I've been smitten with this collection of Sukie Iron-On transfers for awhile now, but just recently decided to actually attempt shellacking them onto a garment or two. What an easy way to initiate myself to DIY culture!Except I screwed it up.
That koolaid-esque blotch you see on my shirt was actually intended to be a doppelganger for the cute owl on the transfer paper. Things did not go according to plan. Here are a few tips on how NOT to apply iron-on transfers:
1. If the power indicator light on your crappy iron is blinking on and off and making strange popping sounds, go ahead and use it anyway. I'm sure it's just fine!
(Make sure you iron is very, very hot, and that the steam mechanism is turned off. Make sure the water cartridge is empty while you're at it. )
2. Use an ironing board, don't bother closely reading the directions. It's not like these Sukie people are craft experts or anything.
(Sukie recommends ironing on a flat board, or other surface capable of handling high temps without bursting into flame or melting, etc. An ironing board distributes too much of the heat and doesn't allow the temperature to get high enough.)
3. Make sure you are multitasking while applying your transfer. Go ahead - watch American Idol auditions, throw a pizza in the oven, and prematurely write a blog post in your head about your successful iron-on results while simultaneously throwing a wrench in the works.
(Valuable lesson should be self-explanatory.)
Check out Simple Sally's successful Sukie results.
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The DIY crowd thanks you for donating the sacrificial t-shirt and sharing your iron-on wisdom with the rest of us. Hope the next try goes well! I need to go order my own set of Sukie fun. Iron on MZ, iron on.
ReplyDeleteAh. It was the premature blog post that did you in. You were asking for it, clearly.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big sucker for beautifully photographed, domestic craft porn on blogs and yours is the first I've seen that puts the same amount of focus on failed craftation. FUN-ny...
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