I’m back with another Cricut DIY! This time using my brand new Cricut Maker machine! When I got my new machine, I also received the EasyPress 2, so naturally the first DIY with my new machine had to be an iron-on craft so I could try out the EasyPress.
If you are reading this and have no idea what a Cricut machine is, I would encourage you to go and check out my last post for to learn all about what these machines can do. (Coles note’s version: it’s a personal cutting machine that can cut a wide-range of materials.)
Let me start off by saying I love the EasyPress.
The EasyPress is a really handy machine and I honestly wish that I picked up one of these sooner. If you’re not too sure what it does, for those of you makers who love to make iron-on projects it gives you professional iron-on results.
I’m not going to lie – I was a little sceptical at first, I remember thinking “how much better than a regular iron can it really be?” and the truth is the results were amazing. My iron-on projects look more polished and you really can visually see a difference in the quality of the heat transfer.
The EasyPress features an edge-to-edge heat plate that evenly heats up to 400°F to give you flawless transfers and lasting results. It features a timer and an auto-shutoff feature turns it off after 10 minutes of inactivity. The tool comes in three different sizes: 6×7, 9×9 (which is what I have) and 12×10.
Let’s get on to the DIY!
For the longest time I’ve been using just an extra-large canvas shopping bag as my laundry bag. My room is pretty small so I don’t have enough space for a proper hamper so I’ve always liked just using bags. Since I’m one person too, a lot of the laundry bags on the market are either really huge or just not my style. I’ve been meaning to make my own laundry bag for a while now and the new arrival of my Cricut Maker and EasyPress was perfect timing to do just that.
Materials:
- Cricut Maker (Cricut.com / Amazon.ca)
- EasyPress (Cricut.com / Amazon.ca)
- 1 drawstring canvas bag (if you sew, you could even make your own and cut the fabric using your Cricut Maker!)
- Black iron-on vinyl
- Cricut essential tools
- Standard-grip cutting mat
- Free downloadable “laundry symbols” print by Sweeter Little Home.
I downloaded a free and super cute art print from the blog Sweeter Little Home and used it to create my iron-on graphic. The first thing I did after downloading the print was crop out the text from beneath each of the symbols.
I knew that the font would be pretty small and tricky to cut out given the size of my bag and I didn’t want to take any chances. You’ll also notice that I also ended up leaving out one row of laundry symbols as well, this again was because of the size of my laundry bag. I was just worried it wouldn’t look right if the design went too far down the bag.
Once that was done, I uploaded the .jpg to the Cricut Design Space app on my tablet, removed the white background so that it was transparent and saved it as a cut-file.
After you have the cut file prepared, it’s time to get your materials loaded and ready to go!
First, remove the protective screen from the cutting mat and roll on the iron-on material shiny-face down. Line up the top of the cutting mat with your Cricut machine and click “make it” on the Cricut Design Space app and follow the instructions on the app. When it prompts you to select your materials, choose iron-on and then load your machine using the double arrows.
Remember to select “mirror image” before clicking on the Cricut button to start cutting! Once your machine is done cutting, press the double arrow button again and get weeding.
If you haven’t heard this term before, weeding is removing of all the excess material in a design you don’t want or need. It’s oddly enough a very therapeutic and relaxing process… at least I think it is. Once all of your excess material is removed from your design, it’s time to get heat-transfering!
First things first, make sure whatever fabric you’re using for your iron-on project is wrinkle-free first. I also like to heat up the surface of my fabric first. While you’re waiting for your EasyPress or iron to fully heat up, lay out your design on top of your fabric. Be sure to press down firmly to smooth out any bumps or air bubbles. Once your heat-tool is nice and hot iron over your design.
Allow it to cool down a bit and carefully peel back the clear backing of the iron-on design at the corners just a little bit to check and ensure that the transfer is is done. If the edges on any of your design look a little loose or start to come up put the clear backing back and heat-press it again until the transfer is nice and strong.
Ta-dah, you’re all done! Be sure to lay out your design on a flat surface until it is completely cooled down.
I’m really happy with how my laundry bag turned out and it’s a big upgrade from my Urban Outfitters reusable shopping bag. If you are a sewer or feeling really ambitious, you could also actually use the Cricut Maker to cut out the pattern on the fabric and sew your own bag too. I personally haven’t tried the fabric-cutting option yet, but it’s next on my list for things to try with my Maker.
If you have a Cricut Maker or EasyPress I’d love to see and hear some of the projects you have created using them. Feel free to let me know in the comments!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. While I may have received compensation and/or product mentioned in this post, the opinions and text are all mine. This post also contains affiliate links.
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