Hello friends! Today, I have come up with an interesting tutorial on how to make a shirt with Cricut. Personalizing shirts has never been easier. My favorite Cricut machine always helps me in cutting all kinds of designs. So far, I have created many projects in which I personalized shirts and many other items. However, I love shirt-making projects because they can be the best gift for everyone.
In this tutorial, I am going to talk about how to make a shirt with Cricut infusible ink. I am creating this shirt for my 4-year-old daughter as she wanted something colorful on her T-shirt. I will use a holographic iron to give it a stunning look. Besides, I am also using infusible ink because it gives beautiful and seamlessly smooth transfers that never peel, flake, or crack. Now, let’s gather some important supplies first, and then I will show you the process of making personalized shirts.
What Do You Need to Make Shirts With a Cricut?
Okay, so now, let’s gather the following supplies for designing the toddler’s shirt. Here’s what I used in my projects. So, if you are going to make a similar project, then consider the following items:
- Cricut machine
- Cutting mat
- Lint roller
- Cricut’s T-shirt blank
- Infusible ink sheet
- Butcher paper
- Cricut EasyPress
- Glitter holographic iron-on
- Weeding tool
- EasyPress mat
In case, you don’t have an EasyPress mat, then you can replace it with any cushioned pad or folded towel. But make sure the surface is not curved during the heat press. Otherwise, it can affect your results. On the other hand, I am using Cricut’s shirt blank because you must use a polyester blend shirt as infusible ink is apt with polyester.
How to Make a Shirt With Cricut Machine?
The following tutorial will guide you on the steps to make a shirt with infusible ink. Make sure you have collected all the items required for making this project:
Step 1: Find or Create a Design on Cricut Software
The first thing I did was choose a design. Here, I asked about my daughter’s choice. She said she wanted something colorful, just like a rainbow. After that, I launched my Cricut Design Space and searched for “Rainbow.” Luckily, I found one, and my daughter also liked it.
Similarly, you can either find the design from Design Space, upload your own design, or create a new one from scratch.
Step 2: Cutting Your Design
After finalizing the design, my next move was to prepare things for cutting on Cricut. For cutting, I used my Explore Air 2, as it works fine and gives me good results. You can also consider any version of the machine, such as the Maker or Explore series. So, in order to learn how to make a shirt with Cricut, you will need to start cutting. Before that, you will place the infusible ink sheet on the cutting mat and then load it into the machine.
Note: If your design is asymmetric, then you should mirror your design. But, if your design is symmetrical, then you don’t need to mirror. In my case, I am not mirroring my design because it will look the same from left or right.
Step 3: Weed Out Your Design
Now comes the exciting part: weeding. I love WEEDING! Well, there is no need for a weeding tool, but you can use it if you are a beginner. This is because an infusible ink transfer sheet doesn’t require any tools, and you can easily peel it off by cracking the sheet gently. After crafting, you can gradually peel off the negative space.
However, I also used materials, i.e., glitter holographic iron-on, so I had to use a weeding tool because it was harder than an infusible ink sheet. Once you have done the weeding, come to the next step to preheat your blank.
Step 4: Preheat Your Cricut Shirt
I am using a toddler t-shirt from Cricut as it is compatible with infusible and iron-on material. So, first of all, you need to lay the shirt out on the EasyPress mat and then preheat it to remove any wrinkles present on it. After that, let it cool for a while.
Step 5: Transfer the Design to Blank
When the preheated shirt is cool down, place your infusible ink design onto the blank and transfer it according to the Cricut Heat Guide. For me, the temperature was 360° for 120 seconds. But don’t forget to add butcher paper between your heat press and infusible ink.
After transferring the infusible ink design, let it cool again, and lay down the glitter holographic iron on the top of the rainbow. Again, follow the Cricut Heat Guide instructions for holographic iron-iron on. It took me just 30 seconds. And when it was done, the result was SUPERB!
Here’s what it looks like:
After learning how to make a shirt with Cricut, you might be able to create a similar project on your own.
FAQs
Question 1: What Cricut material can I use on shirts?
Answer: There are two different types of vinyl: adhesive and iron-on vinyl. For shirts or sweatshirts, you can use iron-on vinyl or heat-transfer vinyl, also known as HTV. In addition, you can also use these materials for making hats, and bags. Apart from these, you can use Everyday Iron-on, specialty vinyl, glitter iron-on, and infusible ink.
Question 2: How long do Cricut shirts last?
Answer: The best thing about the Cricut shirt is that it can withstand 50+ washes, and it is only possible when you are making shirts using the iron-on Cricut vinyl. Despite this, such materials can be useful when you are making clothing items, home decor, and accessories. But there are some tips and tricks that you should always follow, such as you should wait for 24 hours after you have applied the vinyl. And, also turn the shirts inside out before you wash them.
Question 3: What type of shirt materials are best for Cricut Infusible Ink?
Answer: The best shirt material for the shirt is polyester as it is compatible with infusible ink. Therefore, it will be beneficial if the polyester is 100% pure. But if you do not have 100% pure polyester, then use materials in which the polyester is used in large amounts. In simpler terms, 20/80 proportions of cotton-polyester t-shirts will be perfect for infusible ink. Even 50/50 will not be as effective as 20/80 is.
Final Thoughts
Through this guide on how to make a shirt with Cricut, you will learn everything with easy-to-follow instructions. In this blog, I have also provided essential supplies such as materials, machines, and other items such as weeding tools and EasyPress. Note that you should always use polyester-based fabrics when you are using Infusible Ink. Since, Cricut sells their own polyester shirt blank, I decided to buy one. Besides this, the blog will help you design your shirt easily.