K for Kashubia

Somebody has asked me what the creature on my T-shirt is.

It is a griffin, mythical animal - half-eagle, half-lion. It is also the crest of Kashubians, an ethnic (Slavic) minority group, who live in the Pomeranian region of Poland. 

Kashubians have their own language, a flag (black and yellow), and an anthem.
I have no family connection to Kashubians, but I lived in Kashubia all my Polish life. In that way, Kashubian music and traditions are part of me.

One of the cutting boards I have decorated, with Kashubian motifs, of course

 

 

And my hand-painted T-shirt (one of a few) with a Kashubian pattern. People tend to think it is an overprint.

However, in Poland, I never had and never wore a Kashubian folk outfit. If somebody had told me then that I would wear one in Texas, I would have taken it as a good joke.

 

At the State Fair of Texas in Dallas

 

Well, we both did wear Kashubian folk costumes when we were part of a Polish-American folk dance ensemble. 

 

At the Dallas International Festival

 

We enjoyed that and, at the same time, were quite proud of our outfits too. 

 

Me in Kashubia, years ago.

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"My Polish Alphabet" is about things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.

My Haind-Painted Tops and T-Shirts

I have not shown you these shirts and tops, yet. They are the results of the hand-painting on the fabrics which is my hobby.

I have painted all the plain T-shirts which I have got so I gladly welcomed the four summer tops which I received from my mom. More space to paint on!

I really like the traditional Pomeranian/ Kashubian folk patterns, they are the ones which I use in my painting most often. However, the pink top has a different kind of folk shapes.

The t-shirts which I painted as a gift for my mom. Various colors of the background make the pattern look different. The white and yellow material emphasizes the tones of all the shapes and flowers the most.

Some people - when they see my T-shirts - tend to think it is just a print. Some assume they were embroidered and are rather surprised to hear it is all hand-painted, and need to touch the pattern to believe it.

Which combination - background color/pattern do you like the most?

More hand-painted T-shirts which I have decorated myself here.

My Hand-Painted T-shirts: Gifts

Recently, I have painted some more t-shirts. They were gifts for ladies in my family and friends.
As usual, I decorated all the t-shirts (besides one) with some folk motifs of Kashubia.

I need your advice and opinion, what do you think?

• Which pattern do you like best?
• Which t-shirt would you like to get?
• Which t-shirt color would you choose for yourself?

Pattern #22

Pattern #15/1

Pattern #12

Pattern #23

Pattern #23/1

My own design - Pattern 10/1

More patterns and examples of my hand-painted items here.

My New, Hand Painted T-Shirt

I love painting T-shirts. I find it not only relaxing but also entertaining. Besides, I enjoy creating things and wearing pieces of clothing which are quite unique. Obviously, nothing is original about a plain, regular t-shirt. Thanks to the design I paint on the fabric, it becomes something different - something that nobody else has. And I like it!

The angel is part of the series of  little creatures I designed a long time ago when I was about 16. Since then, the little 'girl' and notebooks. In a way, the drawings are part of me. Inspired by my husband, I thought it is time to show them/myself to the world.
The flowery motif, with a thistle in the center, is another folk pattern of Kashubia ( region of Poland).

More examples of my hand painted stuff HERE.

How to Make an Old T-Shirt Interesting Again

If you happen to have an old T-shirt which seems to be no longer interesting, you can try to improve it and make it look nicer.

1. The easiest way - find a decorative element and sew it on your T- shirt. Well, if you are not good at handling a needle, get an applique badge which you iron on with heat, to attach it to the surface.
2. Another way of decorating a boring piece of clothing is painting it. And this is what I enjoy most!
3. Simply choose a pattern you like and have fun (doing the painting) :-). 
4. When you do not like the effects of your work, all in all, it is just an old T-shirt. You can wear it at home only or throw it away. Just dare to be creative.

See what I have done!

First, I sewed on the apple badge

Then I painted some flowers - a Kashubian pattern of course.....

Later I painted more flowers...

And here it is!

An old - new T-shirt

The back is a result of: do what you feel like doing ;-)

Hope you like it as much as I do.

See my other 'hand-painted projects' here.

