Cricut Maker Iron-On Adventure Banner DIY

We live in Queens, NY but we dream of owning our own cabin in the mountains! We have daydreams of going on nature filled hikes and other adventures right outside our door! We may not have that now, but we wanted to create an adventure style banner…almost like a vision board! 

We were recently gifted some Pine Green Duck Fabric from Canvas Ect. It’s a durable canvas and has a slightly stiff quality. We had a handful of ideas of what to do with it, curtains, pillows, totes, but thought we’d start with this project…a project we’ve been wanting to do for a while! On an adventure we go!

Materials

• Pine Green Duck Fabric or Canvas Fabric

• Cricut Maker

• Gold Cricut Iron-On 

• Weeding Tools

• Cricut EasyPress

• Grommet Kit

• Grommet Setter & Anvil

• Mallet

• Marker

• Scissors

How to: Cut Vinyl

• Cut Iron-On to size.

• Lay Iron-On facing down on a standard grip mat. 

• Click the mirroring button before loading. (The machine will check if you’ve done this!)

• Load the machine and watch the Cricut do its magic. (Don’t worry the machine will guide you through the process!)

• Unload from machine and flip over mat and peel off Iron-On.

• Peel and weed away any extra Iron-on. (This is our favorite part!)

How To: Apply Iron-On

• Use Cricut’s recommended settings chart and set time and temperature on EasyPress according to the fabric/Iron-On you’re using.

• Place canvas on top of a Cricut EasyPress Mat or folded bath towel to protect your surface.

• Preheat canvas by pressing the EasyPress for a few seconds to remove wrinkles and moisture. 

• Position the Iron-On in the center of the canvas – shiny side clear liner facing up. 

• Place the EasyPress on top, start the timer and apply gentle pressure until it beeps.

• Flip the canvas over and press the backside for 15 seconds. Pressing both sides really reinforces the heat transfer.

• While the Iron-On film still feels warm to the touch, test a corner. If the liner does not lift easily, reapply and reheat for a few more seconds.

• Remove liner.

How To: Prep Banner

Cut down canvas fabric – Cut fabric about an inch longer on each side than needed.

Iron down seams – Create a clean seam around the flag by folding the edges in and ironing them down with the EasyPress. You can use iron on adhesive for this, but didn’t have any adhesive tape at home and since we are just hanging it, we didn’t feel the need to run out! 

How To: Add Grommets

Position grommets – In each corner place the washer piece about half an inch in from each corner and mark off with a pen or marker.

Pre cut a hole – Use a pair of scissors to cut the marked spot in each corner.  Because the corners are folded you will have to cut through a few layers of fabric. Take your time with this step, if the hole is cut too small the grommet wont fit, if it’s too big the grommet will be loose.

Put grommets together – Place the grommet portion “the male piece” (ew) from the front side of the fabric so it pokes to the backside.  Add the washer “the female piece” (ew) on the grommet through the backside.

Hammer them together – Place the anvil under the grommet and the setter on top. Use a hammer or mallet and give it a few whacks! (It’s best to check the grommets as you whack.)

Continue the process on the rest of the corners! And you’re ready to hang!

There are a lot of steps to this project, but you could easily simplify it by just keeping the rough cut edges or even skipping the grommets entirely!

This might not be our cabin in the woods, but it’s one step closer to one.

This might not be our cabin in the woods, but it’s one step closer to one.