*EASY* How to Use Cricut Infusible Ink | Layering Cricut Infusible Ink Step By Step T-Shirt Tutorial

(upbeat music) - In today's episode, I'll show you how to personalize your own t-

shirt

with multiple layers of Cricut Infusible Ink. Now let's be clever. (bright music) (keyboard clicks) (whistling) (bell sounds) Hi, I'm Michael, and this (light music) is "Mr. Crafty Pants," your Cricut and craft channel where I post Cricut

tutorial

s and projects. and inspiration every week. So if you're new here, you'll definitely want to go ahead and hit the subscribe button and then hit the bell (bell sounds) for all notifications so you never have to miss a single Cricut minute. Now guys, today I'm really excited because we're doing a Cricut Infusible Ink

layering

project on a t-

shirt

.

Now I know some people say not to layer Cricut Infusible Ink, but I'm going to show you a little tip, trick, or trick, whatever you want to call it, that will allow you to bypass that whole process and get a layer of ink. Infusible Ink Project. So what we're going to need to make this product today is obviously a Cricut cutting machine. I'm using my Cricut Maker right now, but you can also use a Cricut Joy or a Cricut Explore Air Two. Now, if you are in the market, if you are only interested in Cricut cutting machines, I will link them all in the description box below.

And secondly, what you'll obviously need is a heat source or heating element like a Cricut Easy Press Two like this one here or you can even use an actual heat press. Now, I don't recommend going the route of using a household iron and the reason is that you need a heat source or heat element that can reach up to 400 degrees and also heat extremely evenly. And that's one of the things that I really love about the Cricut Easy Press Two is that this hot plate heats extremely evenly and is actually very precise with its temperature. So let's say you set 400 degrees here.

Well, this will heat up to 400 degrees. It may vary a few degrees here and there, but nothing, nothing like what a real home iron will vary in terms of temperature, if that makes sense. Now, obviously, you'll also need Cricut Infusible Ink in whatever color matches the design you're using. Now we're going to have a more American style 4th of July theme, so I'm using this red, blue and I'm using the black leaf in this little package right here. Obviously use any color that matches your design. But according to my project today, that's what we're using. Now you'll also need something to apply your Cricut Infusible ink, right?

And I'm wearing this Cricut brand Infusible Ink blank t-shirt right here. Now I usually go to Walmart if I'm completely honest or really wherever and try to find any type of material that is white or light gray and has 90% or higher polyester content. I know some people will say to try to find something with 60% polyester or more. Yo, that can't be done. I want something that is at least 90% or more for the absolute best results. And if you've been here for a while, you'll know that I always have your best results in mind when I make these videos.

So this is what I'm going to make starting today and I actually found it on Cricut.com, very, very affordable. I think they were on sale or maybe even on clearance, but I'll link them in the description box below in case you want to check them out. Now whenever I play with Cricut Infusible Ink, I always like to have a pair of gloves on hand. And the reason is, if you have oil, lotion, or anything on your hands, you can damage your Cricut Infusible Ink transfer sheets just by touching them. So, as a precaution, I always like to have a pair of gloves on hand when I'm messing around or playing with them.

You will also need a pair of scissors and some weeding tools. Now, as far as actual weeding tools go, I mean, you could easily use a Cricut weeding tool. You could use a pen. You could use a stabbing and grabbing tool. Whatever suits your taste or whatever you have on hand will work well. But you pretty much just need something to help you remove your Cricut Infusible Ink. You'll also need a lint roller like this one to go over any t-shirts or materials you're applying Cricut Infusible Ink to. And the reason you want to do this is because you want to make sure that there is no lint, dirt or anything else on your shirt that will prevent Cricut Infusible Ink from being applied to your shirt, to your material.

And last but not least, you'll also need a laptop, tablet, or phone to operate Cricut Design Space. Then let's get started. So here I am on the canvas in Cricut Design Space and the first thing I want to do is come over here to the left side of the canvas and select Upload right here. And as you can see, right here I already uploaded my Abraham Lincoln Merica SVG file that we will use. I got this from DesignBundles.net in case you're interested. It is currently 50% off. So I'll leave a link for that in the description box below in case you're interested.

But I'm going to go ahead and click on that and then go down here to the bottom right corner and select Insert Images, there we go. Now I have measured my t-shirt and I know that I want my design to be nine inches tall. So what I'm going to do is get to the top of the canvas, right here where it says size. And here, next to Height, I'm going to delete those numbers. Simply type nine, press Enter, and its size will automatically change. Now there is something else. Since we can't actually layer Cricut Infusible Ink, we'll basically have to work our way through any type of designs that overlap each other.

Now we're lucky with this specific layout because nothing overlaps except one element and that's the star section right here on the right side of the canvas. The star layer overlays this blue layer here on the sunglasses. So all we have to do with this is just hold down the Shift key, select one of those layers, and then select the second layer like this. And then what we want to do is go down here to the bottom right corner of the page and select Slice. Now, what Slice is is more or less kind of cookie cutter. Anything that overlaps will be cut off completely.

