Distressed Infusible Ink Shirt How-To Tutorial

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Did you know that you can make a distressed Infusible Ink shirt? Yep! The new Cricut Infusible Ink allows you to add distressing to your projects easily. Now, you can make a worn looking shirt in a few minutes with your Cricut machine. This is the perfect technique for those that want that vintage look but don’t want to wait for it to happen naturally. Haven’t used Infusible Ink yet? Read our beginner’s guide to Cricut Infusible Ink here.

Supplies to make a distressed Infusible Ink shirt:

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Infusible Ink transfer sheets in the color of your choice (I used warm grey)
Cricut Infusible Ink Shirt (use this blank or pick up a different brand but be sure it is intended for sublimation or it will not work!)
Cricut machine (either the Cricut Explore series or the Maker will work) (see which one I like better here)
Butcher paper
White Cardstock
Cricut EasyPress (you want to use one larger than your design)
EasyPress Mat (I am using two sizes)
Lint roller
Tweezers
Sandpaper
Painter’s tape
Design to cut (you can find the free SVG used in this post in our exclusive Facebook group here) (more free SVGs are listed at the bottom of this post)
Scissors

Making a Vintage Shirt Video

Want to see the entire process for making a distressed Infusible Ink shirt on video? Just watch it below!

Can’t watch the video or missed some of the steps? We also have everything with images and text below.

How to Make a Worn Looking Shirt with Cricut Infusible Ink:

Cutting the Infusible Ink

Start by cutting your design from the Infusible Ink. You will need to mirror your design and cut the Infusible Ink face down on the mat. Turn the mat over and peel the mat away from the Ink. Cut around the design with scissors so that you save as much of your sheet as possible.

Weeding Infusible Ink

Then you can weed away all of the excess. Bend the Infusible Ink sheet several times to “crack” the design and make it easier to weed. Pull up the corner of the ink and start peeling back. Remember that using weeding tools is not recommended here. You can use tweezers if you are having issues lifting some of the pieces.

Remove the excess around the outside as well as the centers of all of the letters.

Distressing Infusible Ink

Then use sandpaper over your design. This is where you get your distressed look. You can sand as much or as little as you would like.

Pick up the sheet occasionally and tap to remove as much of the sanding residue as possible.

You will also want to go lightly over the area with painter’s tape to pick up any excess bits. Remember that the pieces you sanded off are ink. If you leave any on the carrier sheet, they will transfer to your shirt.

Transferring Your Design to the Shirt

Add an EasyPress mat larger than your design covered by a piece of white cardstock inside your shirt.

Lay the shirt on another EasyPress mat or on a folded up towel. Run a lint roller over your shirt to remove any fibers. Press with the heated EasyPress about 15 seconds to remove moisture. Allow to cool then put your design face up on the shirt.

Make sure the design is stuck down well to the shirt so it doesn’t move. Then add butcher paper over the top. Press with the EasyPress for the recommended time and temperature.

Remove the EasyPress and butcher paper. Allow to cool before removing the carrier sheet.

Peel back your Carrier sheet to reveal your design. Pick up any small pieces of the transfer that did not lift with the carrier sheet with a pair of tweezers.

Your distressed Infusible Ink shirt is ready immediately! You can wear it, wash it, and not worry about your design fading or washing out.

If you love a worn looking shirt, then Infusible Ink is definitely your answer!

You can also try sanding before weeding to minimize the chance of the ink bits getting on your transfer sheet. If you look really closely, you might be able to see a few bits that transferred to my shirt. Overall, I am happy with the design and look of this, however! After all, it is supposed to be a distressed Infusible Ink shirt!