Directions

To see the directions on a page suitable for printing, click here.

Fabrics That May Or May Not Be Used!

YES: cottons, cotton blends, wool, silk, velveteen, velour, denim (the softer the better), t-shirts and sweatshirts are probably your easiest fabrics; lycra, slinky (a little trickier, but possible), cotton sweaters are easiest. Always test fabrics if you're not sure, read the garment hang tag.

NO: nylon jackets, velvet, acrylic, leather, vinyl, trigger (fabrics with a finish). Don't forget to read the hang tags.

Sue's Sparklers takes no responsibility for the application or your iron.

Easy to Apply Directions

Always iron on a hard, flat surface (no padded ironing board). Lay out your shirt.
Peel off the white backing of the design.
Place the sticky side down onto fabric. If not in the desired place, you may pick up the design and place it again and again. Cut it apart, change it, nothing is permanent until you press it on.
Put the pressing cloth over the design. (I prefer the non-stick pressing cloth, because I have scorched all the cotton cloths. You may use a pressing cloth as lightweight as a man's handkerchief.)
Set your iron on a wool setting - NO STEAM. Temperature may be adjusted as needed. All irons are different.
Place your iron on the pressing cloth on top of the design. Your iron will sit there a minimum of 45 - 60 seconds. Do not move your iron. Let it sit in place. This makes you nervous. BUT - the length of time and your temperature is what is melting the glue. Make sure your iron sits there long enough. If it sits there long enough and the glue isn't getting melted, then the temperature of your iron will need to be adjusted.
** Click Here to see pictures of a design applied with too much heat.
Once you have let the iron sit in one place for 60 seconds, take the front half of your iron and press down in small sections at a time. This will help with different size pieces and different heights of pieces in your designs.
If your design is larger than your iron, move the pressing cloth with the iron, and do the next section. Don't worry about overlap. It is also a good idea to turn your shirt inside out and repeat the instructions and press from the backside.
Now, let the plastic cool. There should be a slight ripple or bubbling in the plastic. If the plastic is perfectly flat, your iron was probably not warm enough. If it looks like the edges are shrinking, your iron might be a little too warm. If it is really shrunken and you have melted the plastic onto the garment - your iron is way too warm. Check your temperature.

When the plastic is cool, the glue has had time to cool off. Approximately 5 minutes. Your sticky plastic will remove easier. If you run the iron over the top of the design. This will warm up the plastic and make it easier to peel off. If there are pieces sticking to the clear plastic, you have missed a section, OR if you have let the iron sit there long enough, your iron is not warm enough. Turn up the temperature and repeat process until you get the glue melted.
If there are larger crystals in the designs, size 16ss or 20ss, keep in mind that with the extra depth, you'll need to use more time to melt the glue. Approximately 75 - 90 seconds. If there are small flat pieces next to the larger pieces, make sure they get ironed on securely.

Your project is now complete! Now make sure the pieces are securely bonded. Rub your palms across the design, up and down, back and forth. Now, use your thumbnail and aggressively scrape at the pieces. If anything feels loose, you'll need to re-iron. Once the glue is permanently melted, your garment can be machine washed, machine dried or dry cleaned. TEST IT! You have to melt the glue to make it permanent. Everyone's iron is different. Turn inside out to launder. Designs that contain FLAT colored metals should be hung to dry. (such as red, blue, etc.)

Heat Press: Iron for 10-15 seconds at 350 degrees Fahrenheit using light to light medium pressure. If you are using cabochons, make sure to turn the shirt inside out and press again from the wrong side. Let it cool, remove plastic and press again with more pressure. You can also turn it inside out and press from the wrong side.

Iron-on Hologram film: Wool setting, 15 seconds with heavy pressure. Let it cool, peel off the plastic.

Sequins: Wool setting, 15 seconds, peel off the plastic while warm. Re-iron if edges come up. Should be hung to dry.

Appliqués: The glue is on the back of the appliqué. There is nothing to peel off. Place on garment, cover with a pressing cloth, apply heavy pressure for 45 seconds, cotton setting. Let it cool, turn inside out, and re-iron. Should be hung to dry.

No responsibility is taken for the reliability of your iron. Irons may heat up after being used for awhile.