Another Hand Painted T-Shirt

I painted this T-shirt yesterday. The pattern (of Kashubia, as usual) was a kind of tiring to deal with, due to its symmetry and repetitiveness of the same elements. Sketching it all lasted for ages and made me tired of drawing the same things again and again. The small parts of the design were a bit difficult to color and required very careful hand moves and the use of paint.
Despite it all, I enjoyed the painting work and I do like the results of it too.

My Winter Hand Painted Creations

Spring is about to start, so it is high time I told you about my shirts which I painted in the winter.

1. Just a usual turtle neck shirt which was quite blank and boring, meaning both the style and color. That was why I rarely wore it. Now, with the flowery motif and little flowers on the neckline, it looks different.

A bit of paint made such a nice change and it turned the shirt into a more interesting (at least I think so) piece of clothing.

 

2. That summer shirt made me look unhealthy - pale pink and pale me did not match well at all.

The painting has added some colors/expression to the shirt and I am going to enjoy wearing it when it is warm enough to come back to sleeveless clothes again.

3. In my opinion, a regular T-shirt is just another uninteresting and style-less wardrobe item.
It makes a good 'canvas' for my Kashubian folk patterns though. T-shirts of bright colors make  especially good background for the (primary) shades of those traditional designs. When decorated, I really like wearing them. Also because, in a way, they are original. I painted them myself and, more over, nobody else has exactly the same T-shirt like mine..

Which of the three ones do you like best?

My Hand Painted T-Shirts: Pattern #15/ Moja Malowana Koszulka: Wzór 15

This t-shirt, decorated by myself, was a present for one of the fellow Polish Ladies Abroad Club members. In December we had our Secret Santa gift exchange. I decided to send the lady something she could not get at any store.
The pattern is obviously my usual - a folk motif of the region of Kashubia. It is the part of Poland which is closest to my heart due to my background. I find great enjoyment in such painting on fabrics and its results as well. No matter what other guys think of my creations.
Although I have already painted most of my plain shirts and blouses, I am going to leave some as they are - just plain - for a change (and for clothes matching purposes).

My designs and the patterns I paint are similar. However, at the same time they differ: some are smaller, some bigger, some are simple, some more sophisticated. I like them all. Including the figures of my own design. I do love the little creatures!
The pattern which you can see in the pictures below is one of my favorite ones.
How about you? See all of them here. Which one do you like best?

Tę koszulkę pomalowałam w prezencie dla jednej z Klubowych Koleżanek, w ramach naszej grudniowej akcji 'Secret Santa'. Wzorek oczywiście z serii moich ulubionych motywów kaszubskich, związany z bliskim mi regionowi Polski.

Znajduję wielką przyjemność w takim malowaniu, także w jej rezultatach (niezależnie od tego, czy innym się podoba). Pomalowałam już prawie wszystkie moje jednokolorowe koszulki i bluzy - kilka zostawię w oryginalnej gładkiej i nudnej wersji - dla zwykłej odmiany.

Wzory są pododne, ale różnią się rozmiarem i ilością elementów dekoracyjnych. Lubię je wszystkie, nie mówiąc o pamperkach mojego własnego wymysłu i projektu.
Motyw na zdjęciu poniżej jest jednym z moich ulubionych.
A Tobie, który z wzorów (zobacz tutaj) na udekorowanych przeze mnie koszulkach podoba się najbardziej?

My Hand Painted T-Shirts: Pattern #12

The shirt which you can see in the picture blow is my old piece of clothing which I used to find boring. It was plain orange and I hardly ever wore it. That was why I  decided to make it more interesting. In the summer I am going to find the shirt much more useful as it is colorful and flowery now. Besides, nobody else has got such a piece so it will be cool to wear it and show it to the world!

 

Another version of this pattern on a different background.

 

 

My Hand Painted T-Shirts: Pattern #11

I painted a sweatshirt which I am going to wear when it gets colder. I decorated it with a piece of Kashubian folk pattern (Kashubia is a region in Poland).

I use brand new, cotton T-shirts. The painting process requires pre-washing the fabric. That is why I wash and iron each and every T-shirt before I start painting my patterns on them. The painting itself is rather time-consuming. Due to the paints properties, I usually need to put the layers of paint gradually, so it takes me at least a couple of days (not to mention the time of pre-washing, drying and ironing) to decorate a T-shirt. I love it and very much enjoy painting my shirts.

