Time Out Thursday - How to Apply Heat Transfer Vinyl

Supply List:

1.  Pre-washed, Pre-ironed t-shirt

(Do not use fabric softner or dryer sheets when washing)

2.  Heat transfer vinyl in various color

( I use Siser Easy Weed)

3.  Design Studio (DS) or Gypsy (G)

4.  Iron

5.  Parchment Paper or Teflon Sheets

6.  Vinyl Pick or Tweezers

1.  Select your cartridge. 

( For this project, I used Mickey and Friends)

2.  Apply vinyl shiny side down to your Cricut mat.
(Ensure vinyl is attached to your mat securely before preceding)
3.  Change settings on your Cricut.
(Setting your pressure, blade, and speed to 3 seems to work best)
4.  The Cricut will not cut through the vinyl rather it will "kiss" the vinyl.
(Kiss the vinyl = the blade will graze or barely puncture the vinyl)

1.  While vinyl is still on the mate, use your pick or tweezers

to weed your vinyl.  Discard the weeded vinyl.

2.   Pre-heat iron on the cotton setting.

(You will need to work on a hard/solid surface.  The ironing

 board does not work well.

3.  Iron your shirt.

(Shirt needs to be wrinkle free before preceding)

1.  Lay your base vinyl piece shiny side up onto shirt.

(Ensure the placement is accurate, once heat is applied the
vinyl is permanent)

2.  Cover your vinyl with parchment paper or teflon paper
and firmly press your iron onto the paper for 25 - 30 seconds.
(Make sure you apply this step over the entire image)
3.  Move the iron around image for 5 - 6 seconds.
4.  Allow vinyl to cool for 25 - 30 minutes.
5.  While the base is still cooling, trim the clear edges of your layered piece.
(Leave as little of the clear covering around your image as possible)
Note: Some irons may require more heating time.
Once cool, slowly remove the clear plastic coating.  If you notice that areas of
the vinyl are not applied, reapply heat and allow vinyl to cool for a few minutes.

1.  Layer your vinyl.

(This step can be done 1 of 2 ways that I am aware of)

I prefer to apply all my layered vinyl at once to my base image.

2.  Arrange vinyl pieces onto your base image, ensuring proper placement.

3.  Cover with parchment paper and firmly press your iron onto paper for

about 15 seconds (this step requires less heat).

4.  Move the iron over image for about 5 seconds. 

5.  Allow to cool for 3 - 5 minutes. 

6.  Once cool, remove plastic coating.

7.  Recover your image with the parchment paper and move iron over image

for about 3 - 4 seconds. 

Your t-shirt is now complete.

*The other step for layering your vinyl is to layer one step at a time.

Completed Project

Remember to wash and/or iron your completed shirt inside out.

Vinyl can be purchased at

http://www.specialty-graphics.com/

Enjoy.