For my first shirt I will be working with glitter iron on vinyl and foil iron on vinyl. I found the Cricut infusible ink baby onesies on sale. So, I decided to use these for this and the upcoming projects. I will be testing other types of vinyl for shirts. So, make sure you check back to see how to make and use those.
Sometimes glitter and foil iron on vinyl can give people some issues. Both of these are a cold peel, which means you need to wait till it is completely cooled down (not warm) to remove the clear backing. I know it is difficult to wait. Another issue may be not using enough heat. If your design did not adhere to the shirt, then you can always try to reheat it again.
I have made a nice table with the different types of iron ons and infusible inks, and how to apply each type. I followed it as I made my shirt for project. It tells you things like how to lay down your vinyl both on the mat and on your shirt, and whether or not to mirror your design before you cut it. There is also several additions tips that could be useful. I also included a chart for approximate sizes to make a design based on the different shirt sizes and placement of the design on the shirt. If you are interested in this, then you can purchase it in my shop. Just click here.
Both the foil and glitter iron on vinyl will work with cotton and polyester shirts. My baby onesies are 100% polyester. If you use a cotton material it is recommended to prewash it because cotton will shrink about 5%. However, some people do not like to prewash items if they will be selling them.
Once you make your design and are ready to cut it with your Cricut or other cutting machine, make sure you mirror your image. For the foil iron on I selected foil iron on as my material, default pressure on my Cricut Maker. For the glitter iron on, I selected glitter iron on as my material, default pressure on my Cricut Maker.
You will want to lay your vinyl shiny side down on your mat for both of these types of iron on. If they are not sticking well on your mat, then you can use some painters tape on the edges to help hold down the vinyl. Just make sure not to put the tape over the edges of the mat or over the areas the Cricut will be cutting. I also used the fine point blade and green mat for both of these materials.
Now that your pieces are cut out it is time to weed out the unwanted sections. Leave only the parts you want to show. You will also need to weed out from the back side of the vinyl, the none shiny side. The front, shiny side, should not be cut through. If it is cut all the way through, then you should decrease the pressure next time you cut this material.
I used a small cheap iron to make my baby onesies. If you use an iron as well, just be careful because the heat is not always distributed evenly in irons. It is also recommended to place some butcher paper or parchment paper over your vinyl when using an iron just as a precaution so the design does not stick or bleed onto your iron.
Earlier this week I made a post about the T-shirt rulers I made. You can find that post here. I used one of the rulers I made to help me line up my design for this project. If you are interested in purchasing my SVG file I made for these rulers, then please click here.
It is recommended to pre heat your shirt before you lay down your design. This helps take out any moisture that may still be in your shirt. If can also help get out any wrinkles as well. This only needs to be about 5 sec. You should also have a heat pad or towel under your shirt when applying any heat.
The setting you put your heating device on will vary depending on the material your shirt or item is made of, and what type of heating device you use. If you use a Cricut Easy Press, then you can go to https://cricut.com/en_us/heatguide? Or search Cricut Heat Guide, and it will tell you what heating setting to use, and how long to hold it down for. If you do not have a Cricut Easy Press, then you can still use this guide to help judge the settings and time for your heating device. I held my iron for 30 seconds at a time until I covered the entire design. I also applied moderate pressure. It is also recommended to apply heat to the back of your shirt for about 15 seconds after you did the front/design.
You should not need any type of protection between your shirt layers. These two materials should not bleed through. However, if you are doing a design on both the front and back of your shirt, then it is recommended to place a heat pad or towel between your shirt layers, so the one side will not get messed up while you are working on the other side.
Both the foil and glitter iron on vinyl are a cold peel. This means you will need to be patient and wait till they have completely cooled down, not even warm, to peel off the clear cover. It is hard to wait for it to cool down, but this will provide the best results.
Because I used an iron, and the heat is not distributed evenly in irons, one of my D in dad formed some bubbles in the vinyl. Putting too much heat on the vinyl will cause the glue, that adheres it to the material, to either evaporate, and thus not be as strong, or pushes the glue and causes the bubbles.
Another mistake I made in this shirt was, I accidently ironed part of my design onto the plastic of part of my other letters. So, instead of the letters being fully ironed onto the shirt, part of them were ironed onto the clear plastic, and thus came off when I tried to remove them. The 3 has part of the plastic still on the shirt. If I removed all of the plastic, then a big chunk of the 3 would be missing. So, I just cut around the plastic. So, some of the plastic is still on the shirt holding the 3 together. I will have to redo this entire shirt, but the rest of my pieces transferred beautifully. I recommend maybe trimming down the plastic pieces more after you weed out your design, so you do not iron another piece onto it like I did. Everything transferred so well onto my shirt. I am so sad that I messed up the design with my silly mistake. Well, you got to learn from your mistakes and keep moving on. Now every time I make a shirt, I will probably think about this and not do it again. I hope my mistake helps someone else not to make the same mistake.
I hope this helps you the next time you want to use foil or glitter iron on vinyl. Do not forget if you are interested in my SVG file of the ruler I used to line up my design then just click here. If you want an easy to read table instead of having to read through my entire post when making your next shirt, then click here. I recommend printing off the table and keeping it by your Cricut machine.
If you would like all this information and more in an easy to read table, so it is easier to find quickly when crafting, and to keep by your crafting area, then click here!
