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Make your own DIY firecracker shirts for the fourth of July holiday! These are really fun and you can size them to fit the big brother in your family all the way down to an infant t-shirt size.

DIY Firecracker Shirts

So I have to tell you a little about my 4th of July tradition. I used to buy my family the Old Navy 4th of July shirts every single year. And to make matters worse, and to the horror of my sister, I would wear them all year round! A few years ago, I broke the tradition and started making our own to make them a little more unique and fun. This year, these DIY Firecracker shirts might be my favorite! They are so cute and a great shirt for my kids!
My three younger boys had this fun Firecracker Boom!! shirt. Using Cricut Iron On Foil in Royal Blue, Red, and Silver. The Boom is Heat Transfer Vinyl in Black. I’m going to give you a heads up that the packaging specifically says to not layer the Iron On Foil. I really loved the layered look of the firecracker, so I knew I was willing to give it a try. And it worked!! You have to be very careful and know that it’s going to take a little bit of extra time so that your shirt comes out perfect.

You can get the cut file on Design Space here, and follow the steps below to layer them. The image is already mirrored, so you don’t need to do that when you go to cut! Also, make sure you adjust the size to fit your size of shirt.

Instructions:

Get your image cut out, then make sure you weed all the negative space. Heat your iron on the Wool setting and make sure your steam is turned off. Arrange your first layer on the shirt where you want it. When using iron on foil and HTV, I usually use my table instead of my ironing board. I lay a pillowcase or sheet on my table to protect it. With the firmer surface, my HTV adheres better. I use a pillowcase or a light swaddle blanket to cover my image and apply heat for 15-20 seconds. Moving the iron to cover the whole image, I usually do this two more times. Then I turn the shirt over and iron from the back of the shirt to give it a little more heat. Turn the shirt back over and let the image cool 1-2 minutes.

Carefully peel back the lining at an angle. If you notice that the foil isn’t adhering, hit it with the iron again and let cool before you pull off the lining. Next, position your second layer. It’s okay if a little of the first layer shows, it give the image dimension on the shirt. Follow the previous steps for ironing, including allowing it to cool before removing the lining.

Position your third layer, following all the previous steps before adding the lettering. While you are ironing on your layers, make sure the entire image is covered when you go over it with the iron. If you touch the iron directly to the foil it will shrivel it.

With all your layers on the shirt, turn the shirt over again and iron it from the back one last time. Let the image cool completely before wearing.

I know layering the foil takes a little longer with the cooling time, but trust me, it looks super cool so you won’t regret it! Look how much they love their shirts!!

I did a little bit different shirt for my oldest son. He doesn’t love matching his younger brothers, so I made him a simpler one that was different enough but still coordinated well with the other ones. You can do a layered look with this one also, but for him I chose to just use the Iron On Foil in silver for the firecracker and the Iron On Foil in Royal Blue for the lettering. Grab the cut file here.
And of course for the only girl, we had to have her stand out with a little firecracker t-shirt! On a white tank, I made a cute Little Miss Firecracker cut file that you can find here. I used a sparkler image in Design Space, cut of the stick and used it as the dot over the I in Miss. Of course she brought her sass and rocked the shirt like the little firecracker she is!
So now we have all of these cute shirts to celebrate our 4th of July holiday! It as super fun creating our own American classic shirts and by using the Cricut and Design Space, we don’t have worry about a million other people having too!

Cricut Tools You Need

If you are new to using a Cricut, you might be wondering what kind of tools you’ll need to do a project like this. The good news is, you don’t need a ton. To be able to cut your materials, you’ll want to make sure you have a cutting mat. Cricut has mats that come in light, standard and strong grip. The standard grip works for most anything you could want, but it’s nice to have the light and strong for your lighter and heavier materials. You can grab a three pack that has one of each for $34.99. Also, if you plan to do a lot of custom products, it might be good to keep an eye out for sales on the cutting mats because you will want yours to be nice and sticky.
I would say the best set of tools to get to make your Cricut time easier is the Essential Tool Set.  It seriously comes with everything you’ll need.  It has the scoring tool, tweezers, scissors, weeding tool, spatula and scraper.  These are great products that you will use a ton with your Cricut crafting.

It also comes with a high quality trimmer that has a scoring blade and a replacement blade for cutting.  It’s only $49.99 for the whole set!  I also got the cute accessory pouch to keep all my tools safe in.  It’s pretty and holds everything I need!
It’s really a great investment to go along with your Cricut.  The weeding tool is a life saver when you are trying to get all those little bits of vinyl off of your image!  And with the accessory pouch, everything stays right where you need it!
If you have a Cricut, what is your “can’t live without” tool?  Let us know in comments!  Also, share your cute 4th of July shirt creations!  We love to see what you are up to!

Fourth of July DIY Firecracker Shirts FAQ:

Q: What kind of shirts do you need to make these?

A: Cricut Iron-on works with a lot of different styles of shirts, so it’s really more about what look you are going for. If you use vintage tees, they will have more of the worn, vintage feel or retro look to them.

Q: Where do you buy your shirts at?

A: If you are just making shirts for your family, JoAnn Fabrics and Michael’s Crafts have pretty competitive pricing due to their sales and coupons. If you plan doing a side business, you are probably going to want to buy in bulk from a wholesale business to get the best prices.

Q: Are the DIY Firecracker Shirts machine washable after you put the iron-on design on?

A: Yes! You want to make sure that you follow all the application and washing instructions to get the most wear out of your shirts!