by Jackie Humphrey
Using Cricut and a Heat Press to Make T-Shirts
With a Cricut and a heat press, you can make creative, unique t-shirts for yourself, your friends, and your family. In Ignite Studio, we have both pieces of equipment! All you need is a t-shirt and an idea.
Don’t stop at t-shirts though. With iron-on vinyl, you can personalize tote bags, towels, shirts, pants, jackets, or anything that’s made of fabric. We have a tiny iron that works well for items that aren’t flat and cannot be put in the heat press like shoes and hats. Here is a brief overview of how to use the Cricut Maker and Ignite’s Heat Press to make a t-shirt.
Cricut and Heat Press Tutorials
The design software that the Cricut uses is called Design Cricut. The desktop app is free to download onto your laptop or device. Ignite also has public laptops available that have the Design Cricut app all ready to go. You can make a free account and start designing. Ignite also offers several Cricut tutorials on the Hamilton East Public Library’s YouTube channel. If you’re brand new to the Cricut, these short videos are a great place to find help getting started.
Design Cricut also has tutorials available, and the Cricut website is a great source of ideas and inspiration.
In Design Cricut, you can create something that’s all your own or upload a file from the internet. To cut a design out of vinyl, you need a cut file or SVG. Design Cricut has a large library of ready made projects and images for sale. There are also websites like Etsy that sell SVG files, but there are a lot that offer free downloads as well. Or you can design your own SVG image using our Digital Media Labs!
The staff at Ignite Studio are always willing to help troubleshoot or give inspiration. You can book a 30-minute appointment with a staff member to help you work through any problems you may be having with a project. It’s called Book an Expert, and you can reserve a spot by calling 317-579-0331 or emailing us at IgniteReservations@hepl.lib.in.us. Happy making!
