How To DIY A Christmas Shirt Or Jumper With Heat Transfer Vinyl

If you want to sport some fashion with a festive feel this winter, but don’t want to wear the same high street styles that everyone else is, why not make your own?

You can use a second-hand t-shirt or sweatshirt that you’ve bought from a charity shop, or pick a plain tee from your own wardrobe, and upcycle it to suit your style.

I made this Christmas t-shirt using a design from this Christmas Bundle.

You will several formats in the bundle to fit your needs. I used the file ‘WonderfulTime’. It reads as ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year’ printed in a circular, vintage style logo.

I customized it slightly by removing the snowflakes to make it look (almost) like a t-shirt you could wear all year, and no one would notice it was a festive design unless they read the words!

Of course, you could use any design in the pack (there are SO many to choose from!) to create a festive garment that you love.

Once you’ve chosen the image, all you need is some heat-transfer vinyl and a cutting machine to help you transfer the design to the clothing of your choice.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make a festive t-shirt or jumper for yourself:

1. Download The Christmas Craft Bundle Vol3 Designs pack.

2. Import a festive design to your cutting machine software on your computer.

3. Use a ruler to measure your t-shirt and decide on the size and position that you would the logo to be.

4. Scale up the design on your computer to fit your chosen size – I went for a 22cm diameter.

5. Reverse the design, which is important for ensuring that words appear correctly when transferred!

6. Download the design to your cutting machine.

7. Attach the heat-transfer vinyl to the cutting bed with the vinyl-side facing up, smoothing out any air bubbles.

8. Set the cutting blade at a height that cuts through the vinyl but not the backing sheet. You can do a test cut to check this.

9. When you are happy with the depth of cut, you can set the machine to cut out the design.

10. Once complete, peel away any excess vinyl, leaving just the text attached to the backing sheet.

11. You can use tweezers to remove any smaller parts of the design – inside looped text, for example.

12. Iron your t-shirt or sweatshirt so that it is completely flat.

13. Position the logo onto the top so that the backing sheet is facing up.

14. Set your iron to the temperature recommended by the instructions that came with the heat-transfer vinyl.

15. Carefully use the iron to apply heat and transfer the design onto the t-shirt.

16. Allow to cool slightly before peeling away the backing sheet to reveal your upcycled festive t-shirt!

Here is the final result.

By Cassie Fairy

Author Bio: As a full-time money-saving blogger, Cassie is excited to be creating a truly homemade Christmas. Check out her blog My Thrifty Life by Cassie Fairy for fun festive décor ideas, low-cost recipes and unique handmade gifts.

For more inspiring Christmas crafts using resources from Design Bundles, check out this post by Cassie.