HOW TO MAKE AN IRON-ON TRANSFER TEE SHIRT

Please welcome fellow mystery writer Ellen Byron to Killer Hobbies today!  What do you do when the perfect saying comes to you?  You turn it into a T-shirt!  Tell us how, Ellen!

One day, I was staring at a stack of books written by my talented author friends and thought to myself, “So many mysteries, so little time.” My next thought was, “That would make a great tee shirt.” My thought after that was, “Well… why not?” The tee shirts would be a great addition to a giveaway of the second book in my Cajun Country Mystery series, Body on the Bayou. And so a new hobby was born.

The supply list was pretty basic – an iron-on transfer of the quote and a tee shirt. I’ve made transfers myself in the past, but I wanted the sentiment printed in sparkly gold, which wasn’t possible on my home computer. I found a seller on eBay who was able to create iron-on transfers quickly and reasonably. As to the tee shirts, a Michael’s coupon made them a steal.

 

The transfers – I ordered a couple – arrived with directions warning that they should be applied with

professional grade equipment. There was a brief moment of panic on my part. Then I decided I could make do with a plain old iron and ironing board. I set the iron to High, ironed a tee shirt, and carefully placed a transfer on it. Rather than directly iron the transfer, I covered it with a thin cotton cloth, which I ironed for thirty seconds to a minute, going in circles so as not to melt the iron-on with too much focused heat. I let the tee shirt cool, and then gently rubbed it with a plastic bag full of ice to complete the process. When it was completely cool, I carefully peeled off the plastic backing.

The tee shirt was such a hit with my first contest winner that I’ve since made several more, including two for myself using tee shirts I bought at Target. Now if I could just find the time to read that stack of mysteries!

 Ellen's debut novel, Plantation Shudders, made the USA Today Bestsellers list, and was nominated for Agatha, Lefty, and Daphne awards. The second book in her Cajun Country Mystery Series, Body on the Bayou, offers “everything a cozy reader could want,” according to Publishers Weekly, while the Library Journal says, “Diane Mott ­Davidson and Lou Jane Temple fans will line up for this series.” A TV veteran, Ellen has written for many hit sitcoms, including Wings and Just Shoot Me.