Thinking of wearing your own design t-shirt? One of the simple way to put your own design onto your t-shirt is Iron-On. Here is the simple step-by-step how can do it yourself at home.

First things, you need to be prepared with all this things below.
* Design (Free inspiring t-shirt design 1, 2, 3)
* Iron-on printer paper
* Blank t-shirt
* Iron & Board
* Passion (of course)

  1. We assume that you already prepared with your own design, otherwise you can create it by Photoshop or any others design applications out there. You can use GIMP as well, it’s open source program and you can download it for FREE.
  2. Your design should be as simple as possible, so that later on you can easily cut it out without any problems. Also, make sure that the design fits within a 11 x 8 1/2 paper.

  3. Print out the design on an iron-on printer paper (We suggest you to use inkjet and above for the better quality). Be sure to look at the iron-on papers carefully because there are two distinct kinds
    A) paper that is for white tshirt
    B) paper that is for colored t-shirts.

  4. If needed, cut out the design carefully with either a scissor or an exacto knife.

  5. Make sure that you have selected ‘Mirror’, ‘Flip’, ‘Reverse’ or a similar setting in your application, if it is required, so that the image will be iron backwards. If there is no text in your image, you may not have to reverse your image.

  6. Preheat the heat press to 325° Fahrenheit. Following the instructions accompanied to your iron-on printer papers.

  7. Place the hot iron onto the towel and work in a circular motion from the middle of the transfer to the edges. How long you do this for is dependent on the instructions included with the transfer paper.
  8. Peel off backing paper slowly at a sharp angle.
  9. Let it cool, and it’s ready to be worn!

TROUBLE SHOOTING TIPS

Iron on Transfer looks yellow –
Heat may be too high and is scorching the surface of the transfer. Confirm temperature setting is 325 degrees or cotton setting. The heat generated by irons may vary greatly by brand and model.

Iron on Transfer is not adhering to surface –
Make sure the backing has been removed before transferring. Check temperature setting is 325 degrees or cotton setting. If temperature is too low, the transfer will not react sufficiently to bond to shirt. Increase pressure. Increasing pressure on the iron allows the transfer to be pushed in the fabric pattern

Iron on Transfer has bonded with the bottom of the iron –
Make sure that the ironing sheet was used between the iron and the transfer

Iron on Transfer is cracking after being washed or dried –
Pre-wash shirt before applying transfer. This eliminates some possibility of shrinkage that may stress the transferred image. Increase pressure when transferring image. If insufficient pressure is used, the transfer will not bond properly with the shirt. The resulting slack may crack in the wash.
Heat was used when tumble dried.

The edges of the iron on transfer are not adhering –
When hand ironing it is vital that the edges are ironed extremely well; apply the most heat and pressure to the edges of the transfer.

Image is reversed on shirt –
Set the printer for T-shirt, Flip or Mirror Image. Consult your printer manual or check with your printer’s manufacture.

Tips and Warning

Be sure to look at the instructions on how to care for your iron-on printer papers.

It helps if the towel you use is thin, but if too thin (able to see through) you will want to fold it over. This acts as a heat absorber so you don’t burn pattern.

If you have a figure instead of a square/rectangular pattern, cut around the figure and leave about 1/4″ around the edges.

Dry your shirt on low heat to prevent it from cracking or shrinking.

Make sure you reverse the transfer on the computer before ironing it on.