Cricut Instructions for DTF Transfers

There is no requirement to pre-iron your shirt, your transfer will adhere perfectly fine without doing so. Position the transfer in the desired location. Normally it is 3-4 inches down on the front of an adult t-shirts, 2-3 inches down on the front of a youth t-shirt and an inch lower on the back side of the same type of garment. The best way to figure this out is to apply a dtf transfer to one shirt and then try it on. From there, you'll have more confidence when placing it on the rest of your products.

You can also purchase a Pressing Alignment Set for your future orders which gives you placement for various garment types like adult, youth, toddler, infant, and even 2X-6X sizes.

Set your cricut to 320 degrees and 20 seconds. If that is not hot enough where the transfer is adhering to your shirt, increase it by 15 degrees at a time and try again. You can't overpress your design, so try until you figure out the right settings.

Before pressing, place the parchment paper or a Protective Guard Sheet over the transfer for 20 seconds, pressing down with hard pressure.

Remember that you cannot overpress your transfers. The better they are pressed, the more durability they have through washing and drying.

After pressing, let your transfer rest until it is cool to the touch (minimum of 15-30 seconds).  Once cool, lift the transfer from one corner and gently peel back. We have a saying in the dojo, which is, don’t use your hands, use your eyes when peeling to make sure that every piece of your design is adhering to your item. If not, don’t continue peeling and press again using the guidance below. If some or all of the design is not properly transferring AND it was cool when peeling, it means there was not enough heat, pressure, or time. Lay the transfer back down with everything in place, press your transfer again with more pressure and time first(+5 seconds). If that doesn’t work, increase the heat setting until you find the sweet spot. You truly cannot OVERPRESS and damage the transfer itself.

Place the parchment paper included or a single layer of t-shirt material over the design and press again with the same settings for 20 seconds to soften the design, increase durability, and remove shine.

If you want a shinier finish instead, you can use our Protective Guard Sheet for this result.

It is optimal to wash inside out with cold water. Being that you are using an cricut instead of a heatpress (which applies heat with more pressure, more evenly), we would recommend hang drying instead of in the dryer. If you decide to use a dryer, we'd recommend on low heat, inside out.

Everyone's irons, heat, pressure is different when using an iron, so test to find out what works best for you. Remember that you cannot overpress your transfers. The better they are pressed, the more durability they have through washing and drying.