So, you have your new Cricut Explore Air 2 Bundle, and you want to get to work designing your own T-shirts. It’s fun and easy, and you don’t have to spend that much money. In fact, doing it is roughly the cost of buying a new plain T-shirt, which makes lots of sense.
The process of designing your own custom shirts can be broken down into the main steps. First, you should figure out what you want your shirt to say. Choosing a simple, witty phrase should work. Also, to keep things simple in the beginning, you can stick to just one color. Second, you can pick out the T-shirt you would like to customize. For this, you can pick a nice T-shirt that is easy to iron. You’ll use an iron on it when you customize it, so this is important. A good material for this is rayon.
Steps for Creating Your Own Shirts
Here are the steps you can take to customize your own T-shirt using the Cricut:
- Start with the image you would like to design. You can design it in Photoshop or on Cricut Design Space. You can also pick some on the internet from sites that offer them for free.
- Open on your Cricut Design Space and click the button labeled “Canvas” to pick your canvas. There are many different shapes from which you can choose. Make sure you set the size correctly according to the actual size of your shirt.
- Now, you’re ready to upload your image. Click “Upload an image,” then you can browse your files and select your image from whatever folder it is in on your home computer. You should then select “Simple Cut.”
- Now, cut out the image. Click on the whole space you would like to cut out. Get the insides of each letter right.
- Now, select “Cut Image.” Under no circumstances should you select the similar sounding but the entirely different option of “Print image.”
- Now fix the image on your canvas and alter the size as you like.
- For this project, you will be using iron-on vinyl to do the customizing. Place it on your mat with the shiny side down, and set the dial to iron-on.
- Click “Cut.”
- You should also click “mirror image for iron on,” and then click “Go.” Now, all you have to do is wait for the cut to complete.
- Once it’s done, you can remove the excess vinyl sticking out at the edges and also the little pieces in the letters. The weeding tool should help.
- Now, it’s time to iron the vinyl on. Set your iron to the hottest setting, usually cotton, and don’t turn the steam on.
- Start by putting the iron on the shirt for 15 seconds to get it warm.
- Now, place the vinyl on the shirt where you would like it to be. Put a plain cotton towel or cloth on top of the plastic so that you don’t melt it on your shirt.
- Now, press the iron on top of the cloth for about 30 seconds. Flip your shirt over, and do the same thing on the other side.
- Now take the sticky part off the vinyl while it’s still hot. If it doesn’t come off, iron on the part you want to remove.
- When all the plastic is off the vinyl, put the plain towel back on and iron again to make sure it sticks.
Voila! You have your own custom T-shirt. It wasn’t that hard, was it? You can now make any kind of customized T-shirt, or any other cloth for that matter, with your Cricut in the comfort of your home.