Now, obviously, you'll have debris that won't be part of your image that you can go ahead and just delete. But we can do it right now. As you can see here in the top right corner, this is the result of Slice. So we don't need them. We can delete them by simply clicking on this little trash can here in the top right corner just like that. And as you can see, the stars were automatically cut out of our blue sunglasses, so perfect. No layers needed, so to speak. So what I'm going to do is go up here to the top right corner and select Make It.

Now that we're using Cricut Infusible Ink, we definitely need to mirror all of our designs. And the way we can do that is by simply coming over here on the left side of the page and clicking on this little Mirror tab right here. Next, select your second mat, mirror that one as well, and then do the same with your third mat. And then go down here to the bottom right corner and select Continue. Okay, now as far as materials go, what you want to do is select this Infusible Ink Transfer Sheet setting right here, here we go.

And now all we have to do is prepare and prepare our mats. Ok, one of the things I forgot to mention before that you will need are these Cricut cutting mats. I actually found them on Amazon, they're Cricut brand, and I bought a pack of three for, I think, 12, 13, 14 dollars. Somewhere around that range, which is just a remarkable, remarkable deal. So in case you are interested in them, I will leave the link for them in the description box below. And for now, I'll go ahead and remove my little protective sheet. I'm going to put on the gloves because, again, remember that, in my opinion, it's very important to wear gloves when handling Cricut Infusible Ink.

You don't want to ruin your transfer sheets, that's for sure. So the first layer of Infusible Ink that I'm applying to my mat is this black layer here. And yes, if you take a look at it, it doesn't look black at all, right? And that's because right now it isn't. But I promise you that once the heat activates it, it will turn black, which is really cool. Well, that applies very well to our cutting mat. So I'm going to go ahead and load it into our Cricut Maker or whatever cutting machine you're using. (The machine hums) And while that cuts, I'm going to go ahead and load my other mat.

Okay, our first mat is already cut, so I'm going to go ahead and download that and I'll go ahead and upload our second mat, which is the blue one. And while that's cutting away, I'm going to go ahead and remove this Infusible Ink transfer sheet from my mat. And the way I want to do that so I don't damage my transfer sheet is by flipping the mat over and peeling it off the Infusible Ink transfer sheet instead of the other way around. Okay, next I'm going to take my scissors and cut out around my design on my transfer sheet.

Well, as you can see on this layer here, the sunglasses or at least part of the sunglasses. So what I want to do is go through it and trim them and separate them. Alright, now comes the fun part, deleting everything, right? So what you want to do with the Cricut Infusible Ink is start rolling it. And if you can hear that, it's like a decryption method. It's basically separating all the different pieces of Infusible Ink. Now, if you've never used Cricut Infusible Ink, it's definitely different than playing with vinyl. It is actually a stiffer, thicker, and sturdier piece of material than vinyl.

Therefore, we may not even need tools for weeding. It just depends on you and your style of technique. But so far I haven't used them for this particular design. I've used them for designs in the past, but every design is a little different, right? Okay, there's our completely removed design. So now it's time for our sunglasses. Again, just turning it and turning it. Just by bending it, you don't want to damage it. I'm going to go ahead and just grab a pencil tool. And as you can see, what I'm doing now is just removing the sunglasses from the backrest.

Although very, very carefully. It's that simple. And what I'm going to do is fit them together like a puzzle piece right here on old Abe. And again, you definitely want the ink side facing up every time you do this. Well, something like this will work perfectly. Now let's move on to this other little section of the sunglasses, the red stripes. Again, just bending it to loosen it up a little bit. Okay, so there are stripes right there. But what I want to do is trim all that transfer tape or that backing sheet around that as close to the design as possible.

Alright, here we go. Now what I want is for this to fit perfectly inside these sunglasses. Again, ink side up. We will make sure there are no pieces covering other pieces of Infusible Ink. And there's our Abraham Lincoln design. Now we have one more section left and it is this 'Merica' section that I love. (laughs) I mean, it's really fun. A small country, so to speak, I suppose, like "Merica." Okay, now the little sections inside the letters. All you have to do is bend them a little and you can make them come out. It's that simple (laughs).

Alright, now I just want to trim the excess backing sheet right above it and I'm going to trim the excess backing sheet right here under his beard. 'The Merica section is as close to him as he wanted. Alright, that should work. Alright, here I am at the Cricut Heat Guide. And if you want a link to this, I'll leave it. for you in the description box below. But here is the page where we can find all the settings for any type of Cricut material or product. So up here at the top select what type of Easy Press you have.

