T-Shirt and Silhouette Cameo Tutorial

How to make custom t-shirts with your silhouette machine.  

(T-shirt for our summer science club)

It is very easy and there are many tutorials online that will show you how to do this.  This is the very short version.  One of my pet peeves is trying to find a tutorial on how to do something and having to read a novel just to get to the point.  Especially recipes.  Just post the directions already. 

1.  You will need to find a heat transfer material made for fabric and made for the purpose of using with a silhouette type of machine.  I believe the Silhouette company sells their own brand, but I use another brand… not sure what it is.  I get it through a local wholesale company. (much much cheaper than through the craft store)

2.  The fun part.  Design your heart out to create your custom T.  Make sure you use the guidelines on the program and measure your t-shirt to be sure the design will fit.

3.  Don't forget to FLIP your image horizontally.  I have made this mistake more than once. I get too excited to cut my design I forget to flip it to a mirror image to cut.  The material is meant to be cut backwards so that in the ironing process it will be face down.  Just like the iron-ons your find at the store.

4.  Mount the heat transfer vinyl to your Silhouette cutting mat with the shiny side down.  Very important.  You do not want to cut through the shiny plastic backing.  Also if you stick it down shiny side up, you may not be able to recover your vinyl material.  If it sticks, it is stretchy and will warp.  Just remember, shiny side down on the cutting mat. 

5.  Depending on the instructions of your heat transfer material, you will need to adjust your blade settings on your machine.  For my machine and heat transfer vinyl these are the settings that work best. Speed at 5. Thickness at 4.  Blade at 1.  Most thin vinyls are going to be set at a 1.  

You can always to a test cut to be sure.  The cut is successful if your machine cuts through the heat transfer vinyl and NOT through the plastic backing.  If it cuts through the backing, your blade is set to deep.

6. After your machine finishes.  You need to cut out just around the area of your design.  And then the weeding process.  Weeding is removing the negative space around your design.  Do not remove your design from the backing.  I am using a Cricut weeding tool.  (because that's what they sell at the local store) 

7. Place design sticky side down onto your t-shirt.  This transparent backing will allow you to see your design and place it without guessing.  Press it firmly into place.  It's ok if you need to move it a couple times to get it just right.  * If you get to this point and realize that your design is backwards… go back to step 3. and cut again. 

8.  Iron temp should be pretty hot.  I set mine to the second to highest temp.  Cover your design with a thin linen cloth (I used a linen napkin) before ironing the design.  You don't want to melt any plastic.  Hold iron firmly on the design for 25-30 seconds.  Try testing a small corner of your design before removing the backing completely.  If the vinyl does not stick to your t-shirt and stays on the backing, your iron temp may be too low, or you didn't iron it long enough.   Keep going.  Test it out, you will find the right temp and time for your particular iron and heat transfer material.  It may be different than mine.  

9. After I remove the backing, I pace the linen over the design and iron again.  I want to be sure that design is staying for good.  I even turn it inside out and iron a third and fourth time.  Then I test scratch the edge of the design a little with my fingernail to make sure it's not going to peel off.   

 10.  You are done. Ready to wear.  I have washed these several times (normal wash) without the vinyl showing signs of peeling or fading.  This is a great material.  Enjoy your custom Ts. 

Stenciled Placemats

So it's been forever since I posted something to this blog.  

 I finally got around to re-finishing my antique table... well the top at least.  It turned out beautiful and I want the shine to last a while. No more stabbing playdough with skewers.  I have been saving this piece of linen to sew something for my table.  I came up with the idea for simple, lightweight placemats with table rules stenciled on them.  I cut out four placemats, serged the edges,  folded over once and top stitched the black thread around the boarder.  I wanted it to look a little old country, rustic.

What so I say the most at the table? "Don't tip your chair. No toys at the table, Take your dishes to the sink. Eat or go hungry."  That last statement may sound a little obvious, but it's been a struggle to get my kids to eat healthy dinners as apposed to PB&J alternatives. So I am holding out, if they don't eat what I fix, they will go hungry.

