In this post you will learn how to make Cricut Tea Towels with Iron-On vinyl using your Cricut machine. At the end, you will have a cute St. Patrick’s Day towel (or potholder, bar mop or hand towel) that everyone will enjoy looking at and a fun, new, Cricut Iron-On craft skill that you can apply to all kinds of fabrics!
This last Christmas, I created kitchen gift baskets for my extended family. They loved them! Inside were flour sack Cricut tea towels, a double oven mitt and some handy utensils which were all customized with Cricut Iron-On heat transfer vinyl. It was so much fun and I want to share this process with you!
There are many ways to use heat transfer vinyl on fabrics; not just towels. Once you learn how to do it, the sky is the limit. You can DIY Iron-On/HTV on shirts, socks, denim jackets, hats, mugs, tumblers, beach towels; you name it! Create gift baskets galore for friends and family. There are also many different types of heat transfer vinyl. Learn about them in The Different Types of Heat Transfer Vinyl.
For learning how to do Iron-On/HTV, I like starting with towels because they are rectangular and easy to center your graphics on. It’s a great project for a beginner.
And just for this project, I have a free St. Patrick’s Day SVG file and a link to one in Cricut Design Space for you to use. Grab it here. It’s great for bar mops, kitchen towels and hand towels; even t-shirts!
There are several things you will need to make Cricut tea towels (or bar mops, hand towels, and potholders). You may already have these items around the house and purchased from doing other projects. If you’re not sure what basics you need, check out Cricut Accessories You Need and Ones That are Nice to Have.
I don’t recommend a household iron for the actual vinyl pressing of Cricut tea towels because they have a hard time getting up to and maintaining temperature. If you choose to use a household iron, you will need an infrared thermometer to make sure it gets up to temperature and stays there and maintains that temperature across the plate.
I recommend getting an Cricut EasyPress 2 if you are planning on doing Cricut Iron-On/HTV more than rarely.
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Supplies you will need:
- One color of Iron-On vinyl/heat transfer vinyl: Cricut Iron-On in green glitter or everyday green, or other brand HTV
- Cricut EasyPress, AutoPress or a heat press to attach the design to the tea towel.
- Cricut EasyPress mat to keep the design from wrinkling during pressing.
- Cricut StandardGrip mat to hold the design as it is cut by your Cricut.
- Weeding tool kit to weed the excess vinyl from the design.
- Brayer (optional) to adhere the vinyl more completely to the mat.
- Craft knife (optional) to cut away the extra vinyl from around the design on the mat.
- Scissors (optional)
- Cricut Premium Fine Point Blade (You should have one of these from your machine purchase, but here’s the link for a replacement in case you need a new one.)
- Cricut Maker Series machine or Cricut Explore Series machine to cut the design.
- Teflon sheets or parchment paper (optional) to eliminate burn and even heating.
- Lint roller to remove any lint or stray fibers from the towel.
- Household iron to iron your towel beforehand (or use your EasyPress).
- Flour sack towels (I love these. I’ve been using them for years!) bar mops, hand towels or Big Red House double oven mitt.
How to Make Your Cricut Tea Towels
Prepping
- Preheat your Cricut EasyPress, AutoPress or heat press. For Everyday Iron-On: set the temperature to 315° and the timer to 30 seconds. For Glitter Iron-On vinyl, set the temperature to 330° and the timer to 30 seconds. These settings are for a 100% cotton towel and Cricut Everyday or Glitter Iron-On vinyl. If the Cricut Iron-On vinyl type or fabric is different, check what your temperature and time should be. For different heat transfer vinyl brands: if you are using Siser HTV, check here. If you are using Stahl brand, check here. Otherwise, check the manufacturer’s website for information on temperature and time.
- Gather your supplies and organize.
- Make sure the Premium Fine Point Blade is inserted into your machine.
- Make sure you have a clean Cricut StandardGrip mat. If necessary, clean your mat with baby wipes or dish soap, or your preferred method.
