making matching shirts

[Lindslou]

Hi all,

This is a pretty random question but I bet someone knows. My friends and I are trying to make matching F&W 2014 shirts for our upcoming October trip (YAY!). We are trying to iron images onto T shirts and they are not sticking correctly. Anyone ever make shirts that has a special technique or can tell us which iron on paper to use or what type of shirt works best? I told you this would be random!

Thanks a million!



Linda

[buzznwoodysmom]

We made shirts last November. We purchased plain t-shirts in various colors from Michael's and iron-on/transfer paper from Office Depot and had no problems.

We had 25 family members. Each family bought their own shirts and I printed all the images. Each family ironed their own shirts and no one had any problems getting the image to "stick". We all just followed the directions that came with the paper. I did iron the image a little bit longer than the direction stated just to make sure.

I will say this, these shirts did not last. My family wears the shirts we made to sleep in since we've come back so so they have been washed often. I would say after about 10 washes the image was so faded it was hard to tell what it was supposed to be. But they did look good in Disney so I guess that's all that mattered.

[lawgirl]

I made shirts for my sons 1st bday a few years ago. They lasted ok...pretty faded, but were fine for the event. Anyways, I went to Michael's and got the Jolee's Easy Image iron on paper. They have different types based on white shirts or dark/colored t shirts. I just used a 100" cotton pre-washed shirt, and it stuck just fine. I don't think it would stick as well to a polyester / rayon shirt. This may sound silly, but I followed the directions on the paper pack exactly...you have to hold the iron on each part of the transfer for a while, otherwise it won't stick.

Depending on how much $$ you want to spend, I ended up ordering custom embroidered shirts online from etsy, and they turned out perfectly, and weren't that much more than the transfer shirts I made. And those last forever. If you want info, send me a pm and I can send you the shop...very reasonable and very cute.

[Lindslou]

Thanks for the responses! I think based on your experiences I might just try it again with the Jolee's Easy Image iron on paper and make sure all of the shirts are 100% cotton. I'm okay with them not lasting very long as long as they work for the trip. Thanks again! I'll report back!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Just to echo something that was said above, but is super important ... we've once made 130 of the iron-on shirts from Michaels, and the ones that worked "best" were ironed at the highest possible temperature for longer than it was suggested. It felt like we ironed some of them for hours.

But, they did stick, and although they won't last too long, they will make it through the trip.

[wildernesslady]

I have found using the dark transfer paper works best. Even if using white shirts. The image lasts longer. Ours have been washed many times and still look pretty good. I've bought my paper at AC Moore.

[joonyer]

We skipped fooling around with the iron on process and made our own tie-dyed shirts. they weren't identical but you could still tell we were a matching family.

But if you want shirts with a specific message, you can order custom design silk-screened shirts with anything you want from numerous on-line shirtmakers. They cost a little more, but the silk-screen image will last as long as the shirt.

[Lindslou]

Thought I would post an update: we tried again using Jolee's Easy Image iron on paper (purchased at Michael's). The instructions were very specific and we followed them to the letter. And it worked!! We are thrilled with our 2014 F&W shirts. Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

[ransam]

I love this idea. Thanks.