Learn how to make your own Wifey and Hubby shirts with fabric paint and freezer paper. Perfect wedding gift idea for the newlyweds!

Are you a matching t-shirt kind of gal? I know I am! And I believe the easiest time to ever get the hubby to wear matching shirts is right after you get married!

Hopefully, he’ll be a trooper and wear them for years to come (ie family Disney shirts!), but if you want to get him used to it then making these simple wifey and hubby shirts would be perfect for a honeymoon.

I didn’t use iron-on vinyl on these shirts since I have a ton of videos on how to cut and weed vinyl, how to apply HTV with an iron, with a heat press and even with a Cricut EasyPress.

Instead, I’m going to show you all about fabric painting on a t-shirt and in two different ways. Plus I have free SVG files and a full video tutorial for you!

On this post, I will be showing you how to make a hubby t-shirt using a freezer paper stencil (the same way I painted on burlap for my farmhouse decor). Then in the next post, I will show you screen printing DIY.

If you are in the midst of planning your wedding, make sure to check out how to make wedding favor bags and DIY Mr. and Mrs. cake topper.

Table of Contents

Materials Needed for Wifey and Hubby Shirts

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and/or Cricut.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text).

- shirts
- Cricut cutting machine – always check prices between Cricut.com and Amazon (click links to compare!)
- Freezer Paper – found here or cheaper at Walmart
- Cricut Light Grip Mat
- Iron or EasyPress2
- Speedball paint and paint brushes
- wax or parchment paper or teflon sheet
- FREE SVG Files – see below

Video Tutorial For Freezer Paper Shirts

Make sure to watch the video with the volume on to watch the steps in action.

Preparing the Freezer Paper Stencil

Before you cut, move the image a little in and down on the screen preview screen. You’ll want some edges around your design so you don’t paint on to the shirt.

Set the material to Freezer Paper. You can search for it in the drop-down menu of the Maker or the custom settings of the Explore family.

Place a piece of freezer paper SHINY SIDE DOWN on a light grip mat. Smooth it down with a brayer or scraper.

When the Cricut prompts you (blinking light), load the mat. When green light starts blinking, press it to cut.

Let the machine do it’s magic! When it’s done, press the unload button.

Since we are going to be using this as a freezer paper stencil, you will need to weed OUT the letters.

Painting the Wifey and Hubby Shirts

The magic of using freezer paper is that the wax side (shiny side) will melt when heat is applied to it and adhere to the fabric. This provides a bit of a seal for painting on fabric and then lifts off easily.

For the heat source, you can use an iron or an EasyPress. I had my EasyPress nearby so it was easy to use. An iron might be a little bit easier to use since you can see the edges better and push into with the tip of the iron. Check out my painting on burlap with freezer paper to see how I used an iron.

I heated the shirt for a few seconds to get out the wrinkles.

Put a piece of wax or parchment paper inside your shirt so the paint doesn’t run through to the back side.

Carefully pull up the freezer paper from the mat and place it in the middle of your shirt. Leave all of the insides of the letters on the mat for now – don’t throw them away!!

Once it’s where you want it, start applying heat to the edge of it and then move towards the center if using an iron. I placed my EasyPress over the bottom and then made sure the top was straight before I pressed the top.

Apply heat to the whole thing and pay particular attention to the edges of the letters. You can gently pick at with your finger to make sure it’s sealed.

Now this is probably the most annoying part. You’ll have to pick up the extra pieces from the mat and place them on the shirt. The big ones are easy, so I did those first. I placed all the big ones in their corresponding letters and pressed again with the EasyPress.

Then you’ll have to pick up the smaller pieces with tweezers or a weeding tool and use your finger to get them in the center of the little letters and press them with your heat source. Or you can always leave them off for a different letter look!

So once the freezer paper stencil is on the wifey and hubby shirts you are ready to paint.

I used what I think is the best fabric paint – Speedball paint and a flat paint brush. You could also use a paint dabber too. Try not to push too hard. You don’t want the edges to lift up. Also, try to get the paint as even as possible.

The Finals Steps of Your Painted Shirt!

Let the paint dry for a while (20-30 minutes). I get impatient and probably peel it off too soon, but you should wait until it’s dry to the touch so you don’t run the risk of getting paint on other parts of the shirt.

Slowly pull up the freezer paper stencil.

Now use a weeding tool or tweezers to pull off the extra pieces inside the letters. If the paint is still a little dry, make sure to wipe off your tool in between so you don’t transfer some paint onto the shirt. I pulled up the piece with a weeding tool and then used my fingers to pull the rest off.

Let it fully dry. Then you’ll need to heat set it so it stays on during washings. You can use an iron, heat press or EasyPress for this. I set my EasyPress to 325, placed a Teflon sheet over it and pressed for 45 seconds. You can do the same with a heat press or use an iron and iron over the paint for 3-5 minutes on each side. Wait 5 days before washing.

Repeat all the same steps for your wifey shirt and you are all set!

FREE Wifey and Hubby Cut Files

I have two different variations so you can use whichever you like. You could also use the files to make iron-on vinyl shirts.

As with all my files, these are for personal use only. If you would like to purchase a commercial use license, click here.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SVG FILE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD PNG FILE

If you need additional help with this step, make sure to watch my video tutorial on how to download and upload files to Cricut Design Space.

If you’d like to save this idea for later, hover over the top left of the image below and PIN It now.

Here are some printable instructions.