DIY Heat Vinyl Transfer to Create T-Shirt And Customs Projects

D4u September 12, 2017 11:47 am

Heat vinyl transfers are so easy. I want to demonstrate you how to use heat transfer vinyl and show you some ideas for projects you could do with it. This tutorial is a step by step instruction on how to use heat transfer to create t-shirts and custom projects with tips and tricks for perfect application.

1. What can I use heat transfer on?

The heat transfer will be ironed on with one of the irons hottest settings so make sure your fabric can withstand that heat. It is also quite helpful to PRE-WASH your fabric. I found that if you don’t prewash, then the shirt can pull a little from shrinking around the heat transfer material if it is washed for the first time after the heat transfer is applied. If it isn’t something you will be washing (like these canvas bags…) no need to worry about this step!

2. Create a design or a shape.

3. How to cut your heat transfer?

Once you have your design finished, you are ready to cut it out. There are 3 ways to cut the heat transfer:

cutting it out by hand: with scissors or cutter knife, which works fine if you have a simple design. You will need to transfer your design/shape onto to the vinyl
using a cutter plotter
using a laser cuter

4. Weeding

Once your design is cut peel off any parts of the design that you don’t want to be ironed on, or the negative space. You can use a weeding tool for this, or just use a safety pin. I often design my cutouts so that I can use the negative space as well!!

5.Arranging the design.

Take the weeded pieces of your design and place them clear backing side up on your project so they are aligned just as you want them. Since the clear backing is now facing up, your design should show just as it will be when it is finished, you should no longer be looking at a mirror image. Place a piece of baking or parchment paper above the cutout.

6. Ironing the design on.

Last but not least! Read the directions of your specific heat transfer. Set your iron on a very hot setting. Now you will want to put your hot iron on the design for between 10-30 seconds depending on the type, again read the directions for your specific heat transfer. Make sure that you are covering all of the edges of the design with the iron. You can release it and carefully pull up the backing to see if the design has stuck or needs to be heated more.

7.Next step:

Once the design has transferred let it cool down (depending on your vinyl, hot or cold peel vinyl) then gently peel back the clear plastic until it is completely removed.

For more fun, subscribe to our channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ9D…

Twitter: https://twitter.com/designed_4_you

Pinterest: https://au.pinterest.com/designed4yo6…

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d4u.designe…

Category: DIY Photo Transfer Techniques