So, I had this phase, right? Kept seeing stuff about ‘fang clothing’. Not like, actual fangs, but designs. You know, little vampire teeth graphics on collars, pockets, stuff like that. Looked kinda edgy, kinda cool in the pictures online. And me, being me, thought, “Why buy it when I can make it?” Famous last words, let me tell you.
I figured, how hard could it be? Get a plain black shirt, some white fabric paint or maybe those iron-on transfer sheets. Simple. So off I went to the craft store. Got myself a cheap tee, some paint, feeling pretty confident. Like, super confident. Pictured myself rocking this cool, subtle fang shirt I made myself. Yeah, right.
Got home, washed the shirt like you’re supposed to. Laid it out flat. Sketched a little fang design on some paper first. Looked good on paper. Then came the paint. Fabric paint is… tricky. It’s either too thin and bleeds everywhere, or too thick and looks gloopy. Mine decided to be both. I tried painting these neat little fangs on the collar points. One side looked okay-ish, maybe a bit shaky. The other side? Disaster. Total smudge fest. Looked less like sharp fangs and more like… melted marshmallows? It was bad. Really bad.
Okay, plan B. Maybe iron-ons? Went back, got some white iron-on vinyl. Cut out the fang shapes meticulously this time. Felt like I was doing surgery. Got the iron heated up just right, placed the little vinyl fangs carefully on a different shirt (the first one was a lost cause). Pressed down with the iron, followed the instructions to the letter. Peeled back the plastic sheet and… half the fang stayed on the plastic, the other half was a wrinkled mess on the shirt. Tried again on another spot. This time it stuck, but slightly crooked. And honestly? It just looked… cheap. Like a sticker slapped on.
I just stared at these failed shirts. The smudged paint one, the wrinkly crooked iron-on one. And I had this moment. It wasn’t about the fangs anymore. It was realizing that sometimes, the idea you have in your head is way cooler than the actual thing. Especially when you try to DIY something you saw online that was probably professionally made. And also? Maybe trying to look ‘edgy’ with little cartoon fangs on my shirt wasn’t really my style anyway. Felt a bit silly, trying too hard.
So, what happened to the shirts? The painted one became a designated ‘messy jobs’ shirt for painting walls or whatever. The iron-on one? I think I peeled the vinyl off eventually, or maybe it just fell off in the wash. Can’t remember. The whole ‘fang clothing’ experiment fizzled out pretty quick after that. It wasn’t some big life lesson, just… one of those things you try. Sometimes you nail it, sometimes you end up with melted marshmallow blobs and crooked stickers. And that’s okay. Just makes for a decent story, I guess. Better to try and fail than not try at all, right? Still wouldn’t recommend fabric paint though. Messy stuff.
