DIY 3 year old birthday applique

I upcycled a white t shirt from my husbands donate pile to make one for Aiden.  I wanted him to have a personalized 3rd birthday tshirt and rather than buying/ordering one, I decided to make one.    

I used the free pattern from MADE to make him the white t shirt.  I used adobe illustrator to find a font I liked and printed out the number 3 as well as racing flags to use as a pattern.  

This is how I made his shirt:

I laid out black and white checkered fabric, pinned on my pattern and cut out the number 3 and two racing flags.  Then I pinned and cut out the number 3 and two racing flags of interfacing.  

I pinned the fabric and interfacing onto the front of the tshirt.  I loaded up red thread, chose zig zag stitch and shortened the length and width settings on my sewing machine.  Then I slowly went around the number 3. I switched to black thread for the racing flags and free handed the flag poles.  

This was my first time and I think it turned out pretty good.  Next time I think I'll add a piece of fabric or interfacing unerneath the shirt to make the appliqué/stitching smoother.