OK, I've ironed out the metaphorical wrinkles and am ready to share my t-shirt heat transfer vinyl design!
These are "bring your own shirt". They're meant for you to weed and apply yourself. You apply these AT YOUR OWN RISK; not responsible for injury or ruined shirts. If you've never done it before, please get guidance from someone who has!
I recommend Siser Easyweed brand vinyl.
Cutting the design:
Open the SVG in Inkscape. Save it as a .dxf.
Open the .dxf in Silhouette Studio.
The Silhouette Studio import may not be size it correctly. Resize it (proportionally) to 10 inches across if so.
Cut a piece of vinyl that's slightly larger than the design. Affix it to a cutting mat.
Load the cutting mat into the cutter.
Click Send. Be sure to use the option to mirror the design, unless you mirrored it yourself in the editor!
Weeding the design:
Peel away the excess vinyl around the design, leaving only the parts you want on the shirt.
Use a weeding tool or tweezers to remove small inner pieces (like centers of letters). Note that some of the letters have had the centers removed on purpose!
The clear carrier sheet should hold your final design in place.
Position the design:
Stick the design carrier-side up (shiny side up, vinyl side down) where you want it on the shirt.
Make sure it’s straight before pressing.
Apply heat:
Do NOT use a Teflon protector sheet—this vinyl is designed to be pressed directly as-is.
Use the heat press set to 305°F.
Apply firm, even pressure for 15 seconds.
Peel the carrier:
REMOVE the shirt from the press.
IMMEDIATELY (but gently) peel off the sticky clear sheet while it's still hot.
If any part lifts, re-cover with the carrier and press again for a few seconds.
Enjoy, and let me know if you have any questions!
