The promise of Spring was the perfect time to give the Cricut Hat Press a go and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I had my own custom hat on my head.
Already being an avid fan of the Cricut Easy Press, I did question the need for this smaller, specialised unit, but I quickly realised that it’s a must-have for perfecting a hat design.
The release of Heartstopper Season 2 on Netflix (and the lack of cool merchandise that I would otherwise totally buy) inspired my project, which I kicked off in the Cricut Design Space.
After some quick measurements of my plain coloured, cotton caps, I manipulated my SVG design file in the Cricut Design Space to suit, and loaded the Cricut Maker 3 with my white Smart Iron-On Vinyl.
A great discovery I made with the Cricut Hat Press is that it comes with a roll of Heat-Resistant Tape, which allows you to place your design in your desired location on the hat and keep it secure for the transferring.
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The Hat Press also comes with a ‘form’ in the shape of a head, so you can place your hat on it tightly for the application process.
After placing the design and taping it down, it’s then as simple as connecting the Cricut Hat Press to your Cricut Heat App on your mobile, selecting the appropriate settings and pressing start.
Now this is where the Cricut Heat Press and the Hat Press differ, for very good reason. Rather than laying the press flat and applying pressure, the curved design of the Hat Press allows you to apply pressure to your hat and move it back and forth across your design while it’s fitted tightly to the form underneath. This ensures a thorough and accurate transfer and a hat that keeps its shape.
The Hat Press alerts you of the right time to stop, and after waiting for the application area to cool, it’s as simple as removing the vinyl backing and any heat-resistant tape you’ve used.
@markp_ My husband and I can carry a little bit of Nick and Charlie wherever we go. I love how these DIY Heartstopper hats turned out. #heartstopperdiy #heartstopper #heartstoppermerch #heartstopperseason2 #cricuthatpress #cricutprojects
My design was applied without any error or lifting, so I was super impressed. I was worried I’d run into trouble due to the intricacy of the design, being quite thin line-work, but Cricut proved me wrong, and what I ended up with was a matching pair of hats that has literally thousands of people across the globe swooning over.
So, hats off to you again Cricut. This is going to be my go-to gift idea for sure. So if you know me, expect a customised hat in your Christmas stocking this year.