- Iron your towel so that all of the wrinkles are removed. I like to iron in my side creases and folds so I can see the area I have to work with for my heat transfer vinyl as well. It makes it easier to center.
Open the Design in Cricut Design Space
The design already in Cricut Design Space and the SVG you downloaded are the same. I’ve already done the work you would have to if you were to upload the design yourself. To save you from that work, let’s go directly into Cricut Design Space and access the design using the link from the email when you signed up. Save the design you downloaded for later when you want to modify it in Design Space or use it in another design application.
If for any reason you don’t have the link, contact me and I will get it to you.
To open the tea towel design directly within Cricut Design Space, click on the link in the email you received when you signed up for the SVG and Cricut Design Space link. Select “Open in App” at the bottom right of the screen. Select “Open Cricut Design Space Desktop Application”.
Select “Customize”.
Sizing the Design
My tea towel design area for my flour sack is approximately 9″ W x 12″ L. I have sized the design for that area. You may need to change the size for your towel. Click on the design and move it a bit to the right if you need to. Make sure the “lock” stays locked (don’t click on it). That way the ratio is maintained. Resize to the size you need by clicking, holding and dragging on the corner with the arrows.
Alternatively, you can type a specific width or length in the “Size” area on the top menu bar to the right of “Flip“.
If the length and width ratio don’t work, you can change the ratio a bit. Click on the “lock” on the lower left corner to unlock it. Resize by moving the arrows in the lower right hand corner, or type in a specific value in the width and length boxes on the top menu. When finished resizing, relock the lock to keep any ratio accidents from happening afterward.
Selecting Your Machine
Before we click on “Make it”, make sure you have the correct machine selected in the upper right-hand side of the screen next to the “Make it” button if you have multiple machines. If the incorrect one is selected, select the correct one by clicking on the button and finding the right one. If the correct one isn’t there, troubleshoot the Bluetooth, make sure it’s turned on, recycle the machine, make sure it’s been registered, etc.
Once you are connected to the correct machine, click “Make It” in the upper right-hand corner.
Preparing to “Make It”
If you have an Explore 3 or a Maker 3, a popup will show asking if you are going to cut matless, on a mat or if you will manually select for each load (if you have more than 1 color). If you will be using a roll or sheet of smart vinyl without a mat, select “Without Mat“. Otherwise, choose “On Mat” and we will use a mat with a piece of Iron-On or heat transfer vinyl.
Preparing to “Make It” 2
Because we are cutting Iron-On/HTV, we will need to mirror our vinyl. Toggle the “Mirror” switch on the left-hand side to on.
Preparing to “Make It” 3
I will be using a 12×12 mat. If, however, you will be using a 12×24 mat, make sure to change your selection in “Material Size” on the right-hand side to 12×24. While you’re there double-check “Material Load Type” and make sure it shows correctly. You can change it here if you need to.
Once you have made your selections, click “Continue” in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
Selecting the Correct Material
Cricut Design Space will now try to connect with your Cricut machine. If it has any issues, make sure it is on (I am always forgetting to turn mine on!) Once it is connected, click on “Browse All Materials”. Search for your material type (“Glitter” or “Iron-On” or whichever type of Iron-On/HTV material you are using.) I am using Cricut Glitter Iron-On for my Cricut tea towel design, so I will select “Glitter Iron-On” vinyl for my material.
Select “Done” after clicking on your Iron-On/HTV vinyl type.
Making It
Select “More” under Pressure to ensure a clean cut.
Setting Up Your Mat
Place your Cricut Iron-on vinyl or other HTV shiny side down on your StandardGrip mat. Using a brayer, roll the vinyl on the mat to get it good and snug (optional).
Loading Your Mat in the Cricut Machine
Load your mat into your Cricut machine through the guides on the left and right. Press the “arrow” button to load. Then when it prompts you, press the “Play” or “Cricut” button.
When your Cricut finishes cutting, feel the lines to see if they feel deep enough to have cut through. It doesn’t take a lot. If so, unload the mat by pressing the “arrow” key. If it needs another pass, select the “Play” or “Cricut” button before unloading the mat.
