Textile foils are very delicate films that can sit on top of an adhesive. We are going to work with the heat transfer adhesive to apply the foil to a shirt. Foils are not perfect. Some of the issues that you can run into are crumpled foils will make a crumpling effect on your product, the foils may flake a little before and after washing, and on occasion, you may get a little extra here or there. This is the nature of the product. They take one the appearance of the weave of the garment as well. On the other hand, you can make interesting effects by distressing the foil, and the extra distressing through the wash could add to the character of the piece. If this is the intended look, then, let’s get this project started.
Items Needed:
- Adhesive
- Foil
- Computer, Design, Weeding Tool, Cutter, Mat
- Iron/ Heat Press
- Shirt
- Make the design on your computer.
- Don’t forget to mirror the image.
- When you are ready to cut, adhesive carrier side down on your mat (shiny side down, cloudy side facing up.)
- Cut our design. Siser recommends the following:
- Weed your design.
Tip: Those weed lines get lost in the cloudy adhesive. Make sure you have good direct lighting, and weed it on a dark background.
- Preheat your heat press to 275° F, Pressure Medium.
- Once up to temp, preheat your shirt for 2-3 seconds.
- Then, lay down the adhesive (carrier side up). Cover with a cover sheet. Press for 5-10 seconds.
- While leaving the shirt on the heat press, peel away the carrier sheet HOT. You can see the shiny parts where the adhesive remains.
- Pick out your foil, cut it to size. (Hopefully, you have already done this step.)
If you press a larger piece of foil and then try to use the pressed but unused portion, your results will degrade.
- Cover your design with your foil. (Design face up.) Don’t forget the cover sheet.
- Press for 10-20 seconds.
- Remove the shirt, wait for it… Really, just wait a second, removing too soon could remove more of the foil. It’s like removing the pieces from the glue before it is dry.
- When foil is cool to touch, you can remove it.
- Some small pieces will be left behind on the sheet. I had a few adhere to the shirt where there was no design. But, it lends to the overall effect of the garment. Here is the finished product.
- Remember to let your garment “cure” for a day before washing.
