How to Heat Apply Front Zip Hooded Sweatshirts

As humorous as the awareness apparel can get, Breast Cancer is a serious matter. According to breastcancer.org 1 out of 8 women will develop breast cancer over their lifetime. However, women are not the only ones effected by breast cancer. Men can develop breast cancer as well. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month which means it’s the perfect time to start promoting your pink products. Better yet, create a custom piece of pink Breast Cancer Awareness apparel with Siser heat transfer vinyl!

I made this breast cancer awareness artwork in Adobe Illustrator and saved my file as a .svg. Before uploading the file, make sure all text is recognized as objects. After uploading, I separated the colors on to their own mats and saved them individually.

After I had each mat ready to cut I connected my flash drive to the Brother ScanNCut2. This post shows how to upload files from your flash drive to the ScanNCut as well as how to find your best cut settings. I ended up cutting EasyWeed Stretch with the Blade at 2, Cut Speed: 4, Cut Pressure: 3. EasyWeed was cut with the same Blade and Speed settings, however it’s a bit thicker than Stretch so I bumped up the Cut Pressure to 4. Glitter was cut with the Blade at 3, Cut Speed: 4, Cut Pressure: 9.

Weeding Tip: When weeding script fonts, pull the excess vinyl from the top down so that the crevices get weeded naturally with less hassle.

When all the extra vinyl is weeded away and you’ve cut the clear carrier sheets close to the remaining vinyl you can move on to heat application. For EasyWeed and EasyWeed Stretch set the heat press to 305°F with  medium pressure.

Put your garment on the heat press so that the hood hangs off and all seams are off the lower platen. Pre-press your garment before applying the heat transfer vinyl. This will remove any wrinkles or moisture that may be lingering in the fabric. Then you can set up your transfers. For a front zip hoodie like this, you’ll want to be aware of where the hood will lie on the finished product. Make sure it won’t cover up your design. I found a good placement based off of where the sleeve seams end. Cover your garment with a heat transfer cover sheet and do the EasyWeed 1 second tack.

White EasyWeed Stretch is the first layer.

I peeled the carrier hot and aligned my next EasyWeed Stretch layer. Each layer was pressed with a cover sheet for 1 second and the carrier was peeled hot.

Layer two has black EasyWeed™ Stretch and Pink EasyWeed.

Another layer of Black EasyWeed Stretch and a layer of Orange EasyWeed Stretch. Then another layer of White EasyWeed Stretch.

I pressed the Hot Pink Glitter last. Siser Glitter can only be layered when it will be the top layer. Cover the back of the hoodie with a cover sheet and press for 10 seconds. This final press adheres the Glitter and fully cures the EasyWeed and EasyWeed Stretch layers. Peel the Glitter carrier warm.

To heat press the left chest of a front zip hoodie you’ll need to use stacked mouse pads or a heat transfer pillow to raise the application area above the metal zipper. Mouse pads are firmer and offer a bit more stability than the pillow. When you’ve raised your application area, pre-press the front of the garment. Be careful not to touch the metal zipper after pressing- it will be hot! If you’re working with a plastic zipper you’ll want to unzip the jacket for heat application and let one side hang off the press. This will put less heat on the plastic and prevent possible melting.

Similar to the back of the jacket, I layered EasyWeed Stretch and EasyWeed with the 1 second tack. Each press was done with a heat transfer cover sheet and the carrier was peeled hot. I did four presses altogether, with the final press lasting 10 seconds to fully adhere the HTV. Keep in mind when layering HTV that the carrier sheets can’t overlap during heat application.

White EasyWeed Stretch is the first layer again.

A Pink EasyWeed layer for the hooter, and a Bubble Gum Pink EasyWeed layer for the ribbon.

Next I did a black EasyWeed Stretch layer. The final layer was orange EasyWeed Stretch and white EasyWeed Stretch.

Now I have a great piece of breast cancer awareness apparel! Help raise awareness this October by not only wearing pink, but customizing your apparel with pink heat transfer vinyl! You can download the art used in the post in this .zip file. Don’t forget to include #SiserNA when you post your projects. We may just give you a shout out on our social media! You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest!