T-shirt Using my Cricut & Gypsy!!

Pin It Now! <>>

</>

</></><><>

</></>

Peace - Love - Bears Spirit Shirt! I get tired of the same old T-shirts all year long, so I decided to make my own. (I'm also making a few for my co-workers)  I've seen this theme before, but not quite like this. I do not own a cart with a peace sign, so I used my Gypsy to morph & weld together shapes from Plantin School book:  2 circles & 3 rectangles.For the bear paw, I used 5 circles.  I've read many blogs & the Cricut message board about cutting fabric and put all of the tips together.  I tried to find Steam a  Seam 2, but couldn't.  Since I am impatient, I found some fusing at a quilt store called "Soft Fuse."  If you can find a stiffer fusing I think it would be better.  Another important part was that this fusing has a paper backing.  This way, you can iron it on the back of you fabric before you cut it. It gives the fabric more body and also helps it cut easier. Before you iron it on, make sure that your fabric is ironed first. I also found that using heavy starch helped the fabric to cut better and have less frays.  After you iron on your fusing, take off the paper backing and stick it to your mat, fusing side down.  **VIP** Make sure that you use a BRAND new needle and mat. My settings on my Cricut were Blade 5, Pressure Max, Speed Low, and multicut 4.  The zebra print material gave me the most trouble, but after the heavy starch, it cut like a dream!  I ironed on the designs and then zig zagged around them in pink thread with my sewing machine.  I had read on the internet that you could use typing paper behind your design to keep the stitching from bunching up the shirt.  I did this on the shirt pictured, but for the rest, I am going to get some interfacing.  It is cheap and I think will give the shirt more structure!