DIY Happy New Year Animal Print T-Shirt

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD THE FREE SVG FILE

The first thing you’ll need to do is get the free SVG file you’ll use for this project.  I keep all the SVG files I use for the projects I make in my SVG Library.  These SVG files work with Cricut and Silhouette machines, as well as many others.  This library is open to everyone and is free!  You can access the library here. Look for the file called Happy New Year Animal Print. It will be listed under the category New Years.

STEP 2: PREPARE THE HEAT TRANSFER VINYL

Open the design in your software program.  Size the design to fit on your t-shirt.  I sized mine to 9″ wide and left the height proportional.

When everything is sized correctly, you can cut the design with your Cricut or Silhouette.  Since we are using Heat Transfer Vinyl, you will need to mirror the design before cutting it. You’ll also want to put the clear shiny carrier sheet on your mat.

Once everything is cut, remove the vinyl from your cutting mat and weed away the excess vinyl.

Use a weeding tool to remove any small pieces left behind.

Now, grab the black layer and fold it in half and make a crease down the middle of the clear carrier sheet.

STEP 3: APPLY HEAT TRANSFER VINYL TO T-SHIRT

Start by folding the t-shirt in half and pressing with an iron or easy press to make a crease down the middle.

Unfold the shirt and place the black htv about 3″ down from the neckline.  Match up the crease on the carrier sheet with the crease on the shirt.  Now your design should be centered.

Use your iron or easy press and press the black vinyl for 3-5 seconds at 305 degrees. Each time you apply heat to HTV, it will shrink a little bit and this can make layering a bit trick.  So, we want to apply the least amount of heat as possible, just enough so the vinyl will stick to the shirt.  This should minimize the shrinkage.

Then, pull off the clear carrier sheet.

Cut apart the metallic letters and place them on the design.

The black layer will probably be just a little smaller than the metallic layer because of shrinkage.  So, you might need to stretch the shirt and the black HTV to make everything line up correctly.

Once the metallic letters are in place, put a Teflon sheet over the top of the vinyl and press for a few seconds.

Let the vinyl cool down and then remove the clear carrier sheet.

Repeat the above steps with the glitter htv.

This time, you’ll want to press the design for about 15 seconds at 320 degrees.

One the time is up, you can pull off the clear carrier sheet.

And that’s how easy it is to make your own New Year’s t-shirt!

Did you enjoy this post? Help spread the word!  Share this post on your favorite Pinterest board.  Thanks!