Follow these easy steps for how to personalize a tshirt with heat transfer vinyl, and you can make any t-shirt you want! Includes a free cut file for your Cricut personal cutting machine.
I know, I know… I’ve shared two shirts that I’ve made recently and they both have Beatles quotes. I promise, I didn’t even realize it till this one was already completed.
But I would have stuck with this song lyric anyways because my daughter chose it herself, and it’s just so perfect for so many situations. Plus, it’s one of those songs that just gets stuck in your head, but it’s one I actually don’t mind. Maybe that’s why so many call the Beatles timeless!
Either way, it’s such a simple process to make your own personalized shirt that why not?! It takes us about 10 minutes from start to finish to make. Not bad for a shirt that you could customize with any song lyric, quote or design that you want!
Supplies to Make Personalized Vinyl Shirt
How to Personalize a Tshirt with Heat Transfer Vinyl
To begin, go to click on the Free Cut File link in the supply list. This will open up the cut file in Design Space. Depending on the size of your shirt, you may need to resize it. The image size that is in the cut file is for an adult woman’s medium shirt.
Make sure before you cut your vinyl that you mirror your image. In the left sidebar, just click on “Mirror” until the green light comes on. Your design should look just like the image below before you send it to the Cricut to cut.
Be sure to place your heat transfer vinyl with the slick, shiny side face-down on the mat. Load your mat into your Cricut and follow the prompts to cut. If you need more directions on this, be sure to check out my Cricut for Beginners post.
After it cuts, you need to weed your vinyl so that you’re only left with your letters. I used to weed with my fingernails or tweezers until I discovered the magic that is the Cricut Tool Kit. The weeding tool is a game changer. Not only does it make the weeding go so much faster, but it doesn’t knick up any of the edges of your letters. Highly recommend this little gem!
Once I’m done weeding, I’ll hold my whole design up to a light just to make sure I didn’t forget any of the little holes in the a’s. Sometimes you’ll also have a piece you weeded fall off and end up back on the design, so this helps you catch them before you move on to the iron.
Lay out your shirt and center your design where you would like it. I preheat my iron and then press it directly onto the glossy cover sheet over the letters. Make sure you don’t have the steam on on your iron’s settings.
I press it to the design for about 30-45 seconds and then check to make sure it’s ready to remove. When you lift a corner of the cover sheet, if the letters stick at all, just press the iron back down until it releases easily.
And that’s it! So easy and you can create any design you want! Just a couple weeks ago, my daughter and I made another Beatle’s inspired shirt with a different song lyric. You can grab that free cut file HERE.
And don’t feel like you need to stop at t-shirts just because that’s what we used. You could use this same cut file on a canvas tote bag, to make a wood wall sign or anything else you’d like! So many possibilities with heat transfer vinyl and your Cricut!
