Iron-On Tablecloth with the new Cricut EasyPress 2

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There has been so much going on here at the Craft Shack this last month! I was so excited to take a break from our house moving chaos to play with this brand new toy from my friends over at Cricut! This fall they are releasing the brand new EasyPress 2 machine! I’ve loved my EasyPress so much and it makes iron-on so easy, so I was super excited to see that the new EasyPress 2 would come in multiple sizes! I received the 12×10 size to check out but there is also a new 9×9 size and a 6×7 inch size as well for those smaller projects. I’m so impressed with how well it works and how easy the larger projects are to complete now. For this project, I used my larger size EasyPress 2 to create an iron-on design on a plain boring white tablecloth. It only took me 15 minutes to press the design onto the cloth after I cut it out on my Maker and weeded it. I think that’s pretty amazing!

I only recently discovered the joys of iron-on vinyl a few years ago. A long time ago, if you talked about iron-on, I thought you meant that printable stuff you bought at the store that never stayed on very well and usually was ruined after just one wash or two. When I discovered iron-on vinyl it was a total game changer! Now it’s the most common material I cut with my Cricut Maker. I love the Cricut Strong Bond Guarantee, too, which means that if I use the vinyl as directed and it doesn’t work for whatever reason, Cricut will replace it for free. I have some items with Strong Bond vinyl on them that have been washed dozens of times, and still look brand new.

Isn’t my tablecloth so boring and plain?

Iron-on doesn’t have to be limited to clothing! I rarely take on big projects because of the time and cost involved. But I just couldn’t resist fancying up my tablecloth when I got ahold of the new larger 12×10 size. I wouldn’t normally have put iron-on on a tablecloth because when that tablecloth gets dirty (and it will) you have to wash it! But no worries with this one!

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own Iron-On tablecloth:

First, you need a design for your tablecloth. I created a Flourish and Bird design in design space. You can use my design by clicking here or you can make your own tablecloth design.

I used three different types of iron-on vinyl to create my tablecloth. I used Everyday Iron-On in “Sky”. I used foil iron-on in “Royal Blue” and I used the “Filigree Blue” patterned iron-on as well. Each design element in design space is a different color and I didn’t attach the images together.

When you change the color of your elements in design space, it will separate them onto their own cutting mat. Each color to a different mat. I wanted to separate the images because I was using three different types of vinyl. If you only want to use one color and one kind of vinyl, there is no need to do this and you can attach your image together.

Cut out your iron-on shapes with your Cricut Cutting machine. Be sure that you place the iron-on shiny side down on the cutting mat and turn on the image mirroring option before you cut. Select your material type, and cut away!

After your design is finished cutting, weed out all of the excess iron-on vinyl from around your images.

Now it’s time to press! The new EasyPress 2 heats up in 60 seconds or less which is totally awesome. Who has time to wait around?! I found the center of my tablecloth by folding it in half and half again, and lightly pressing the EasyPress 2 onto the fold for a few seconds after it was heated up to create a center mark.

Select the temperature that is appropriate for your material type and iron-on type. Also, set the timer length depending on your materials. When the little C light is green, you’re good to go! Place your iron-on pieces onto the center of your tablecloth using the crease you’ve added, and press into place. Each of my iron-on types of vinyl had a slightly different setting.

You can check the appropriate heat and time settings with this handy chart here.

Because I was using three different settings, and ironing each section a few times, I used a sheet of parchment paper between the EasyPress 2 and my project. You could use the Iron-On Protective Sheet as well.

Be sure to note whether your iron-on vinyl is cool peel or warm. Removing the backing at the appropriate time will help the iron-on to stick perfectly. Repeat until you’ve attached all of your design to the tablecloth.

Now my plain boring white tablecloth looks like it has a pretty blue bird and flourish runner! What would you iron-on with the new larger size EasyPress 2?