Okay, so I saw this “Mike Leach Pirate Shirt” thing trending and, well, I had to try and make one myself. You know, for the laughs and maybe to wear to a game sometime.
First, I googled around to see what this shirt even looked like. Turns out, it’s basically just a picture of Mike Leach’s face with a pirate hat and an eye patch slapped on. Pretty simple, right?
Getting the Materials
I figured I needed a few things:
- A plain t-shirt. I went with black because, pirate.
- Some printable iron-on transfer paper. You can grab this at most craft stores.
- A printer, of course.
- Scissors.
- An iron.
Making the Design
I found a decent picture of Mike Leach online. Nothing fancy, just a regular * I used a free online photo editor and opened up the picture.
I added the pirate hat and eyepatch. This part took a bit of fiddling, resizing, and rotating to get it looking somewhat right. I’m no artist, but it got the job done.I Made the size to fit the printing paper.
Printing and Ironing
Once I was happy with my goofy pirate design, I printed it out onto the transfer paper. Important tip: Make sure you follow the instructions on your transfer paper! Some of them require you to mirror the image before printing, or it’ll come out backward on the shirt.
After it was printed, I carefully cut out the design with scissors, leaving a small border around it. Then, I placed the design face-down on the t-shirt, exactly where I wanted it. I preheated my iron to the setting recommended on the transfer paper instructions (usually cotton, no steam).
Then came the ironing. I pressed down firmly with the iron, moving it slowly and evenly over the entire design. Again, the instructions on the transfer paper are key here – they’ll tell you how long to iron for. Don’t rush it!
The Big Reveal
After I was done ironing, I let the shirt cool down completely. This is important, or the design might not stick properly. Once it was cool, I carefully peeled off the backing paper.
And there it was! My very own, slightly janky, Mike Leach Pirate Shirt. It’s not perfect, but hey, it’s unique, and it definitely gets a few chuckles.I showed it to my families. They all laughed!
If you’re a Mike Leach fan, or just like silly DIY projects, give this a shot. It’s a fun, cheap way to show your spirit (and maybe your questionable crafting skills).
