How To Use Heat Transfer Vinyl With A Cricut Machine
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Heat transfer vinyl (or iron-on vinyl) allows you to make custom t-shirts, tote bags, onesies, and more! This step by step guide with photos and screenshots shows you exactly how to cut heat transfer vinyl with a Cricut machine and iron it onto a t-shirt!
Open up Cricut Design Space and create a brand new project with at least one image in it.
Attach any layers where the spacing of the images or text is important by selecting all the layers and then clicking the grey Attach button at the bottom of the Layers panel on the right.
Click the green Make It button in the upper right corner.
On the Preview screen, toggle the Mirror option under the thumbnail on the left for all of your mats.
Click the green Continue button.
FOR MAKER USERS: Select Everyday Iron-On or whatever heat transfer material you are using. FOR EXPLORE USERS: Set the Smart Set Dial on the top of your machine to “Iron-On”.
Place your heat transfer vinyl shiny side down onto the green StandardGrip mat.
Load the fine-point blade in Clamp B.
Load the mat into the machine by pressing the Load/Unload button.
Press the flashing Go button on your machine to start the cut.
When the cut is complete, press the Load/Unload button to unload the mat from the machine.
Applying the heat transfer vinyl
Weed away the background heat transfer vinyl, using a weeding hook to get the small pieces like the centers of letters.
Check the Cricut Heat Guide to find the correct temperature, pressure, and time settings for your specific project.
Pre-heat your EasyPress to 315 degrees (or whatever temperature the Heat Guide indicates for your specific project).
Pre-heat your shirt on top of your EasyPress mat for 5 seconds.
Position your heat transfer vinyl design on your shirt.
Place the EasyPress on top of the design and press down lightly for 30 seconds.
Carefully peel away the clear transfer sheet from the vinyl while it is still warm.
Flip the shirt over and press again for another 30 seconds.
Notes
The temperature settings and timings in these instructions are for Cricut's EveryDay Iron-On on a cotton t-shirt, but you should always check the Cricut Heat Guide to find the correct temperature, pressure, and time settings for your specific project and materials.
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