What type of material would you use to make a kids cape? I would like to put the PJ Mask logo on the back. I thought about HTV but I dont think I can use a silky type material, only cotton. I haven’t learned due sub, but doesn’t it have to be on a light colored material? Any suggestions?
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Dye sub needs to be on a light colored synthetic material. Natural fibers like cotton don’t work well.
Perhaps you could dye sub the logo onto a piece of white polyester and then appliqué that onto whatever colored cotton cape you have in mind? I’ve shown an oval appliqué but of course it could be any shape you want.
EDIT: Obviously you would want to prewash the cotton before appliquíng polyester onto it since they will shrink at different rates.
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Since you are doing a SUPER CAPE, I figure glitter might be appropriate. Here is a cool technique for adding glitter and dye sublimation to cotton material. I’ve done this for special orders in the past. I suggest printing with atleast a 1/16 bleed to avoid a white line if you alignment is a little off.
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Forgot to add I’ve done this on regular easy weed vinyl as well.
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Yes, but with some mixed results. I’m not the largest fan of dye sublimation, because my customers always expect the best qualities of screen printing when they order a product that has to be done dye-sub to fit their budget. I only do Dye sub to vinyl in one off occasions as the labor and loss are higher than I like to deal with when quoting.
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Does dye sub crack? I have a t shirt my husband paid $45 plus shipping for. I’ve worn it 3 or 4 times and its cracking. It looks like it will start peeling soon. Any suggestions?
No. Dye sub is ink that is “heat treated” into the fabric. If the fabric doesn’t crack, the “ink” doesn’t.
EDIT: The dye doesn’t crack. You have to give some thought to the substrate. I have no experience with any of the vinyls.
@CaryF300 did a great wiki page on Dye Sublimation. (It’s also linked from the Dye Sublimation thumbnail on the main Tools listing).
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Dye-Sub printing fades or washes out over time. Screen printing and vinyl transfers crack and peal over time. Then you have the worst decoration technique, Foil Transfer. This is how they do the super reflective smooth metallic print on shirts. This stuff is trash and doesn’t fully survive even 1 washing.
Now if you want printed shirts to last as long as possible, the key is not putting them in your drier. The drier put the most stress on the printing and the heat can get high enough to sometimes soften the adhesive qualities of the printing method.
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Valuable advice. I’m guessing a garment for a kid will get washed … more than once.
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Actually, it does NOT wash out, but it does fade from UV exposure over time, and if your dryer gets hot enough the ink can sublimate back out of the garment, but that is a LOT of heat. Any shirt with decoration should be washed, and dried, if you decide to, inside out to limit the stresses that apply directly to the decoration.
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