galaxy. I cut an old sponge into tiny pieces and used that to lightly dab on the colors.

To highlight individual stars, you can either splatter on some white stars with an old toothbrush, or you can manually paint them on with a fine paintbrush. You might even choose to use a combination of both techniques.

Another fun idea

Try painting some stars with glow-in-the-dark fabric paint for make the t-shirt even more fun!

  • Wall-E t-shirt after having sprayed with bleach, and as the painting of the galaxy clouds begins
    Dab on colors.
  • Closeup of t-shirt as starts are being painted around the freezer paint stencil of Wall-E's silhouette
    Paint on white stars.
  • Removing the freezer paper stencil of Wall-E's silhouette to reveal the dark navy unpainted t-shirt below.
    Peel off the stencil

Once you’ve finished painting, carefully peel off the freezer paper stencil. Admire in awe how Wall-E admires the beautiful colors of the galaxy around him!

If you have problem areas, you can fix them now or wait until after you’ve finished washing the shirt. (See troubleshooting below.)

Setting the t-shirt

Set the fabric paint with a hot iron. Follow the instructions for setting your particular fabric paints.

To protect your iron, I suggest covering the painted t-shirt with parchment paper or baking paper before ironing it.

Warning

Wash the shirt immediately after setting the paints to stop the bleach action from continuing!
If you wait too long, the bleach may damage the t-shirt.

Troubleshooting

Bleach bleeds under the stencil

The first time I made this shirt, some bleach soaked underneath my stencil. I had used a lot of liquid all-purpose bleach.

On other attempts, I’ve used a more viscous gel-type bleach made for laundry. (Here in Spain, some types of bleach are sold in the cleaning section and other types are sold in the laundry section.) When I have used that type of bleach, even at full strength, I haven’t had the same issue with bleeding underneath.

Close up photo of first galaxy wall-E t-shirt where the bleach had seeped underneath the freezer paper at the edges

I fixed the problem areas by covering them with black paint. I dabbed the paint on, making it look like there were stones and other objects in the dark, shaded parts of the t-shirt.

To preserve the lines of the silhouette, I used the unused half of my stencil to protect the painted areas. I ironed it onto the painted areas, leaving only Wall-E’s silhouette and the ground area in front of him exposed. I then sponged those areas with black paint, concentrating on the areas that were bleached.

Painting over the bleach mistakes on Wall-E's silhouette on the galaxy t-shirt

Paint blotches

If you flick the white stars on the shirt with a toothbrush, you may end up with some white blotches occasionally. Those blotches can be easily dabbed into the shirt to make another colored cloud.

Too much bleach

My son loves this shirt so much that we’ve it several times already. This last time, I decided to add a little bit of bleach at the very end of the process. I forgot, though, that I had already twisted the spray cap in order to close it. Rather than spray out in a fine stream, I ended up with big streams across the front of the shirt.

A newly finished galaxy Wall-E t-shirt after having been washed, hanging on a clothesline to dry

There isn’t much of a fix for too much bleach, other than camouflaging it with more paint. It wasn’t the look I was going for, but I think it looks pretty good anyway.

The Disney Castle Tinkerbell t-shirt

My niece liked my son’s shirt so much that she wanted to make one for her trip to Disneyland Paris. We were going to make another Wall-E shirt, but I came up with another idea…

I remembered seeing the beautiful fireworks displays around the Disney castles, and it occurred to me that fireworks are a lot like the colorful stars of the galaxy. I thought the idea would be perfect for a new kind of “galaxy silhouette” t-shirt.

We decided to use a silhouette of one of the Disney castles with Tinkerbell’s silhouette flying nearby for a bit of fun!

Navy blue t-shirt featuring a silhouette of the Disney castle and Tinkerbell flying on a colorful painted fireworks background.

If you have other ideas for this technique, I’d love to see them!

Video

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Boy wearing a handmade navy blue t-shirt with a silhouette of Wall-E and a starry galaxy background.

Disney Bleach t-shirts

Make these fun and easy Disney t-shirts with bleach and a bit of fabric paint. Kids love these, and they can help make these with adult supervision, of course.
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Prep time: 10 minutes
Active time: 15 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Author: Tracy Ariza, DDS

Equiment

  • spray bottle
  • sponges
  • scissors
  • Silhouette Cameo (optional for easily cutting out pattern)
  • iron
  • paintbrush or old toothbrush

Materials

  • dark colored t-shirt
  • bleach
  • fabric paint
  • freezer paper
  • baking paper