Weeding the Design
Cut a box around the design with a craft knife gently if you have one (optional). Peel around the box and remove the extra Iron-on vinyl/HTV. Save it for another cut.
Using your weeding tool, remove the excess vinyl around the shamrock and the words. I’ve always found when the middle of the letter is small, pulling it up a bit and using the tweezers to pick it up works best for me.
If you weren’t able to cut a box around the design to remove the excess, cut the excess away as cleanly as possible with scissors and save the leftover vinyl for another project.
Removing the Design
Remove the design from the mat. Either pull the carrier sheet up at close to a 90-degree angle or turn the mat and pull the mat from the design.
Setting the Design on your Blank (towel)
Fold your Cricut tea or other towel so that the “showy” area is visible. Then lay out the design on your towel. Place the design, centered, in the top third of the visible area with the carrier sheet on the top. If you need to move it, lift gently and place again. Do this until you have it in the place you want it.
Pressing Your Design
Unfold your towel onto your Cricut EasyPress mat and place and press your EasyPress 2 on top of the design. Press the timer button that is set for 30 seconds (or however many as specified by the HTV manufacturer). Alternatively, unfold your towel and place it on your pressing pillow in your heat press and close the platen with medium pressure for 30 seconds (or however many as specified by the HTV manufacturer).
When either is complete, turn the towel and press again for 15 seconds.
Finishing Your Project
Let the Cricut tea towel design with the carrier sheet on it cool completely. Once cooled, peel the carrier sheet at a 90 degree angle slowly. Please don’t peel when it’s hot or warm. Even though it may peel fine, it will affect the adherence of the Iron-On vinyl in the long term.
Now place it where everyone can see it and tell you how incredibly awesome it is!
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Cricut Iron-on and heat transfer vinyl?
There is no difference between Cricut Iron-On and heat transfer vinyl. This is what Cricut calls their heat transfer vinyl. When you want to try different brands, just search for/look for “heat transfer vinyl”. For example, you might want to try “Siser heat transfer vinyl” (pronounced “Caesar”.)
Should I wash my flour sack towel/tea towel/hand towel first?
I would wash it first to pre-shrink the shirt but don’t use fabric softener The can interfere with the ability for the Iron-On vinyl/HTV to adhere well. Then press the vinyl let it rest for about 24 hours and then wash. Also, if it starts lifting down the road, give it a quick press with your Cricut EasyPress 2 or heat press to tack it back down.
If you’re pressing to sell the shirts, typically they are not washed before sale.
How do I wash my Cricut tea (bar mop, hand) towel?
Wash cold or warm and air dry or tumble dry low. Use mild detergent. Do not dry clean. I’d use these as decorative or hand-drying only to keep washing to a minimum.
How long will Cricut Iron-On last?
If taken care of by following the wash directions, you should get about 50 washes from it.
What do I use for transfer tape with Iron-On vinyl?
For the most part, we don’t use transfer tape with Iron-On/heat transfer vinyl. We mirror the design because the carrier sheet protects the good side of the Iron-On/HTV, which means that the carrier sheet will be on top of the vinyl on the good side when we place it on the material to press it. That is all we need is most cases to hold the design together and in place. With adhesive vinyl, the opposite is true. The backing is on the opposite side of the vinyl, which means we need a carrier sheet that is on the good side of the vinyl. We need to put transfer tape on the good side to stick it to our blank.
It may seem confusing, but after a few times of looking at it from different angles, it will make a little more sense.
Otherwise, there are a few situations where we might use heat transfer tape (mask), but in most cases we will not.
Now that you’ve learned how to add Cricut Iron-On/heat transfer vinyl (HTV) to towels, you can add it to a lot of other things. Try adding it to a t-shirt or canvas bag next. It will become your next favorite craft!
I love hearing from y’all. If you have a question or want me to add something, please let me know in the comments. As always, happy, happy crafting!
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