Whether it's Easy Press Mini, Easy Press Two or just the regular older version of Easy Press. Since I'm using Easy Press Two, this will stay selected. I'm going to scroll down and select our heat transfer material and scroll down to the bottom and select the Infusible Ink Transfer Sheet. Now for our base material, I'm going to select it and then I'll go down here and select the t-shirt, click Apply. And it tells us that our heat temperature setting should be 385 degrees for 40 seconds with light pressure and a warm exfoliation. So that's what I'm going to go out and prepare for.

Alright, here's my Cricut Easy Press Two. And what I'm going to do is turn on the power just like that. I'm going to push this whole thermometer right here and then I'm going to increase that temperature up to 385 degrees. And if we were to change the temperature like time setting, what we would do is just click on this little clock here and then adjust it with this little up and down arrow here. Alright, while that heats up, what I'm going to doto do is go ahead and prepare my shirt. Okay, so I'm putting my Cricut Infusible Ink T-shirt on my Cricut Easy Press mat, just like that.

And another thing I forgot to mention before that you'll need is just a sheet of cardstock. It doesn't have to be this color. It could be normal white. But what you want to do is take a sheet of cardstock and glue it right inside the t-shirt, just below the area where you will apply your design. And the reason is to make sure that your design, your Infusible ink, doesn't bleed through or stain the back of your t-shirt. Okay, now that that's set, I just grab my lint roller and then I roll it over this shirt. From front to back in all directions, just make sure there's nothing here.

Alright, our Easy Press Two is done heating up, so what I'm going to do is grab a sheet of butcher paper. Now, this comes with your Cricut Infusible Ink, so there's really no reason to have to go out and buy it, especially since you can reuse it at least a few times. What I'm going to do is take that, apply it to my t-shirt, and then preheat it a little bit. Then we want to take our layout and I want to make at least two or three fingers under the column. Okay, so it should be fine.

And then I grab our little 'Merica and put her right under it just like that. So now I'm going to take the butcher blade and cover this again. Grab our Easy Press. Make sure it covers the entire design. Press the little Cricut button to start it and I'll apply it, it said light pressure but I'll apply light to medium pressure. Just make sure not to move your Easy Press. You don't want your Easy Press to slide around because that could move your Cricut Infusible Ink transfer sheet and could cause ghosting or blurring that just isn't pretty in most cases. (Machine beeps) Okay, here we go.

So I just want to lift it up and get it out of the design. We can go ahead and remove our butcher paper. And it said to do a warm exfoliation. Usually you just wait until it goes from hot to lukewarm. Or one way to speed up the process is by removing this Cricut Easy Press Mat from under your clothing or shirt. The reason is that this is actually designed, it's made to retain and retain heat, but also reflect heat back towards your garment or your design, which means removing it will help it cool down much quicker.

Okay, now I'm going to lift up with our design like this. And you, here is our design. Now I know a lot of people will be wondering: why can't you just use regular HTV, which is also known as heat transfer vinyl or iron-on vinyl? Why wouldn't you use that for your t-shirt? And that's a pretty valid question. You can actually use HTV on a t-shirt like this for the exact same design. But one of the advantages of Cricut Infusible Ink is that it will last much longer than iron-on vinyl or regular heat transfer vinyl. And the reason is that it actually infuses ink into the shirt.

In fact, it becomes part of the shirt. So if you stretched it out, you could see that it's now part of the fibers. The design is now infused into the fibers of the t-shirt, which is incredibly cool. It won't fade or at least it won't fade easily over time. Now, every time you wash this, you have to turn it inside out. Probably wash with colder water. Yes, this is going to last a long time. So it depends on what you want to achieve with your design. If you want something that sits on top of your shirt or if you want something that is infused into the fibers of the shirt.

But this is just an interesting little solution. Honestly, I love the design. Again, the design comes from DesignBundles.net. It's 50% off at the time of recording this, so I'll leave a link for that in the description box below. And it's not just this design. It's actually a complete 4th of July package and, I mean, it only costs a few dollars. Two, $3, something like that, very, very affordable. Now, if you all like today's project, please let me know in the comments section below, as well as hitting the like button before you go. Both of these things help me tremendously here on YouTube and I honestly can't thank you enough.

So thank you, thank you, thank you in advance. Now, just as a reminder, everything I used or mentioned today will be listed and linked in the description box below. And if you want to master your Cricut cutting machine and we would like to be in a group with many other Cricut crafters where you can ask your Cricut related questions, get some answers and show off your finished projects, if so. If you like it and get lots and lots of Cricut-related inspiration, then you should definitely be in our new Cricut Crafting Community Facebook group. But here's the thing.

It's exclusive only to subscribers of this channel, so here's a little subscriber check right now. Check if you are subscribed. If not, go ahead and hit the subscribe button and then hit the bell for all notifications and then click the link in the description box below to request to join. And hey, if you're feeling social, I'd love for you to decide to follow me on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. All of them are also listed below. As always, thank you all very much for watching today's video. I am immensely grateful for each and every one of you.

And until next time, stay crafty. (upbeat music)