5 Easy Ways to DIY St Patrick’s Day Shirts – Plus 14 Design Inspirations

St Patrick’s day is always a cheerful event, and the easiest way to join in is by dressing up with St Patrick’s day shirts. However, do you know you can make a shirt that fits the spirit of the day right at home? 

If you feel interested in the freedom to create your own Patrick day look, you are at the right place. In this guide, CustomAny will walk you through 5 methods to create your own St Patrick’s day shirts – in clear, step-by-step instructions. Along the way, you’ll find 14 design ideas to inspire you in styling your shirt. So, let’s get started!

5 Easy Ways to Make your own St Patrick’s Day Shirts

Creating your own St Patrick’s Day shirts can be simple and fun with the right approach. Here we have top 5 easy methods that let you bring your ideas to life:

1. Use Custom Iron-On DTF Transfers

One of the easiest ways to create unique St Patrick’s day shirts is by using custom iron-on DTF (Direct-to-Film) transfers. These transfers allow you to transfer the pre-printed design from a film to your shirt with heat and pressure.

This method allows you to pick anything for the designs, so your St Patrick’s day shirts can truly reflect your style and personality. For example, you can create shirts with:

• Shamrocks in different sizes and shades
• Fun phrases like “Let’s get ready for Luck” or “Where’s the Beer?”,…
• Rainbow patterns or leprechaun illustrations
• Personalized names or initials in green
• Signature symbols of St Patrick’s day like gold coins or pots of gold,…

The applying process of the iron on DTF transfer is straightforward. Your design is printed onto the DTF film first. Then, you place it on your shirt and use just your household iron to apply suitable heat and pressure onto it. The heat activates the adhesive on the film, bonding the design to the fabric. Then, you peel the film and leave only the printed design on the shirt.

You may want to read: “How to Apply Iron On Transfers Flawlessly“

This method is popular for making DIY shirts not only for St Patrick’s day for its highlighted features. Most importantly, the designs remain sharp with vibrant colors, giving your St Patrick’s day shirts a professional look. They hold up well in the wash, keeping your designs bright and detailed even after multiple uses. DTF transfers are also versatile and work well on various fabrics, including popular ones like cotton and polyester blends.

To achieve a professional-looking result, you can print iron-on transfers with us. We’ll have it printed and shipped to your door, and you can create your own St Patrick’s day shirts at home with these custom iron-on DTF transfers without the needs of extra tools.

2. Buy Fabric Embroidery Patches

Fabric embroidery patches are another fun way to add personality to your St Patrick’s day shirts. These patches are available in many shapes, colors, and designs, and you can easily find those in St Patrick’s day theme. Consider patches featuring:

• Shamrocks and leprechauns
• Colorful rainbow motifs
• Lucky phrases,…

Since the design is created by embroidery, these patches give your St Patrick’s day shirts a distinctive, tactile detail that printed designs sometimes lack. Besides, another advantage of using embroidery patches is their durability. They hold up well through washing and everyday wear without losing color is being torn out. And the best part of using these patches? You can mix and match multiple patches on the same shirt to create a unique layered look.

Note that some embroidery patches are designed to be applied with heat just like iron on DTF transfers, which makes the process quick and easy. Meanwhile, others are meant to be sewn onto your shirt, giving a more secure attachment and a handmade feel. So pick the types that suit your needs in making your own St Patrick’s day shirts.

3. Use Stencil Designs

Stencil designs are a simple and traditional way to get patterns on your St Patrick’s day shirts. If you don’t have artistic skills, you can pick pre-made shapes to create your shirt. You can also make your own stencil to create an outfit that perfectly matches your style. 

The process of creating designs on shirts is straightforward:

• Place the stencil on your shirt and secure it lightly with tape
• Apply fabric paint or spray fabric ink over the stencil
• Lift the stencil carefully and let the paint dry
• Follow the paint’s instructions for heat-setting to make it permanent

For this method, you can also layer your stencils or colors to create unique and extra depth designs for your St Patrick’s day shirts.

4. Fabric Hand Painting

How about hand painting on shirts? This method can give you St Patrick’s day shirts that feel truly personal and creative. It is the perfect way if you enjoy art and want to experiment with color and detail. 

