A new toy! Fun experiments coming soon
I was super lucky to have a very generous supporter send me a Cricut machine many months back, and I finally spent some time trying to get it all set up recently...but it turns out I really am just a Silhouette gal through and through 😅 The Cricut was an older model, and I'm actually not the /most/ tech savvy, so sadly in the end we just couldn't understand one another. I had used an old Silhouette brand machine before at my last day job, learning its quirks, how to understand the wonky software, how to set their autoblade up for different materials and such. So when the Cricut and I just couldn't seem to find common ground, I broke down and snapped up one of these last season Cameo 4 machines online as my early Christmas bonus. They have a newer flashier model, but this Cameo 4 is still an upgrade from the machine I had used before and is perfectly suited to do all I will need it to!
Should I be investing in any new equipment that I'll just have to pack up in the move in a few months? No. Did I have any room in the studio for a new machine? No. Did I have ideas of printing out iron on silver chain mail to fuse onto any fabric I please? Yes. (Also, how has no one done the Worth Iron Work Gown (tm?) with custom cut flock vinyl on taffeta yet?? Have they?? Does it fall to me? Don't threaten me with a good time)
Heat transfer vinyl materials are mostly used for t-shirts and sportswear, team tops, cheer practice duds, custom bridal party swag. I spent the last two years before I went full time on YouTube in 2020 working for just such a local company making a lot of t-shirts for dance studios in town and lamenting being any sort of cog in the t-shirt market at all (because like all fast fashion, the margins betray the foul truth, the people making the products were not being paid REMOTELY fairly). But while I spent those many hours making dozens of cheer competition tees, I couldn't help but imagine what was /actually/ possible with these cutting machines and the various materials. Screw t-shirts, this is custom textiles in any design you can dream up, on demand!? Infinitely repeatable, or one of a kind. The materials come in dozens of colors and finishes, from faux velvet flock, to iridescent beetle back metallics.
And well, I just couldn't wait any longer to give it a try.
Also...since I stopped working for that business, this cut vinyl craft exploded into Michaels and Joann and went totally DIY. And why not! It's super easy to get started and I'm very excited to play with the fashion applications of all this fun stuff. Surely cosplayers use it? I have no idea but they must! And now I will too ✨ I have already started my first real project and I can't wait to show you the results very soon!
Thank you so much for making studio upgrades like this possible with your support. I could never have dreamed I would get to follow my creative design whims like this to such exciting new places, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity you continue to give me to expand my ideas into reality ❤
Comments (20)
Definitely check out cosplay youtubez for tutorials/inspiration etc. I've seen all kinds of fabulous stuff from that sector! Also of note: screen printing using heat-transfer inks has also changed significantly in the last 5/10 years. My dad just invested in a system that prints out what is essentially ink on a "sticker" that is then put into a heat press with the garment. He's extremely happy with it so far, says the amount of detailing and colorwork (ombres etc) is far and beyond anything he expected, having previously been using manual screen printing techniques. Definitely worth looking into various tech to see how it can change/help your crafting plans! I'll also mention, but assume you've seen, the fabric printers where you can design & print your own custom patterns? The things I've seen designers use those for are insane!
One of the places I worked at before doing Youtube had a giant digital printer and huge pressing machine that could do rolls of fabric, but they did noooot use it to make actually cool stuff, which was just disappointing!
Hi, Now the cat tax is payed for the time being. The machine? I have no idea what that thing even is. I'm sure you'll put it to some amazing use. Yours, Ann
Ooh nice! A while ago i learned to use a cricut machine ( one from brother) to cut out templates in plastic sheets, which can be used to make burnout velvet ( put templatesheet on fabric with some sort if fabricglue spray, put burn out solution in the holes) and lowkey want a cricut machine to make my own burnout velvet! But not yet in the budget.
I went for the model older than the current machine since I knew it could still do everything I needed and more, so it's definitely worth checking to see if anyone upgraded and is selling an older machine second hand 🤔✨
Oooo faux velvet flock 😍. Excited to see your journey with your new machine. I’m thinking of buying something like a cricut but not made the leap yet. Interested on your thoughts about using the materials in a way that doesn’t waste too much, as that’s what’s put me off. Haven’t seen anyone do the worth gown with decals from something like the cameo, that would be amazing!!
I think the material waste could be cut down a lot as long as you were willing to be a lot more fiddly with placing all the design elements manually 😅 There were some bit of my design for the dress I just finished where I left quite a bit of "waste" space to get the exact spacing I was after between two mirrored symmetrical designs, but if you spent time with a ruler and carefully spaced things out even that could be avoided!
I'm looking forward to seeing this. I hope to get some ideas on how to use my Cricut machine for enhancing my clothing. In return can I interest you in the wonders of machine embroidery? 😈
Until embroidery machines can do beads and sequins I think we will have fundamental differences unfortunately 🤣✨
I'd buy an Ollie calendar!
Did I miss something, are you moving soon?? Did you get a house??
Soon as in I start looking in earnest in January and hope to buy/move before the end of Spring!
He’s a cutie pie all right … kinda sorta winkin’ at ya, sayin’ “Momma, come find me!”
Cosplayers definitely use them. I occasionally do the same sort of things you used to do at my job (though I'm primarily doing embroidery) and the potential is so much more than it's used for. Looking forward to seeing what you do!
Oliver,......how is he so purrrrrrrfect?
Redthreaded did the Iron Work Gown a few years back and Naomi Sparrow did a different color way version of it a few months ago. I think they both printed out the pattern and hand cut the appliqués but the cameo would probably make it a lot faster!
I think Redthreaded's Worth gown is the modern definitive version for me 🤩 I just wondered if anyone has done it specifically with heat transfer flock is all 🤔
Would it work on netting? Eg. Lace design in flocked velvet onto sheer nude illusion mesh
The flock vinyl has a layer of "glue" on the underside that would be stuck to nothing if done on a very open net, so one would have to figure a way around that, but on a close mesh or tulle it should work fine yes!
Also, I forgot I slipped a photo of my cat Oliver playing in his old cat tree as soon as it got boxed up 😂 I simply looked over while having lunch and he popped up out of the box and it was too cute!