Iron On Vinyl - Not Just For T-Shirts Anymore

Custom T-shirts can be a popular item all year round. They can be made for kids sports teams, high school dances, family reunions, gifts, clubs, and the list goes on. However the cost of custom apparel can get high real fast. These days machines like the Cricut and Silhouette are making it more affordable than ever to create your own custom apparel. If you already have the machine all you need is a plain old household iron and some iron on vinyl.

This iron on vinyl is specifically made for making apparel items. Ideally it is used for making t-shirts since it is suited to bond to cotton and poly-cotton blends. But you can really stick it to just about anything that can withstand the temperature of the iron to complete the bonding process.

Iron On Vinyl Styles

The most popular style of iron on vinyl is also the most common. These are your basic solid colors, red, yellow, blue, green, black, white... You get the idea. They do come in just about any color you can imagine.

You also have a style that is called flocked. This is a type that has been around for a long time, but has recently gained some new popularity. Flocked vinyl is applied by the same principles as the regular iron on vinyl, but has a fuzzy velvety texture. Surely you have seen a t-shirt in the store that has used flocked vinyl to create the design.

Finally you have printed iron on vinyl. These still work on the same principles as the other vinyls, but rather than being a solid color they have some sort of printed characteristic. These are commonly found in animal prints and camouflage.

Iron On Vinyl Application

The vinyl comes in a solid sheet or roll, so of course you need some way to make a design out of it. Ideally a Cricut or Silhouette machine is the best. These machines are capable of making professional quality designs. People would probably never know you made your own shirt if you didn't tell them. You could also use scissors or a paper punch if that's what you have.

The design cutting process is really a topic of its own and is more about the equipment being used than about the vinyl. So I am going to talk more about the actual application. There are plenty of videos on you tube and such showing how to cut vinyl and iron on vinyl.

Putting vinyl on a t-shirt for example is really pretty simple. With your design all cut and ready to go you want to iron the spot where it is going to be applied for a few seconds. This is called pre-heating and does two things. First it removes any wrinkles and second it removes any moisture. Place the vinyl down on the garment when the preheating is done.

Check with the vinyl manufacturer for heat, time and pressure settings. Most commonly you will be just over 300 degrees, which is about a cotton blend setting for most irons. Then you will iron on the vinyl with a firm pressure for about ten to fifteen seconds. Once the ironing is complete you can remove the protective transfer film layer and your done.

Iron on vinyl can be lots of fun for creating your own unique items. It is very durable and easy to care for. So enjoy making your next project, and the next, and the next, and...