DIY Tie Dye Sublimation Teacher Shirt

Do you have a favorite teacher? What would you say if I told you that there was an easy way to give them a gift they will love and cherish forever?! As a crafter, I’m always looking for new DIY projects to try out. Recently, I made my first tie dye t-shirt using the sublimation technique! It’s so simple!

Homemade Sublimation Teacher Shirt

My favorite part about this project (besides the adorable teacher definition) is that the tie dye looks like stained glass!

Supplies:

How Do You Tie Dye with Sublimation?

Usually tie-dying is a messy process, but with sublimation printing, it’s as easy as printing out the tie-dye pattern you want on your t-shirt and using a heat press to infuse the ink to the shirt!

For this project, we wanted the stained glass look so we sublimated our tie dye pattern onto a bunched-up shirt!

Before you start your project, there are just a couple of sublimation tips to keep in mind so that you get it right the first time.

Before you even get started, make sure you have the correct measurements. This means double-checking your work!

If you are planning on sublimating these designs to something other than a t-shirt, check your blank for a protective covering and make sure to remove it if there is one.

While you wait for your heat press to get to the correct temperature, secure your design down so that you don’t end up with ghosting – a pretty daunting shadowing effect.

You will also want to make sure that your shirt is clean of lint and the area you are working in doesn’t have high moisture in the air. Humidity will affect how well your design adheres to your shirt. If you are worried about this you can prepress your shirt using your heat press to remove excess moisture.

And lastly – protect your workspace. This means laying something down under the project you are working on AND in this case between the front and the back of the shirt to prevent dye from bleeding through.

How to Make This Tie Dye Sublimation Teacher Shirt

Let’s get crafting! Below is our written tutorial.

Yield: 1 Tie Dye Sublimation Shirt

Tie Dye Sublimation Teacher Shirt

Tie Dye Sublimation Teacher Shirt
Active Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Difficulty Easy
Estimated Cost $7

Materials

  • 1 Sublimation Ready Shirt (high polyester content in white)
  • Teacher Definition Digital Design
  • Pink/Purple Tie Dye Digital Design
  • Sublimation Paper
  • Heat-Safe Tape
  • Lint Roller

Tools

  • Sublimation Printer
  • Cricut EasyPress
  • Pressing Mat
  • Butcher Paper or Parchment Paper

Instructions

  1. Download the design and open in any photo viewer. Make sure the text is mirrored by flipping the view horizontally. 
  2. Send the text and the tie dye designs to your sublimation printer, sizing the text to the desired shirt size, if necessary. Print one copy of the text design and two copies of the tie dye design.
  3. Preheat your EasyPress to 400 degrees and set the timer to 60 seconds.
  4. Place the shirt face-up onto the pressing mat then brush the entire front and back of the shirt with the lint roller.
  5. Place a sheet of butcher paper or parchment paper inside the shirt, separating the front and back as best you can.
  6. Crumple the shirt into a ball, keeping the center front of the shirt “hidden” behind the rest of the shirt’s folds and exposing primarily the front side of the shirt. I did this by placing my hand in the location I want the text to be, then using my other hand to crumple the shirt around my first hand, only taking this hand out of the ball when certain that the front of the shirt was going to stay hidden under the other folds. Make the crumple of the shirt smaller than a sheet of paper.
  7. Place one of the tie dye prints face-down on top of the crumpled shirt, followed by a sheet of butcher paper.
  8. Place the preheated EasyPress on top of the butcher paper with light pressure for 60 seconds. Remove the heat press and allow the sublimation paper to cool to the touch then remove and discard.
  9. Flip the shirt over and shake it out before dumpling the shirt again, this time exposing only the back of the shirt. 
  10. Place the remaining tie dye print face-down on top of the crumpled shirt, followed by a clean sheet of butcher paper.
  11. Place the preheated EasyPress on top of the butcher paper with light pressure for 60 seconds. Remove the heat press and allow the sublimation paper to cool to the touch then remove and discard.
  12. Flip the shirt over and shake it out before laying it flat onto the pressing mat. Straighten the edges and spread the shirt, working out any wrinkles in the fabric. 
  13. Place the text design print face-down on top of the center front of the shirt, aligning the text as desired. 
  14. Place a sheet of butcher paper over the top of the print.
  15. Place the preheated EasyPress on top of the butcher paper with light pressure for 60 seconds. Remove the heat press and allow the sublimation paper to cool to the touch then remove and discard.
  16. Your shirt is ready to wash and wear!

Notes

For more fun sublimation crafts visit DollarCrafter.com

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1 thought on “DIY Tie Dye Sublimation Teacher Shirt”

  1. This is really helpful! Thanks a bunch for sharing this amazing Idea! Will surely use this again! Well done!

    Reply

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