This post is in collaboration with Cricut. All opinions are my own!
It’s officially November and though I’m in bed sick I’m feeling all the Christmas feels and I’m ready to decorate, like fully decorate the entire house!
And while I work on feeling better, I’m also updating my Christmas wardrobe and that means all the Christmas sweatshirts and tees!
If you have been here for a while you also know I’m pretty much obsessed with all things Christmas and all things Cricut which make the perfect pairing to achieve all my DIY dreams!
You can find our previous DIY shirts here and here, but today I want to share a few tips I have learned along the way and a more in-detail tutorial!
When making shirts with Cricut you will need the following items.
- Cricut Machine ( I have this Cricut Maker 3)
- Cricut Iron-on vinyl or Infusible ink. There are other brands but as someone who has tried them all, I recommend staying with Cricut.
- Cricut press
- Shirt or sweatshirt. Cricut also has its blanks and I love the quality of these for the entire family.
Tips on Making a Cricut Iron on Shirt
What’s the Cricut Design Center and How to Use it!
The Cricut design center is the app to customize and create all your designs. It has many and I mean many great and unique designs. The design center also lets you upload SVG files you find and buy online as well as fonts! The idea is to make your shirt as personalized as possible! To have it fit your style! Etsy has many designs to choose from!
I came up with this one and just used a font on the Cricut Design center and I loved how it turned out!
Measure your sweatshirt or Tee
Measuring your shirt or Sweatshirt is the key to getting the right size for your design. This can be easily done with the same mat but feel free to use a measuring tape to get this done. I normally use my mat and eyeball it!
Mark the center of your shirt or sweatshirt
This is one of the oldest tricks in the books but it’s the most helpful in mine!
Fold your garment in half and after the press is warm press the front and back! Remember the hot dog and hamburger fold?! Yeah, you will need to do them both! Make sure there is a visible line right down the middle (width and length). This will help you make sure your design is completely centered.
If you want your design off-center, ex: on a corner, the fold will help you have the design straight no matter the placement!
Now to the actual instructions on how to make a Cricut Iron Shirt. If you read any of my previous posts the instructions are pretty simple but I’ll walk you through another shirt.
What do you need?
You need a Cricut maker 3, for larger designs. Cricut has various machines and this one is a very fast one and big
A Cricut easypress
Infusible or iron-on vinyl. (heat transfer)
Right now Cricut has a sale where you can get 50% off materials and accessories.
Pick your design
As mentioned above Cricut Design Space has beautiful pre-made designs that you can simply edit and make your own shirt design . You also have the option to find an SVG file online or make your own and upload it to the Cricut design center to add to your design.
Getting ready to print your design
Before printing, there are a few things you need to check
- Make sure it’s the right size. Remember the measuring part above.
- Make sure the shiny part of your vinyl is facing down.
- Make sure your design is mirrored. There is a tiny little toggle that you will turn on to mirror your design before printing.
Now, you are ready to print!
Once you print Iron On Vinyl is probably one of the easiest materials to weed so you will be done very fast!
Pressing your design
When I pressed my first shirt, I burned it! Like burnt it completely! Without ever knowing that Cricut made it so easy with their heating guide website that can help set the correct temperature according to the type of material of your garment!
So when setting the temperature and time the guide helps you make the right adjustments to get it right the first time! It’s such an easy step but if done wrong can easily run your project!
Once done, and the press is warmed, I mark my lines like I shared above!
I center my design and press for the time listed on the site!
Before peeling the film layer, I turn my garment around and press once again! (Beware that some Iron-on are warm peel and others are cool peel, meaning that they are supposed to be peeled off when cool or warm. If done incorrrectly your vinyl will either bubble or not stick accordingly!)
And your Christmas shirt or sweatshirt is done!
What will you be making next? Which one is your favorite?
