DIY Holiday Shirt - JustNick Studios

Hello blogging friends!

Did you know JustNick Studios is giving away a FREE digital cut file every day for 14 days? They are FREE for one day only, so be sure to download the files every day.
I am here today for Day 10 of our 14 day FREE digital cut file giveaway! It's like Christmas (or Hanukkah, or maybe just Happy Holidays for you) everyday!

Today's FREE cut file is the Ho Ho Ho Strip and I thought it would be perfect to cut from heat transfer (iron-on) vinyl and create a festive holiday shirt for myself.

If you have never cut vinyl, you should definitely try it. The results are fabulous!! Don't worry, I will walk you through it.

Vinyl is cut with the right side facing down on the mat. (The back side is facing up.) That means, if you are cutting words, you need to flip them to their mirror image. Right click on the image and select Flip Horozontal. Resize your image to fit the shirt you want to apply it to. I sized mine so that it was 9" wide for a size L ladies t-shirt.

In the cutting window, select Cut and for material, select Vinyl (or Heat Transfer Material, or Reflective Heat Transfer). I used DecoSPARKLE Heat Transfer Holographic Vinyl. It is much thicker than regular iron on vinyl, so I increased my blade depth to 5. You want to cut through the vinyl but not the clear layer that is protecting the top of the vinyl. This is called a Kiss Cut. Play around with a small piece before cutting a large image. It helps to use a new blade and double cut.

Now we need to weed the unwanted parts away, leaving only the image cut on the protective plastic. Place the image on your shirt, centering it, and heat up your iron to the cotton setting. Different vinyl might recommend using a different setting. Be careful about your shirt selection! You do not want to use a shirt that will melt when you apply heat. When the iron is hot enough, apply even pressure on top of your image, moving the iron to make sure you are applying heat to the entire image. Let it cool for a minute, then try to peel the clear top layer away. If it is not peeling easily, replace the clear top layer, and iron some more.

Wash inside out and hang to dry to extend the life of your garment. I hope you give it a try.

Remember that Today's design - Ho Ho Ho Strip - is yours for FREE today only!
Just enter code: HOSTFREE  at checkout to get this design for free.

This code is only valid until midnight CST on December 10, 2017.  No purchase necessary, today only!  This design will be available in the JustNick store for purchase after the discount code expires.
Check back tomorrow for another FREE cut file!
Thanks so much for stopping by!