Iron On Vinyl

[Chalet School Fan]

I've finally been getting to grips with my Cricut Explore Air (only owned it for over 3 years) and am now branching out into vinyl as well as paper. The bathroom tiles are newly adorned with turquoise whales and things like my Kindle are now personalised!
I've got TShirts and calico bags I bought to use with Screen Sensation, but I thought I might try decorating some of them with iron on vinyl. I've got a roll of the Cricut brand, but wondered if anyone had experience with other (cheaper) versions. I bought First Edition vinyl, which comes in lots of colours and works very well. It is also in 12x12 squares, which are easier to manage than rolls, which is a bonus. Are there similar brands out there for iron-on?

[Jacksmissis]

I bet there wont be many of our members who've used the "iron on" CSF, I wonder if your best place to look might be YouTube ? I've looked several times for different things and always seem to come up with an answer in some form or another.

[Chalet School Fan]

I've watched several videos on 'how to', it's the brands of vinyl I was wondering about. Looking on Amazon the reviews differ widely for the variety of brands they have, so I just wondered if anyone had used something they would recommend. I've got some Cricut own brand which I bought ages ago in a sale, but it expensive to buy a range of colours when I'm planning to sell stuff at a church fair.

[pyjama princess]

I have a Scan n Cut and hope eventually to do some of the iron on stuff. I belong to a FB group where they're always showing their iron on makes. And there's always question about what makes to use. If I come across any hints and tips CSF I'll come back and post the info here.

[pyjama princess]

Found a thread from someone in the UK (most vinyl queries seem to be from USA folks!). The website that been suggested is GMCrafts.
A quote I've copied:
'GMCrafts sell HTV cuts beautifully on cn900. Irons on with DRY Iron but if you use a steam iron on dry you will have areas under the holes which you need to make sure you iron over.'

Someone else has suggested using a large baking tray to iron on top of. It gives a flat surface and heats up so the heat bounces back.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Chalet School Fan]

Thanks for that information PP. I've already ordered some cheap stuff in lots of colours to play with - it had good reviews from most people so it should work OK. I've had a look at GMCrafts and they've got lots of different finishes. Once I've got the hang on bags and t-shirts I might well feel the urge to get more adventurous!

[Chalet School Fan]

Spent today making drawstring bags from school themed fat quarters for countdown back to school calendars for my grandchildren. One is starting secondary school and two are moving from nursery into infant school, so lots of worries about new experiences, especially after a term of home schooling. I have bought 10 items of age appropriate stationery which I will wrap up and number. They'll go into the bags and the children can open one item each day. It starts with a personalised pencil case courtesy of my Cricut and stick on vinyl and then there are pencils, erasers, note books etc which they can use next term. I'm going to put their names on the bags with the glittery iron on vinyl I got in a starter pack with my Cricut.
I had planned on an Advent style calendar made from small boxes, but struggled to find things small enough to fit in. This way I have been able to include a reading book, an A5 notebook pencils and a geometry set (for the 11 year old).
I have made them all personalised Christmas Eve boxes, which I now fill every year and I can see me trying to source items for the back to school countdown for a few years as well!