Whale Hello There Wrap Around T-Shirt

and thanks for stopping by the Siser Blog! We’re always experimenting with fun ways to use heat transfer vinyl that we can share with you. If you’ve used heat transfer vinyl before the most likely thing you applied it on is a t-shirt. Maybe you did a left chest logo or jersey names and numbers. Those are great common uses for HTV. But sometimes you may have a customer that wants do things more unconventionally. A fun way to place their logo or graphic is so that it wraps around the side of the shirt.

Wrap around designs are easier to apply than they look! So let’s dive in!

I didn’t have a customer logo to use so I started brainstorming and ended up on smiling marine life! I drew the grinning whale first in pencil and then I outlined it with a black sharpie. I go into detail about how to scan an image/text into the Brother ScanNCut 2 to create a cut file in this post.

Previously, I used the standard mat to scan in images. You can use any Brother mat for scanning which is super handy. However they do make a scanning mat for the specific purpose of- you guessed it- scanning! I chose to use the scanning mat for this project. It has a nice clear cover that holds your paper in place, plus its 24″ long so you have twice the scanning area than usual!

After my drawing was scanned and uploaded to ScanNCut Canvas I cleaned up the lines with the Path tool that reveals all the point nodes. Next I used the Weld function to create the speech bubble. Finally, I really like the Salamanca font in ScanNCut Canvas so I used it for the whale’s greeting.

Create unique shapes and edit individual points with the Path tool.

Use the Weld function to turn basic shapes into new objects

When I was happy with how everything looked I wirelessly transferred the design to the Brother ScanNCut 2. Although I try to complete my designs in ScanNCut Canvas, sometimes I realize an object’s size or orientation needs adjusting. The ScanNCut can do those things right on its touch screen which is so useful. I often use the reverse end of my Siser Weeder to tap around on the touch screen when I misplace the ScanNCut stylus tool.

Check out this post to to find your ideal cut settings on the Brother ScanNCut 2. When everything is cut you can trim your design from the remaining HTV sheet and weed away the extra material left around the design.

Don’t forget to mirror your image in ScanNCut Canvas or on the touch screen.

When everything is weeded you can move on to heat application. For EasyWeed™ set your heat press to 305°F with medium pressure. Now here’s the secret to applying a wrap around design: heat transfer pillows! Lay your t-shirt on the heat press so that the side seam is in the center of the lower platen. Then place a heat transfer pillow inside (I used the 12″ x 14″.) The pillow allows you to press HTV directly on the seam without creating gaps or puckering.

If your design is larger than the lower platen you’ll have to press as much of the logo as you can, slide the t-shirt, and press the second portion. This is easy to do when you’re using EasyWeed™ which is a hot or cold peel, so waiting to peel the cover sheet until after the second press will be just fine.

Since the bottom most layers will receive the heat from the additional layers, I did short presses until the end where I did a longer press. You might think “longer heat = better stick”, but it’s actually possible to overcook your vinyl which can cause visual imperfections and ruin the adhesive. If you keep pressing and pressing and the vinyl is just not sticking you might be experiencing an improper pressure problem. If that’s the case you need to read this post.

1 second tack for black and sky blue EasyWeed™

5 second press for pale blue EasyWeed™

1 second tack for black EasyWeed™

10 second press for sky blue EasyWeed™

A pretty cute shirt that’s what!

This is a unique way to apply heat transfer vinyl to a t-shirt. Keep wrap around t-shirts in mind next time you feel like your designs are getting stale. Maybe you just need to apply it in a new place!

Check out this close up of the side seam. Looks great all thanks to a heat transfer pillow!

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