I started by printing these sayings on plain old paper.  I laminated them so I could stencil multiple times without the fabric paint leaking anywhere.  I used and xacto knife (above) to cut out each and every letter. This was time consuming and very tedious. But the end result was worth it. And I suppose it's not more tedious than crocheting or quilting.  But I am impatient and like results fast. If you have a Cricut that cuts through plastic laminate then you will save hours. I don't even know if they cut that stuff, but it's worth a try.

I used black fabric paint and a stencil brush, not sponge to apply the paint.  And there you have it.

My annual post. Pumpkin hat.

Yeah, so I am not very good at keeping up on this blog. Too many other things to do. But since I am sitting at my computer, here is a post.

I used a medium sized hat loom to make this little hat. And I borrowed a stem from a real pumpkin. It only took about an hour start to finish. I used a wool blend yarn, nice and soft.

Sewing

My mother is a great seamstress. A perfectionist at her skill. She has been sewing since the time I was born. Now, I am absolutely positive it was when I was born because before that, there simply wasn't any reason to sew. (Never mind that I have two older siblings, life didn't really begin until there was me.)

Besides the sounds of John Denver, Peter Paul and Mary, and the Carpenters creating the background music of my childhood memories. You could often hear the sewing machine. Usually late into the night, because that is the only time to sew when you have a house full of children. The sound, of course, was more abundant around Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. Let's not forget those matching 4th of July outfits too.

I use to hang at the feet of my mom while she sewed, careful not to get pinched by the foot pedal of her machine, to catch the scraps that she was going to throw away. Because with a needle and thread I could turn them into the most priceless, one of a kind, piece of crap. And I would dress my barbies and troll dolls in these pieces of crap that I created. A future Etsy entrepreneur in the making.

Around the time I reached a girl's most awkward years, I learned how to use my mother's sewing machine. It was magical. It felt like I was an under-aged driver at the wheel of a 1970's White mechanical stitching genius. And I could now create more pieces of precious fashion in less time.

I must have been driving a little too recklessly with someone else's property, that or I was a sewing machine hog, because when I was in 8th grade I received my own new sewing machine. (Insert Hallelujah Chorus here) I have been using and abusing it ever since. I only use the term abusing since I have yet to have it serviced since becoming the owner.

Over the years I have carried on the traditions of sewing Halloween costumes and Christmas stockings. I even created my own "style" of clothing in my late teen years. Piecing together off-centered quilts and decorating my house with the latest interior designs disasters, I have formed a strong and healthy relationship with that amazing hunk of metal. I love it. I love to sew.

Anyways, I have been needing a new book bag. And today I finally had some time to put one together.

I had a sewing teacher who told me I need to make my work pretty on the inside as well as the outside. It's one of the qualities of a good seamstress. My book bag would make my sewing teacher proud. I have to admit, I don't always accomplish the pretty looking insides. I get lazy in my sewing sometimes. And I don't like following a pattern either. I have learned the hard way over and over again, your arms won't comfortably fit into a guess-timated, eyeballed cut sleeve unless you use a pattern.
Today was a great day for sewing because book bags don't need a pattern.

Thanksgiving Table Decor

I saw this floral arrangement advertised on the Internet and thought, I can do that.

It cost me about $18.00.

I had the pumpkin left over from Halloween.

I picked up the flowers from Sams Club for around $15

And the fresh floral foam for $2

Lots of color. And something that I don't need to store after the holiday is through.

Scrap Stool

I needed a little stool. I had just enough scrap pieces of 2x2 to make this cute, little one.

The angles are cut at 15 degrees. I used screws and wood glue to hold it all in place. It's sturdy enough for an adult to stand on it. Yes, I tried it out.

Then I gave it a nice sticky coat of this apple green spray paint. I think it turned out fun. Blog worthy I suppose.

Teacher Gift

It was Denton's last day of school yesterday. This was what I made his teachers as a thank you gift. I did two of them. I discovered the world of digital scrapbooking earlier this year. And now I can get enough of the colors and textures and thousands of ideas all the sites have to offer. This idea (teacher's pet) came via email from The Shabby Shoppe. And of course their sample is much more colorful than my final product. But it turned out ok. Even in the crude box that I built in 20 minutes.