This post is sponsored by Cricut. All thoughts, opinions and ideas are my own. Affiliate links ahead.
When I go to the gym, honestly one of my favorite parts is reading all the snarky t-shirts that are so popular now. Some celebrate sloth, some celebrate attitude, and some are just dang funny. (Such as, the little mermaid saying, “It’s leg day!”) When my tween daughter started joining me at the gym, shirts for her were needed. I’ll take any excuse to buy fun workout clothes…and for her, I also wanted a message. Using Cricut’s new line of SportFlex Iron On™, she got a “Strong is the New Pretty” tech material tank top that I made in a jiff.
My kid is pretty amazing. She has a sense of self-worth that took me a lot longer than 11 years to accomplish, and I so admire her for being comfortable with who she is without a lot of care about the surface stuff. She’d rather race you swimming, explore a new music artist, talk books or play you a song on her guitar than worry about what you think of her current hairstyle. She has a strong body, strong mind, and in the future, I hope she grows into a strong woman. This gym quote sums her up so well.
cricut sportflex iron on
She was beyond thrilled when I handed her this “Strong is the New Pretty” t-shirt. She’s all about girl power! And the new SportFlex Iron On™ that was used to make this gym shirt? You really have to try it.
Regular vinyl tends to peel off after a wash or two when you put it on tech fabrics like Nylon and Polyester, but Cricut’s SportFlex Iron On™ was made just for those materials so it stays! It’s thinner, lightweight and it STRETCHES. And sad to say, regular vinyl isn’t so great at stretching. After I made my first shirt with the new material, I spent some time pulling and stretching it and I can confidently tell you it does exactly what it says and bounces right back.
The instructions for ironing on SportFlex Iron On™ are only a little bit different, and I’m going to walk you through them here!
How to make a “Strong is the new pretty” gym shirt
This shirt was designed in Cricut’s Design Space with an Cricut Access plan. I think the Access Plan is totally worth it for the designs, art work and fonts that come with it, not to mention the 10% off everything that comes with a subscription.
Materials
- “Strong is the pretty” project file (click here to open)
- Cricut SportFlex Iron On™
- Tech shirt or tech tank top
Don’t you love an easy material list??
Step 1. Open up the “Strong is the pretty” project file (click here to open) in Design Space. I’ve already got it sized to 8 inches wide. If you think you need it bigger or smaller, now is when you need to do that. Make sure you mirror the image when you go to cut!
The SportFlex Iron On™cuts with the regular blade, and I’d use the stickiest mat you have for cutting. The carrier paper is very slick! After the image is finished cutting, weed it.
Step 2. Now it’s time to start heating up your Cricut EasyPress!
As a side note, this EasyPress Mat showed up at my door yesterday. It is amazing. I used it right on my nice dining room table and it’s completely heat proof and just the right size for the EasyPress.
Also, it’s cushioned. No need for the stack of towels with this, and clean up after the project is done is so much easier.
Back to heating up our EasyPress. The SportFlex Iron On™ needs to be ironed on at 305 degrees. Before you put the vinyl on, heat up your material for 10 to 15 seconds.
Put your vinyl on your shirt.
Press the front for 30 second, then press the back for 15. Peel off the plastic carrier sheet when it’s had a chance to cool down.
And you’re ready to wear or give to your favorite girl in less than 10 minutes.
What strong girl/woman do you have in your life that would love this shirt??
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
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[…] I’ve shown how to iron vinyl on shirts about a billion times on the blog, so if you need a little help with how to iron on vinyl, check out this tutorial. […]
Sandra L Garth
Friday 30th of March 2018
I'm amazed at all the possibilities Cricut has to offer. Your daughter is beautiful and strong.
Kimberly Philo
Thursday 29th of March 2018
OMG! I am so excited about this! Love that they have an EasyPress as well! Wow! Cricut makes it so easy!