Introduction:
Before we dive into Cricut:
Let’s start by talking about runDisney. In summary it’s Disney’s way of doing running marathons. The best twist to this is it always involves running on Disney Property!! Usually in California or Florida. Occasionally, you see them at Disney’s private Caribbean island Cataway Cay which is only accessible by Disney Cruise Line. Don’t worry if you can’t make the park, every event offers a virtual version where you get the medals and swag for the event, but can run the distances from anywhere. Truthfully you can just buy the medals and swag and not run anything, but that’s not what you’re paying for!! There’s usually a yoga type in front of the park’s key monument (IE: Disneyland Castle in CA, or the Chinese Theater in Hollywood Studio FL.) Lastly if you’re trying to integrate your children, there’s Kid’s races!!
Now you might say, why do I care and why does this have to do with Cricut? runDisney is known for people coming in specialized attire that looks like Disney characters! it’s part of the fun and really gets you into the spirit.
Cricut or other vinyl cutters are great for cutting iron on vinyl which you can use to heat press your designs and make custom costumes to wear! There are competitors like Silhouette and Sieser which have their merits but Circut has been the standard and the original. I remember as a kid, watching informercials and seeing this a something sold and i was too young to really understand the significance. That was over 18 years ago!!
This section of the page we’ll immerse into that world and talk about lessons learned that will aim to save you money.
MACHINE INTRO:
Note that when you buy into the eco system, you will 100% need MORE than just the machine. Even on a base level you need the machine, iron on vinyl, mat, heat pad, at least 1 weeder, and a heat press. You can substitute some things like the heat pad, weeder, but everything else is a must!
With Cricut in particular they offer first time bundles that take care of the above needs so you can hit the ground running. I would buy the bundle at least once with the cutter or the heat press but not both. If you buy from cricut they tend to offer the same addons just a different machine. You do not need these things strictly to be Cricut branded.
The the purposes of making Disney gear, and if you’re a cosplayer, 100% go with the Cricut Maker or Maker 3. These cut cloth. If you want to go into an Etsy business this is great! If you’re just a hobbyist or just want to make things this is for you.
Anything other that the reasons listed above you do not need that.
Before we begin this section these are links that earn me commission! It does so much to support this page all all the information! thanks for following along!
Pros: Comes with Cricut Easy Press 9×9” and Cricut Maker 3. Comes with basic tools and a heat pads. 9ft of heat Transfer (HTV) vinyl to play with
Cons: Comes with a semi useless Heat Transfer Vinyl. The blue halo is great, but 9 ft of the same one is somewhat useless. You’ll need more to begin layering. It’s also a smart Iron On which means you don’t need a cutting mat, but may be advanced for a beginner. i personally am not a fan of the 9×9” Easy Press. Tshirts are huge and you’ll need the extra pressing space. 9×9” is substantially cheaper!
Pros: Links to iOS/Droids to control temperature. There’s also presets for every product you need.
Cons: It’s the priciest of all Cricut’s Hand Presses. In my opinion if you have to cheap out of the machine or the heat press, I would cheap out on the cutter for over $125 in savings.
Cricut Easy Press 3 Iron On Bundle
Pros: Links to iOS/Droids to control temperature. There’s also presets for every product you need. Comes with better HTV options.
Cons: They are square pieces of HTV 12×12 which is small. It’s great for touch ups or smaller visuals but for big ones no.
Pros: It’s the cheapest bang for buck that does not compromise what can can do. It cuts 12Ft as per makers!
Cons: It’s still pricey but honestly if you aren’t opening a shop or going crazy with wood, This is your machine.
Pros: Cheapest possible fullsized vinyl cutter.
Cons: It’s bare bones. There’s just enough to cut basic 2ft vinyl and not much else (higher models can cut up to 12 ft). For $50 less it’s better to at least get the Explorer 3. In the Long run being able to cut 12 ft will be helpful!
File Format:
Cricut uses the file format .SVG mainly. Both the programs in the next section work to make .SVG. SVG format is basically a modifiable picture that has it’s layers in deifferent sections. This is good because when you’re trying to layer on the Cricut it needs to have every color separated. So all the yellow cuts should be together or the green, blue, etc. the SVG format imports into Cricut design space and you can move it around or hide it to allow for all the colors to be cut close, to save vinyl.
PROGRAMS YOU NEED:
Cricut has an atypical image editing software component to their printing program. It’s great to set up the print, but for image editing you’ll need better tools designed just for images. There’s several that make images or allow you to fine tune what you have. Remember that at the end of the day you need an image to actually do anything with Cricut, that includes text.
Design space is okay to start off, but if you’re serious about Cricuting them for sure try to use the below:
Types of Materials:
Cricut has a wide range of heat transfer vinyl. There’s also a transferrable ink that relies on polyester. To successfully make clothes you need to know how much polyester is in the medium and what type of vinyl (or ink) you need. Confused? Let’s focus on everything that’s cotton first. Most shirts you buy at Michael’s or hobby shops are all cotton. Drifit material (feels like a swimming rash guard) has a more shiny slick feel. Look on the tag and it will tell you the polyester or cotton content. I like Bella+Canvas (“B+C”) but they don’t stock kids ones at hobby shops. Popular ones are the Gildan series shirts.
Bella+Canvas feels softer, more rich and generally just a better t-shirt blank. The problem is it’s 3x the cost of Gildan and ONLY adult sizes are found in commercial stores. On sale it’s about $9-10 and not all Joanns or Michaels or Hobby Lobby has them. Sometimes when they have it, they don’t even bother restocking. I would say if you need kids one Gildan’s are okay but they feel more grainy and when washed they shrink pretty bad. If you can wait a week and are okay with $10 shipping you can buy the B+C kids ones on their wholesale site. (yes I know, it sounds like a distributor and it isn’t. It’s a standard site that you can buy stuff). Another plus is B+C offers 2-4x more colors than Gildan so it’s better to style them for yourself without needing to manually dye them.
Gildan has both kids and adults in most hobby shops. DO NOT PAY more than $3 a shirt for them, literally over 2 weeks it goes on “sale” for that or a buy 4 for $12. Either ways for Gildan only do $3 a shirt. Their selection is a lot more compact and less colors. but if you a quick project that’s easy access to kids and adults. Just plan ahead and get to know the stores in your area. Some will be in constant disarray, some have no inventory, some have an abbreviated selection.
The last two paragraphs talk about COTTON based t shirts. These are great for Cricut “Everyday iron on,” “Glitter iron on,” “UV Iron on,” “Glow in the dark iron on,” “Foil iron on.” As long as it’s Heat Transfer Vinyl (“HTV”) then you’re fine for cotton.
Now let’s look at polyester and Cricut Infusable Ink.
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