Iron-On Fabric Transfers

Back in June, I had a little something I needed to tell My Mr. Right.  But, I didn’t want to just blurt it out.  It was a Sunday, so I was limited to my on-hand stash.  Not only that, we had an Army BBQ that afternoon.  It was mandatory for My Mr. Right to attend and we hadn’t gotten to see much of him so Little Monkey and I decided to go, and took Little Monkey along too.  Because of that, I was also limited on my time frame to complete my project.

If you have never used iron-on transfers, you really ought to try them.  They are a little on the pricey side, but every once in a while, they are worth it.  And they are pretty easy to use.  You will need printable, iron-on transfers, you can purchase them at craft stores (but I got the cheap Wal-Mart knock off.  Brand doesn't really matter.  However, there is a certain kind for dark fabrics, so make sure you get the right ones) and an ink jet printer.

Source

Here’s the How:
1)  Design your label or appliqué in Paint, Word or Photoshop.  The lion clip art is just from the Word clip art collection. 
2)  Print it according to the instructions that come with the transfers.  Make sure you mirror the image, if you’re instructed to do so.  My printer has a "t-shirt transfer" setting in the set-up menu.  When I selected that, it mirrored the image for me (which I had forgotten to do).  So, if your printer has a similar setting, make sure you don't end up mirroring the image twice and ending up right back where you started.
3)  Let the ink dry completely.  Cut your image out.  The more detailed you get with your cutting the better your image will wear, especially if your fabric stretches.  Turn your iron on to hot, with no steam.  Place your transfer image side down and press firmly with the hot iron for 2-3 minutes.
4)  Carefully, pull the backing off your image.  If there are parts that stick, lay the backing down and put the iron back on it.  Let the image cool before you stretch it.  Once it's cool, wear.  Launder inside out.

This made my announcement a lot more memorable than the last time I announced our impending parenthood… but, we’re not gonna go down that road…  =]  And we have a fun little keepsake too...

Well, we used to.  We used it to tell my parents and siblings that we're adding another cub to our den.  That went well and we decided to take it to My Mr. Right's family reunion and put Little Monkey in it to announce it to the rest of his family.  We were camping and eating huckleberries and raspberries.  It's now a filthy, stained hot mess and I'm a little bit scared to try and launder it.  I have a suspicion it might end up in the trash...  But, it was fun while it lasted.

And, just because these are cute...

Krista