Use Your Cricut to Make a Custom Applique T-Shirt

If your child has a favorite character or wants a certain theme for his or her birthday, you can make a fun appliqué t-shirt using your Cricut. I'll provide both sewing instructions and non-sewing instructions so you can make a custom shirt with any skill level! For the article photo, I made a cute Dalmatian puppy design using my Cricut, a free SVG file, and SCAL (Sure Cuts A Lot software).

Supplies Needed

Cricut (or other die cut machine)

A die cut design from your choice of cartridge or SVG file

Cardstock

Fusible web such as Heat-n-Bond Lite

Iron

Pencil

Blank t-shirt

Fabric scraps

Scissors

Sewing machine (for sewing method)

Fabric paint and other optional embellishments

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make a Custom Appliqué T-shirt

1. Choose the design that you want to turn into an appliqué. Larger designs and silhouettes work best. Designs with intricate or small pieces will not work.

2. Cut your desired pattern onto cardstock on your Cricut or other die cut machine. This will become your pattern piece. Cutting fabric on the Cricut is possible, but can be rather difficult so this method saves your blade, mat, and a little sanity!

3. Peel your design off your mat.

4. Lay out a piece of Heat-n-Bond Lite so that the paper side is facing you.

5. Flip your cardstock pattern over so that the right side is facing down onto the Heat-n-Bond Lite. You want to trace the reverse image so the finished image will be oriented correctly.

6. Trace each pattern piece onto the fusible web. In the photo example, the design uses just 2 pieces: a dog silhouette and a scarf.

7. Iron the fusible web, following the manufacturer's directions, to the wrong side of each appropriate piece of fabric. For example, I ironed the dog silhouette to the paw print fabric and the scarf to the red fabric.

8. Let cool for a few minutes.

9. Peel the backing off the fusible web.

10. Place the design pieces onto the front of the blank t-shirt, making sure the right sides are facing you.

11. Iron each piece into place.

Sewing Finishing Steps

1. Use your sewing machine and stitch around all appliqué pieces to anchor it permanently to the t-shirt. You can use a satin stitch or other decorative stitch. I used a blanket stitch in the example.

2. Embellish with fabric paint, hot fix crystals, ribbons, or other materials. In my example, I used white fabric paint to accent some of the dog's features such as the face, legs, and paws.

Non-Sewing Finishing Steps

1. You can still anchor your design to the t-shirt without any sewing skills. Take the fabric paint and carefully trace around all the raw edges to seal them. Although this method may not last as long as sewing, your child will still get plenty of wear from the t-shirt.

2. Embellish with hot fix crystals, ribbons, or other materials.