To create St Patrick’s day by hand painting, you will need to:

• Place cardboard inside the shirt to avoid paint bleeding through
• Use fabric paints, brushes, or markers to create your design, step by step
• Let the shirt dry completely

This way, you can make lucky shirts that are interesting to wear on this St Patrick’s Day. The only thing to keep in mind is that this type of print is not very durable, so the shirt should be hand-washed and never put in the dryer.

5. Tie-Dye Techniques

We bet that this method – tie-dye, will bring the most interesting patterns to your St Patrick’s day shirts, making each shirt feel one-of-a-kind. 

Here’s how you can do it:

• Twist, fold, or tie your shirt with rubber bands to create patterns
• Apply green, yellow, white, or other colors you like
• Let the dye sit and absorb according to instructions of the colors
• Rinse carefully and wash to set the colors
• Remove the rubber bands and now you can see the unique pattern you’ve create

Since no two tie-dye patterns are the same, your shirt will be unique, with vibrant, fun results.

14 Design Inspirations to Nail Your St. Patrick’s Day Shirts

Thus, there are several easy and quick methods that you can use to create St Patrick’s day shirts. Now it’s time to look at some creative design inspirations that can make your shirts truly fun: 

Color-Focused Designs

Let’s start with the basic element – colors.

1. Green ombre

A green ombre shirt is never out of style for St Patrick’s day. You can put a lucky shamrock in the center of your green ombre shirt to create a center point and a festive look.

2. Green tie-dye on a yellow base shirt

Green and yellow pair perfectly for an Irish look. You should consider a yellow shirt decorated with green tie-dye patterns.

3. Rainbow tie-dye spiral in the center of the shirt

A rainbow spiral positioned in the middle of your shirt will draw the eye naturally. Consider adding small shamrocks to make this design more fun.

4. Pastel tie-dye with hand-painted shamrock patterns

A pastel tie-dye shirt serves as a gentle background for some hand-painted shamrock patterns. This combination will give you a St Patrick’s day shirt that no one else has.

Pattern-Based Designs

Repeating the signature St Patrick’s day patterns can make shirts look fun.

5. Shamrock mosaic

Consider tiny shamrocks forming the word “LUCK” or a heart shape. This design can be placed right at the chest area of your St Patrick’s day shirt.

6. Cute Rainbow designs with small shamrocks interspersed

Small shamrocks scattered among rainbow stripes will be a cute design for shirts, suitable even for kids.

7. Repeated Small four-leaf Clovers

Four-leaf clovers are popular designs for this day. You can either spread them across your shirt or concentrate them in certain areas.

Bold Artwork

Large graphics in the center of a shirt always stand out immediately. Let’s try them on a St Patrick’s day inspired:

8. Large pot of gold under a rainbow

A pot of gold beneath a rainbow works perfectly for a St Patrick’s day shirt. You need to adjust its size to ensure it draws attention without making the look overdo.

9. Large shamrock with “LUCKY” overlay

A big shamrock combined with bold “LUCKY” text never goes out of style when it comes to St Partrick’s day shirts.

Mixed Elements

How about combining text and graphics?

10. Slogan under a rainbow with glitter highlights

The best duo is always a short phrase under a rainbow artwork. To make this design more interesting, you can add tiny shamrocks or glitter accents. 

11. Playful lettering around a shamrock

Let’s try curved text around a shamrock to create a playful yet delicate look.

12. Lucky matching text for couple shirts

For a couple’s shirts, you can try coordinated phrases that link two shirts together. 

13. Family shirts with “Shamrock Squad” text

There are several designs suitable for family St Patrik’s day shirts, one of them is small shamrocks surrounding “Shamrock Squad” text.

14. Tiny Shamrock & Rainbow Crew for Kids

For kids, a design of mini shamrocks and little rainbows spread across the shirt will be a good choice.

Last words

With all the guides and suggestions above, we believe that now you can create your own St Patrick’s day shirts with confidence. Let’s choose the method that is suitable and bring your ideas to life. 

If you are a fan of using custom iron-on DTF transfers, remember that you can easily print them with us. Besides, for more guidance on using these transfers, you might want to check out additional tips on selecting colors, arranging patterns, and getting the best finish from your transfers. We have several blog posts to help you with all that here.