May is National Pet Month so it’s the perfect time to spoil your animal family members with some DIY pet fashion! I used a few Cricut supplies to make a personalized pet shirt for our rescue dog Ernie. I modified a Cricut design to create a shirt that is personalized with his name, and I am walking you through the whole process!
Thanks to Cricut for sponsoring this post so I could make a fun shirt for our dog! I was compensated for my work, but the opinions in this post are 100% my own.
PET FASHION: DIY PERSONALIZED PET SHIRT
WHAT YOU NEED TO PERSONALIZE A SHIRT FOR YOUR DOG
You can easily find pet shirt blanks online. Be sure to measure your pet before ordering to ensure that you have the correct size. Beyond the shirt blanks, you just need a few trusty Cricut supplies to create a new shirt for your furry friend!
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EDITING A CRICUT DESIGN WITH YOUR PET’S NAME
I modified the Cricut Access Design, Paw Print Border#M17C08A8C, with our dog’s name. I found the design by searching “pawprint” in the Images library. This design is perfect to customize with your pet’s name!
Next, measure the pet shirt to determine how large your finished design should be. You want the design to be large enough to be readable, but not so large that it doesn’t fit well on the back of the shirt. Resize the pawprint design to those measurements.
Add your pet’s name into the design using the Text tool. You can choose one of Cricut’s many font options or a font that you have downloaded onto your own computer as I did. You will find these fonts in the System tab of the font dialog box.
Resize your pet’s name to fit in the negative space of the pawprint design. Once you have a size that you like, make sure that the name is centered within the pawprint design.
If you would like your pet’s name to be cut from a different color vinyl than the pawprint, your design is done. If you would like the name and the design to be cut from one piece of vinyl, select both the design and the name by clicking and dragging your mouse over the both layers. Then select Weld from the options in the right toolbar. If you have done it correctly, the name and the design should be the same color and appear as one layer in the right toolbar.
HOW TO ADD VINYL TO A PET SHIRT
I used my Cricut Maker for this project, but the Explore and Joy machines also cut iron-on vinyl beautifully. Just make sure that your app is set to cut from the correct machine.
Place your iron-on vinyl on a standard cutting mat and press the Make button in the Cricut Design Space app. BE SURE TO MIRROR YOUR DESIGN! Since you are using iron-on, the design needs to be reversed in order for your project to turn out correctly. Set the material to Everyday Iron-On, load the mat into the machine, and press the button to begin the cut.
After you have unloaded the cut design from the machine, use your weeding tools to remove all the excess vinyl. You can also cut away any excess carrier sheet around the design as well.
Center the weeded design on the dog shirt and press it into place. The carrier sheet is slightly sticky which should help to keep the design in place. Cover the design with a pressing cloth and preheat your EasyPress.
I always recommend entering your project’s variables into the Cricut heat guide to determine the temperature and pressing time for your project. My dog shirts are 100% cotton, so I entered that information along with the type of vinyl I was using (Everyday Iron-on) as well as the fact that I was using the EasyPress mat. The heat guide gave me all the instructions I needed as far as temperature, pressing duration, and whether my vinyl was cool or warm peel.
You now have an adorable and perfectly personalized shirt for your Best Boy or Girl! A personalized pet shirt would also make a fantastic gift for a friend who has recently welcomed a new pet into their home. Add in a few homemade treats and you have a full gift to spoil that puppy rotten!
