Here at Coastal we like to experiment from time to time with our products. This is how we found out that we can actually use the sublimation process on white glitter flake vinyl and end up with a pretty cool effect.
For my demo, I wanted to test the process on black and white 100% cotton fabric. The white fabric was more of a fun test, knowing that the fabric will be dyed a little bit temporarily (we have heard that it does wash out with time unlike polyester which is permanent). I knew the black would work much better because black can’t be dyed and the bleed area won’t show up at all (and that’s my goal).
Materials:
• 1 black and 1 white 100% cotton sample shirt
• White glitter flake vinyl
• 2 images printed on sublimation paper
(The big image is sized to cover the whole area of the white shirt)
Step 1:
Cut and weed out your design out of the white glitter flake vinyl. Press the vinyl onto your material. I used 320 F for 5 seconds. Since I will be transferring an image for additional 30 seconds later on, the initial press should be just a few seconds enough for the vinyl to adhere.
Step 2:
Cut out your images to fit the design. For a black garment, all you need is the size of the vinyl design with some bleed area (extra printed area around the image to make alignment much easier and error-free). For the white garment, the fabric will be dyed as well, so size the image to be slightly bigger than the whole garment. I pressed the images for 45 seconds at 380 F. That seemed to produce the most vibrant transfer from various times tested at that temperature.
Note: The white fabric will fade and wash off little by little but the vinyl design will remain bright longer. This method is experimental only and the vinyl in itself was not designed for sublimation, it just happens to work with it. Not recommended for every day garment wear since due to the total pressing time of the vinyl, cracking and wear and tear may occur earlier. We have not tested the durability of it on T-shirts over time. Best used for décor.
It is February and Valentine’s theme is all around us. With that in mind, we are bringing you detailed instructions on customizing and creating your own rhinestone template designs that you can fall in love with! All you need is the Cameo, Silhouette Studio Designer edition, Sticky Flock, and of course – rhinestones!
To install the Designer edition- open the Silhouette Studio® software program, go to the “Help” menu, select” Upgrade Silhouette Studio”, enter the following: Designer Edition license key, Silhouette account email address, Silhouette account password. Click on the “Submit” button. The license key will then be applied and the software will be upgraded immediately. If you need to locate this number, you may find it by signing into your account either in the Silhouette Design Store in the software, or by signing into your account through the website. Once logged in, you may go to the My Account page. Your license key code will be listed under Silhouette Studio Keys. In the Silhouette Design Store, the number is listed at the bottom of the main account page. The Silhouette Studio Designer Edition code can only be applied twice.
You can create designs in Silhouette Studio’s Designer Edition by converting simple images to rhinestones, by point and click or completely freehand drawing. In our example, we have combined all three options.
DO NOT resize your design once it has been converted to rhinestones. The rhinestone size has been set and drawn exactly as is, so if you resize and run it through the cutter, the holes will not match the rhinestones.
Mix and Match Idea!
If you have any questions or comments about our blogs, please email info@coastalbusiness.com and we will be happy to help!