A Red Hot Chili Peppers Inspired Band T-shirt

Lollapalooza, the 3 day alternative rock extravaganza, is less than two weeks away! Three days means three outfits. Have you packed your favorite band T-shirt yet? Why not make your favorite band T-shirt? You can create a Lollapalooza worthy top with Siser heat transfer vinyl!

This year’s event is extra special as it’s Lollapalooza’s 25th Anniversary. 25 years is a big deal, so they’re bringing in some big headliners: Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, LCD Soundsystem and J. Cole. I personally am not able to attend the show, but man am I jealous of those who will. Out of these headliners, I’ve been a fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers the longest so I thought it would be fitting to create my band T-shirt inspired by RHCP. Last month they released their 11th studio album, The Getaway with the single “Dark Necessities” that’s currently #2 on the Alternative Songs Billboard. Now that I have my inspiration I can start designing!

The Red Hot Chili Pepper’s signature asterisk is the focal point in both designs. For the heart I used the “Divide” tool in the “Modify” window to punch out the asterisk. This will be the left chest embellishment on my T-shirt. For the back of the band t-shirt, I used the large asterisk with the beginning lyrics of “Dark Necessities” typed on a circle in Silhouette Studio.

After everything is created make sure to mirror your design before cutting.

I used black StripFlock for the heart to add some texture. I think I’m going to need to re-sticky the Silhouette cutting mat soon because my StripFlock didn’t want to stay put on it. A nice thing about StripFlock though is it can be run through the cutter without the mat. Just make sure the material is lined up evenly under the white pinch rollers and select “Load Media” instead of “Load Mat.” You always want the carrier side down while cutting HTV. My cut settings were Blade: 3, Speed: 8, Thickness: 8.

Look closely and you can see the cut lines!

For the black EasyWeed my cut settings were Blade: 2, Speed: 8, Thickness: 6. I’ve been consistently cutting EasyWeed at a thickness of 5, but I’ve been using the same blade for a while now, so it makes sense that I’m going to have to start raising my settings as the blade gets worn down. Everyone’s blade use will vary, that’s why it’s always a good idea to do a test cut before committing to cutting out a whole design.

When the Silhouette Cameo is finished cutting you can unload the material and weed away the excess vinyl to reveal your design!

Here’s a neat trick: Cut off a small piece of carrier sheet from your design and use it to catch all the tiny pieces that get weeded. I love anything that cuts down on cleaning time. Now I don’t have to hunt down every shred of vinyl after I’m done weeding. I just toss it in the trash and move on to heat application!

Set the Heat Press to 305° F for EasyWeed. Always pre-press the garment for 2-3 seconds before applying HTV. Lay the EasyWeed transfer on the garment, place a heat transfer cover sheet on top, and press for 15 seconds with medium pressure. Peel the carrier hot.

To apply the StripFlock heart, turn up the heat press to 320° F. Align the heart for a left chest placement, cover with a cover sheet and press for 15 seconds. Peel the carrier cold.

I love tie dye shirts for musical festivals. It’s a perfect time to wear something bright, fun and completely unique. Adding heat transfer vinyl makes this a one of a kind shirt!

What have you been making this summer? Share your creations with us on social media. Tag us on Instagram with #SiserNA, Tweet @Siser_NA, or leave us a comment on Facebook.