Special Directions for Iron-on Sequins

These are so much fun. They can be cut into shapes using stencils or your imagination. They come on a sticky sheet, similar to the iron-on metal transfers. If you cut them from a stencil, you iron from the plastic side, 15 seconds, (using a Non-stick pressing sheet), and peel up the plastic immediately. Then go over the sequins, with the pressing cloth, for about 10 seconds. When drawing on the sequins, use a black fine-point (not ultra-fine) Sharpie®, on the plastic side. Cut off all the black when you cut out your stencil. If you don't, the black Sharpie® will transfer itself to your Non-stick pressing sheet or pressing cloth. (Which will then transfer itself to your shirt).

If you use them individually, peel them off and place them where you want them, cover with a Non-stick pressing sheet, and iron them on. When you use the sparkle, iridescent, or clear sequins, you can not tell the right side from the glue side, once you have them off the sticky plastic. Pay special attention to place them glue side down when you use them individually. (The plastic side is the right side, so that makes the other side the glue side. Keep this in mind, you don't want to iron too many sequins to your pressing cloth!

You iron the sequins on with a wool setting, dry iron, for 15 seconds.

The sequins come in 12" and 4" wide rolls. The 12" wide is $1.50 an inch, and the 4" rolls are $ .50 an inch. Available in 12" wide is sparkle, which is holographic in the light, in large dots, small dots, squares, and rectangles; iridescent in large and small dots, and rectangles; gold spaced rectangles, and spaced dots; black spaced rectangles and small dots; clear large dots; large and small white dots;. 4" wide in dots are available in gold, silver, pewter, green tourmaline, red, Capri blue, blue zircon, fuchsia, rose; red and rose hearts.

We also have cutout designs: a rainbow, large and small cut-out star, small stars, small butterflies, large butterfly, small Christmas bulbs, bear paw quilt pattern, ex-large wreath, lightning bolt, poinsettia. These are super easy to use and very fast. They are already cut out for you! They range in price from $3.00 to $16.00.

As much as we hate to say this, we think the sequins should be air-dried. They will last longer if they are not put into the dryer.

Iron-on pearls come in white, cream & blue in sizes 10ss, 16ss, and white & cream in size 34ss. They are the same prices as the colored crystals in similar sizes.

Iron-on crystal appliqués are in diamond, triangle, circle, moon, star shapes with a gold or silver metallic background with size 6ss clear crystals embedded in the material that will iron-on. There is nothing to peel off the back. The glue is already adhered. They range in price from $1.00 to $6.00.

Peacock #M639

Size 6ss and 10ss crystals will iron on easily with the metals, so feel free to change any metal pieces in a design for the crystals. But with larger crystals (I 6ss and up), you should iron them on in a second step. It's easier to iron on flat metal pieces, (better iron contact), then to try to work around large crystals. If a design comes with 16ss crystals or larger, peel off the crystals, iron on the metals, peel off the plastic - make sure that the metals are adhering properly, and then iron-on the crystals.

A popular example is the peacock. Peel off the backing, and remove the 4mm metals inside the moon shapes, in his tail, and the 3 3mm metals at the top of his head. Save these metal pieces for another project. Iron on the peacock. Remove the plastic, iron from the backside, and make sure the pieces are securely bonded. Test with your fingernails for security. Now place the 16ss crystals inside the moon shapes, cover with a pressing cloth, and iron for a minimum of 45-60 seconds. Make sure the glue is melted. They won't be secure if it isn't. Place the 3 10ss crystals at the top of his head. Iron them on. You're done! Now thank everyone for all the compliments you will be receiving.

Instructions for Appliqués

Iron heat setting: wool to cotton setting. Press iron down with lots of pressure, really bear into it, for 45 seconds. Let it cool, turn inside out, repeat pressure and time. Let cool. Delicate cycle wash and hang to dry.

Instructions for Hologram Foil

Using a wool setting, on hard surface, with the press cloth, iron using FULL pressure for about 10-15 seconds. Allow to completely cool before removing the plastic from the design.

If the film ever lifts after laundry - iron back down w/pressure and press cloth.

Helpful hint to clean your iron:

Place a Downy fabric sheet on top of an old towel. Set your iron on its highest setting. Rub your iron over the dryer sheet and your iron will clean like magic! (May take a couple of times).