My Hand Painted T-shirts: Pattern #6

Here is another T-shirt painted by myself. I love painting on fabric. I use brand new, cotton T-shirts. However, the painting process requires pre-washing the fabric. That is why I wash and iron each and every T-shirt before I start painting my patterns on them. The painting itself is quite time-consuming. Due to paints properties, I need to put the layers of paint gradually, so it takes me even up to three days (not to mention the time of pre-washing, drying and ironing) to decorate a T-shirt.
I love the results though!

The pattern is a folk motif of Kashubia - region in Poland.

Check out our other patterns - wall decor boards and T-shirts here.

My Hand Painted T-shirt: Pattern #4

This t- shirts design contains a character which I created when I was sixteen and a flowery folk motif.

I use brand new, cotton T-shirts. However, the painting process requires pre-washing the fabric. That is why I wash and iron each and every T-shirt before I start painting my patterns on them. The painting itself is quite time-consuming. Due to paints properties, I needed to put the layers of paint gradually, so it took me even five days (not to mention the time of pre-washing, drying and ironing) to decorate the T-shirt.

You can read more about the paintings included on the T-shirt here.

I love my t-shirts, no matter what you think of the patterns. :)

 

 

Check out our other patterns - wall decor boards and T-shirts here.

 

 

My Hand Painted T-shirt - Pattern #3

This is a t-shirt which I decorated for my husband. The design contains two characters which I created when I was sixteen and a flowery folk motif. I am really happy that he likes wearing the t-shirt!

I use brand new, cotton T-shirts. However, the painting process requires pre-washing the fabric. That is why I wash and iron each and every T-shirt before I start painting my patterns on them. The painting itself is quite time-consuming. Due to paints properties, I needed to put the layers of paint gradually, so it took me even five days (not to mention the time of pre-washing, drying and ironing) to decorate the T-shirt.
You can read more about the paintings included on the T-shirt here.

 

Check out my other patterns - wall decor boards and T-shirts here.

 

 

My Folk Art, Hand Painted T-Shirt: Pattern #2

This is one of my favorite t-shirts and patterns painted by myself.
I love painting on fabric. I use brand new, cotton T-shirts. However, the painting process requires pre-washing the fabric. That is why I wash and iron each and every T-shirt before I start painting my patterns on them. The painting itself is quite time-consuming. Due to paints properties, I need to put the layers of paint gradually, so it takes me even up to three days (not to mention the time of pre-washing, drying and ironing) to decorate a T-shirt. But I love it!

Check out our other patterns - wall decor boards and T-shirts here.

 

My Folk Art T-Shirt #1

I have been thinking of decorating T-shirts for quite a long time. Finally, The day came I did paint my first T-shirt. You can see the results of it in the pictures included below. I was not sure how it all would work as I had never done it before. It appeared, fabric painting is quite a time-consuming process - you need to wait for several hours till the first layer of paint gets dry and is ready to add other colors. But I did enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Frankly speaking, I also quite like the final effect of my first T-shirt painting attempt.

I am planning to decorate more (brand new, blank) T-shirts, with similar patterns which I painted on the wall decor boards. Meaning: the little creatures designed by myself and folk patterns of the Kashubian region (Poland). You can see those boards here.

Check out our other patterns - wall decor boards and T-shirts here.

My Folk Art T-shirt #1

My Folk Art T-shirt #1

My Decorated Boards - Wall Decor Pattern #6

This time the board is decorated with a folk pattern (only) of Kashubia - region of northern Poland.
It is a wall decor item and cannot be used as as a kitchen cutting board of course. Actually it is displayed in our kitchen.

 

Pattern #6

Check our other patterns here.

Little Texan - Wall Decor Pattern #5

Here is another board (pattern #5) with my Little Texan character.
The design contains 'a boy' - one of the characters which I created long time ago and a flowery folk motif of Kashubia region. Another board by myself - displayed in our kitchen of course. :)

You can read about the meaning of the flowery patterns and the story behind the character included on the board - here.

Little Texan & My Pattern #5

 

Check our other patterns here.