Instructions

  • Once you've chosen and cut out your silhouette from freezer paper, place the freezer paper silhouette onto the bottom of a dark, navy blue t-shirt with the shiny side down. Iron it at medium to high heat, until it has fully adhered to the t-shirt.
    T-shirt with freezer paper stencil of Wall-E silhouette ironed onto the bottom.
  • Spray on some bleach. Spray the bleach over the t-shirt, concentrating on the areas near the stencil so that the silhouette is highlighted.
    t-shirt with freezer paper Wall-E stencil after having been sprayed with bleach
  • Dab on Fabric Paint with a sponge: I used pink, light blue, yellow, and silver, blending them together in random clouds. Concentrate on the edges to make the silhouette stand out!
    Wall-E t-shirt after having sprayed with bleach, and as the painting of the galaxy clouds begins
  • Paint on some white stars: You can either splatter on some white stars with an old toothbrush, or you can manually paint them on with a fine paintbrush.
    Closeup of t-shirt as starts are being painted around the freezer paint stencil of Wall-E's silhouette
  • Peel off the stencil and admire your work! Set it with an iron and wash immediately before wearing it. (Notes below)
    Removing the freezer paper stencil of Wall-E's silhouette to reveal the dark navy unpainted t-shirt below.

Notes

Choose a silhouette and cut it out of freezer paper for your stencil. I have made a Silhouette Cameo studio file you can optionally use to easily cut it out.
Place a piece of cardboard between the top and bottom layers of the t-shirt before spraying on the bleach or painting. This will keep the bleach and paint from bleeding onto the backside of the t-shirt.
Before spraying on the bleach, I suggest practicing first by spraying from the bottle using only water. Once you feel you can control the spray, switch to bleach.
Set the fabric paint with a hot iron. Most fabric paints have instructions for how long and what temperature to use for that particular paint. Follow those instructions.
Wash the shirt immediately to stop the bleach action from continuing.
Tried making this? Tag me today!Mention @thethingswellmake or tag #thethingswellmake!

This post was originally posted on April 17, 2013. It was rewritten and updated with new information in June of 2020.

Category: Arts & Crafts

About Tracy Ariza, DDS

Tracy Ariza, B.A., D.D.S., left dentistry and the United States to found Oh, The Things We’ll Make!, writing to you from the Spanish Riviera. She loves making things herself in order to keep control of what goes in them. While far from perfect, she strives each day to live a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.

Previous Post: « Closeup of a glass of carbonated water with ice, garnished with a slice of lime. How to Make Soda Water (And Ways to Use it)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rachel

    May 8, 2021 at 8:58 PM

    Did you wash the shirt by hand the first time? I’m making two of the same shirts for my goddaughters. I didn’t know if I could wash them in the washer together or separate.

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      May 10, 2021 at 12:09 PM

      Hi Rachel,
      Yes, I washed in the machine without any issues. The day that my niece came over, we made two at once- the one with the castle for her and a new Wall-E shirt for my son. We washed them together too…
      Just try to make them at the same time and immediately wash them together so that the bleach isn’t eating away at the shirt for too long. šŸ˜‰

      Reply
  2. Sally Crouse

    April 18, 2020 at 4:00 PM

    Love this idea of combining the bleach with fabric paint! How much bleach and how much water do you put in the spray bottle?

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza, DDS

      February 6, 2021 at 11:00 PM

      Hi Sally,
      I’ve tried different combinations, and don’t really notice much of a difference. I’ve used full strength bleach and have also watered it down to a 1:1 ratio.

      Reply
  3. laura

    August 8, 2019 at 5:46 PM

    do you happen to have a link to the Castle and tinkerbell image u used? =) i really love this idea thanks!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      August 8, 2019 at 10:32 PM

      Hi Laura,
      Thanks!
      What I did was to Google search “silhouette Cinderella’s castle” and I found a lot of options. You can see some here: http://clipartmag.com/disney-castle-silhouettes
      I think I didn’t cut out the windows.
      Then I did the same thing for Tinkerbell. Here’s an example (at the bottom of the page): http://www.tattoobite.com/tattoos/tinkerbell-tattoos/page/51/
      I hope that helps.

      Reply
  4. Elora

    May 17, 2019 at 9:14 PM

    I love this so much! I’m definitely going to be making some of these with my daughter! I was wondering what you put over the shirt when you iron it- is it a fabric or some kind of paper? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Tracy Ariza

      August 9, 2019 at 12:14 PM

      Hi Elora,
      Thank you! šŸ™‚
      I use a baking (parchment) paper.

      Reply
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Hello, I’m Tracy!

I love making my own natural products like soaps and lotions and my own pantry items like yogurt and salad dressings.
Why do I do it? Sometimes to save money, sometimes because it's healthier, but I always love having control of the ingredients!​
Oh, the things we'll make!...

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