Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer; Applying Heat Transfer Vinyl to a Cotton shirt

Cricut EasyPress 2 12″x10″

It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything involving a heat transfer vinyl (HTV,) and the times when I did use it, I just used a regular iron. From what I’ve read, while a standard iron can get up to high temperatures, which is needed for HTV, the irons (typically) don’t maintain the same consistent temperature over the entire surface. It’s typically the hottest at the center of the iron. OK, well, that explains why some of my HTV’s years ago didn’t turn out the best, and I was OK with that. Those were projects that I created with my daughter using my Brother Scan N Cut, she was happy with the sayings made and cut with that die cutting machine, and that’s all that mattered.

Now, I’d like to do a bit more than the cute little mom/daughter projects that I did with her. I have designs and sayings that I’ve created that I would love to see on clothing. I’ve done extensive research on the different types of methods used with fabric, and the styles that appeal to me at the moment, are HTV and sublimation.

Initially, I was planning on trying Sublimation printing onto shirts first. I’ve already printed a few images that I wanted onto sublimation paper; however, since I don’t have polyester fabric, that will have to wait a bit longer. I have 100% cotton apparel, so HTV is the right choice. I haven’t taken the leap and purchased a heat press yet; however, I have the Cricut EasyPress 2. It’s my newest Cricut device, Which I’ve had for almost a month, and I ONLY got to use it today. It was still in its original box, unopened. So much has happened in my life that I had to put most of my crafting adventures on hold while I tended to a sick parent.

Over the past several years, I’d watched numerous videos on printable HTV, so I was familiar with the process. However, I must say that it was exciting turning what I’d learned from watching and reading those tutorials into me creating my own HTV print.

What did I press? The cartoon version of Set it Off. I purchased the .png file on Etsy and knew it would be the first printable HTV I used with my Cricut Press.

Set It Off – Movie

I’d seen the movie, Set It Off, starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Kimberly Elise, and Vivica Fox, when it came out years ago. I enjoyed the movie, and I loved this cartoon interpretation from that scene even more.

I’d purchased two long sleeve black cotton shirt blanks yesterday; one for myself and the other for my daughter. They’d been washed and dried and were ready for their HTV press. Unfortunately, the only printable HTV I could find locally was Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Dark Fabric. So I picked that up early today.

OffNova Heat Press Mat 14″x16.”

I’d already purchased a sturdy, heat-resistant mat. Isn’t it cute?

I printed the designs using my Canon Pixma 8620.

Settings I use with my Canon Pixma 8620

  1. Commonly Used Settings: Photo Printing
  2. Media Type: High-Resolution Paper
  3. Print Quality: High
  4. Paper Source: Rear Tray

 

I made a mistake. On the first sheet I printed, I reversed the image. I was thinking about sublimation printing, where you do reverse the image. With printed HTV, you put the printed side face-up. So there’s no need to reverse the image.

HTV print on Cricut EasyPress 2 bag

No problem, I placed the first image on the bag that came with my Cricut. The design turned out great.

Shirt Prep

I lint rolled the shirt, and the instructions state to prime the surface where the HTV will go. I did that. I set the temperature to 320 F, and the timer set at 20 seconds. I placed the design face up and the Teflon sheet on top of the design. I applied firm stationery pressure, pressed the button so that the timer would count down, and 20 seconds later, I had created my own HTV printed shirt. The next level of HTV printing for me will be HTV layering. I’ve watched a few videos about that and will continue to increase my knowledge on the subject before I test it out myself.

HTV print on long sleeve black shirt

I’m thrilled with how my HTV print turned out, and I’m looking forward to creating more designs with my Cricut EasyPress 2.

Cricut’s Heat Guide

I just discovered that Cricut has a Heat Guide for their Easy Press. It will give you the suggested temperature. I just used it, and based on what the website recommends, it’s stating that I should press 100% cotton at 340 F, and the press time should be 30 seconds. My temperature was 320 F for 20 seconds. Since I plan to create more shirts tomorrow, I’ll try it out then.

I am wishing everyone a fabulous 2022.

 

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