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In my last blog post, I wrote about how I got started appliquéing.  This lead into another new venture, making t-shirts; I wanted to share that journey with you today.  Around the time that I started appliquéing dresses, I had several friends with little boys ask if I was going to make boy’s outfits.  I was hesitant as all my designs stem from my children, meaning I’m not going to make something…

So what would I make for boys?  I looked into pajamas, but in order to sell pajamas, they have to be made with special fabric that has been treated to be flame resistant, which translates to me not being able to make kid's pajamas. I didn't want to sew t-shirts as they are time consuming to make but so easily available and inexpensive to purchase; I didn't think that would be worth my while.  But I could see designing graphics for t-shirts.  So I thought, how about I make matching shorts and t-shirt sets?  I started very simple.  I ordered a few plain t-shirts in different colors online and I made a pair of shorts out of fabric and added a pocket to the t-shirt in the same fabric.  These were simple and sweet.  

However, I was getting requests for personalized birthday t-shirts with a name and age.  So I pulled out my embroidery machine and started doing embroidery and appliqués on the t-shirts.  In all honesty, though, I was not enjoying it.  As I've mentioned, my embroidery machine is very basic and I was finding working with the stretchy knit material that t-shirts are made of was frustrating to say the least.  Mistakes were constant and that would either mean a ruined product or an hour or so of downtime fixing the mistakes.  

My husband also pointed out how much he would have hated the feeling of the appliqué on the inside of the shirt.  I was using a material that would be a barrier between your skin and the thread of the appliqué, but it still could end up feeling itchy.  At that point, I decided I would continue doing custom work on t-shirts, but I would not start selling these items in my shop.

I kept going back to the t-shirt idea, though.  I saw all these wonderful shops on Etsy that were selling graphic t-shirts out of their home, so I knew there had to a be a relatively inexpensive way to design and produce graphic t-shirts at home.  Several of the shirt designs I liked were made using heat transfer vinyl.  I had no idea what this material was at the time, so I did a little research and I had a little luck.  I found out that heat transfer vinyl is basically these large sheets or rolls of ultra-thin vinyl.  They come in a wide variety of colors and even can be glittery or shiny like metal.

In the simplest terms, you buy a sheet of heat transfer vinyl in whatever color you prefer and you cut out a design from it.  Then you put this on a t-shirt like a sticker and apply heat.  The vinyl is permanently adhered and will last the life of the shirt no matter how much wear and tear and washing it goes through.  This seemed like a really good way to start.

There are other methods to making t-shirts like sublimation and a t-shirt printer.  I ruled out sublimation because of how complicated it seemed to set up in home and the t-shirt printer was way out of my budget.  My only limitations with vinyl are color, as each color has to be cut out separately and applied separately, so I stick to less than 3 colors for each design, and details.  Very small, intricate details are nearly impossible to do with heat transfer vinyl.  I knew most of the work I wanted to do, though, would be text or very simple shapes and cut-outs, so these were things I could easily deal with.

The luck mentioned above was that my neighbor had recently purchased a cutting machine and had been telling me all about it.  Now I mentioned earlier that you cut out your design.  But what's better than hand-cutting a design?  Letting a machine do it for you!  I hadn't even heard of a cutting machine prior to my neighbor's purchase.  She got a Cricut Explore but they are several on the market.  She let me come over with some heat transfer vinyl and I made my first t-shirt for my husband.  It was a simple logo from a band he likes.  I layered two colors together.  Prior to actually cutting out the vinyl, I was able to use her Cricut software to import the band's logo into the program and clean it up.  Cricut makes it super user friendly to get started.  You don't need any graphic design skills at all and there are tons of tutorials online.  I should mention that I am not in anyway affiliated with Cricut or trying to promote their products; it's just what I use and like.

For this test shirt, I just used my iron to apply the design; we ran it through the wash several times and it stood up, so I was confident that I could sell a quality product. 

I used a 20% off Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon to purchase my Cricut, woo-hoo!  Then I found an online supplier for heat transfer vinyl.  It is soooo much cheaper if you buy it in yards from an online company rather than buying sheets of it from a craft store or Cricut.  Last, I knew I needed to get a heat press.  The iron is okay if you are making shirts as a hobby, but if you are looking to sell a quality product, you really need a commercial heat press to make sure the vinyl is adhered correctly.

I initially ordered a heat press from Ebay; big mistake!!  It came with no instructions, no customer support and no returns.  I could never figure out how to get it to work correctly and it was a big waste of time and money.  So I decided I would invest in an American made, American company this time around with good customer support.  I found what I needed in Pro World.  They were having a deal where you could get a t-shirt heat press for $99 if you purchased $399 in supplies.  I knew I would easily use that much in vinyl and it was a hell of a deal, so I went for it.

My heat press is wonderful!  I did have to call customer support when it first arrived but they answered all my questions and I had it up and running within an hour of delivery.  I have a very basic one, but I couldn't be happier as it does the job perfectly every time.

So that's how I got all set up to make t-shirts and I haven't looked back since.  Not only do I love customizing shirts for clients, but I love being able to make t-shirts for my family and friends.

Now I have several designs in my shop using heat transfer vinyl, like the one above.  Half of the t-shirts in my son's drawer were made by me, which I think is pretty nifty.  Next week I'll focus on how I went about creating designs (with no graphic design experience).  That will definitely be one of those fumbling around in the dark, lessons learned blog posts.  

Do you have a cutting machine?  Have you designed any t-shirts?  I'd love to hear all about your experiences!