If you are a fellow crafter I’m sure you can relate to the fact that not every if any project goes exactly perfectly. The custom couples shirt project as I mentioned last week was far from an exception which is why I decided it would be good to share with you my top tips for Cricut iron on projects. A fundamental part of shirt project is using the correct materials. Apparel items with cute designs are only a fraction of why they are purchased by consumers the other two parts are fit and most importantly the feel. No one is happy to put on a shirt that is scratchy or insanely think during the summer. Make sure to factor in the use of the item before choose your materials. Recently, I switched from using Cricut vinyl to other brands my favorite is Siser because it is cheaper, it weeds better and it feels like quality too.
Every time I buy a blank apparel item from the store they always have a sticker to display the size and brand for purchase. Rather than ripping off these stickers and tossing them straight in the trash I use them to estimate the placement as well as the size I want my design to be. This of course is a tip that will work better from chest logos. Another item that can be reused is empty vinyl rolls. While yes, they could be used for a variety of crafts they also work well as a Cricut cutting tool. After feeding the mat into your Cricut machine simply place the empty roll underneath the mat to keep everything level. This helps keep the material from being pulled off the mat or bent by gravity. No more holding onto the material as your machine is cutting.
Recently I added a Bright Pad to my Cricut collection and while there are a lot of mixed reviews on them I LOVE MINE! It has brought my crafting to the next level there is no more guessing if I am weeding the correct section anymore as it always me to see the lines easier. The one thing I did miss was the ease of weeding on the mat, however, once I started using painters tape (blue tape) to keep my vinyl still on the Bright Pad I will never go back. On the subject of weeding one of my most frequent issues is not clicking the mirror button prior to cutting. I’m not sure if it is from switch back and forth with other materials where mirror isn’t needed or what. I almost feel like a flashing siren should alert me prior to pressing cut. With that said when inputting that I am using Iron on as the material I feel as if Cricut should automatically mirror the design but I suppose I am asking a lot.
A beginner Cricut user may adhere one layer at a time but as a more advanced Cricut user you’d think I’d have mastered it by now. Spoiler alert this was a first that I happened to catch on camera and literally made my heart sink. I had gotten one layer stuck to the plastic piece of another so it did not fully adhere to the shirt itself. Watch the video below to find out if I was able to salvage it or if I had to start over. The last main tip is to keep that plastic when doing layers because you never want to have your easy press/iron touch the raw vinyl. The reason for this is because the vinyl could burn or worse dent and crease your previously adhered work. Other basic iron on tips include always lint roll the area, then heat press it and let it cool, all prior to applying any vinyl to any type of apparel.
MaddieAutumn 