If you love craft projects where you get to make something unique, you will love this peek-a-boo sublimated hoodie! I am going to show you how to make your own custom hoodies step-by-step in this blog post.
I am obsessed with how nice this sublimated hoodie turned out. Plus, making it was a lot of fun, so I wanted to share the process with you here.
When thinking about how I wanted the hoodie to look, I knew I wanted it to have something a little extra special. So, for added design, I decided to add a peek-a-boo design inside the hood with a sublimated pattern, and I love how it turned out!
Then, on the front of the hoodie, I put my logo and added a design to the hoodie’s front pocket (or the kangaroo pocket).
Because I used a blank white pullover hoodie, the design’s colors really stand out. They look just as awesome in person as they do in these photos!
And, as it turns out, my girls also really liked the sublimated hoodie, so I made one for each of them as well!
I also decided to do this as a sublimation project instead of using heat transfer vinyl because of the long-lasting graphics you get when you do sublimation.
What My Video On How To Make A Sublimated Hoodie Instead
If you prefer to watch a video instead of reading the post, check out this YouTube video!
What You Need To Make The Peek-A-Boo Sublimated Hoodie
To make the hoodie itself, you will need these materials.
- Blank Polyester Hoodie – you can choose whatever color you want, but I do recommend using a light color so your design can stand out! I also recommend using polyester material over cotton to get the best results.
- Heat Tape
- Butcher Paper
- Lint Roller
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Gloves
Since this is a sublimation project, you will need the following tools.
- Sublimation Printer (like the Epson ET-8550 or the Sawgrass SG 500)
- Sublimation Ink (also known as sublimation dye)
- Sublimation Paper
- Heat Press
How To Create A Design For Your Own Peek-A-Boo Sublimated Hoodie
I created my own design for this hoodie centered around the Color Me Crafty brand. But you’ll want to create your own awesome design!
You could do so many cool things with this peek-a-book sublimated hoodie concept. For example, you could create a pattern with dinosaurs for a young boy or butterflies for a young girl. You could add names or quotes to the front.
The possibilities are endless!
I recommend brainstorming some ideas before you make your own great designs.
Then, make your patterns and text SVG files using your favorite design software.
When making the design, remember that you need two large sublimation prints for this project. Mine were both 11×17.
With that said, scroll down to the instruction card for the printable step-by-step instructions to make your peek-a-book sublimated hoodie!
Other Sublimation Projects To Try
- Sublimation Socks
- Sublimated Snow Globe Tumbler
- Sublimated Mugs
- Sublimation Puzzles
- Sublimated Shirt
How To Do A Sublimated Hoodie
Learn how to do a sublimated hoodie with some extra design with a peek-a-boo design inside the hood.
Materials
- Blank Polyester Hoodie
- Heat Tape
- Lint Roller
- Scissors
- Tweezers
- Gloves
Tools
- Sublimation Printer
- Sublimation Ink
- Sublimation Paper
Instructions
- Create two 11x17 sublimation prints using your favorite design software. These are for the hood and the front pocket.
- Create the design with the name or phrase you want on the front of the hoodie.
- Print out your two large designs and one small design.
- Lay your blank polyester flat out on the table.
- Lint roll the pocket on the front of the hoodie to remove stray hairs or fibers.
- Using vertical strips of heat tape, pull the bottom of the sweater as far down as possible and tape it to your work surface. Doing this will help get the seam as flat as possible to get the print close to that line.
- Put one long horizontal strip of heat tape under the front pocket to avoid the design transferring to that part of the sweater.
- Put several long pieces of horizontal tape at the top of the pocket, scooping it as far under the seam as possible. Then stack the tape strips above one another. Stack them high enough to avoid the design transferring to that part of the sweater.
- Next, use more heat tape to cover the sides of the pocket. For any areas sewn to the sweater, scoop the tape under the seam using your fingernails, and continue to layer.
- Continue that process on both sides until you are satisfied.
- Next, place your pieces of butcher paper into the hoodie pocket. (You may need to cut these to fit correctly.)
- Move your sweater over to your heat press and set it up. You'll also need to adjust the tape once you've moved over to the heat press to ensure the seams are as flat as possible.
- Put your print as close as you can to the seam where it's sewn together. Use your fingernails to push it under the hem, and then tape it down.
- Cut around your print to ensure nothing is touching outside where you've taped.
- Press it at 380 for 45 seconds.
- After you've pressed it for the total amount of time, go ahead and remove the heat and immediately remove your print and any tape left on there.
- Next, you'll do your hood, so you want to turn the hoodie inside out. (Note - This may be difficult because of the weight of the hoodie. But you'll have to figure out a way to put it on your press so that you can get the inside of the hoodie pressed at one time. I ended up turning my hoodie around and sitting the weight of it on the table.)
- Add a new piece of butcher paper underneath the hood on the heat press to avoid ink bleed.
- Lint roll the inside of the hood.
- I want to leave the lip of my hood white, just behind where it's folded over and sewn together. So, I placed the design besides that seam. Once you're happy with the placement, tape it down.
- Cut as close as you can using scissors along the seam where the hoodie is sewn onto the sweatshirt, and then tape it down.
- Once you have it all taped, press it for 45 seconds at 385.
- Remove from the heat immediately and then go ahead and remove your paper.
- Once you've pressed one side, you will flip your hood over to the other side and repeat steps 18 - 23.
- The final step is the text on the front of the hoodie. You can press that design on like you usually would a sublimation print.
- Press at 385 for 45 seconds.
- Design Tip - I like to put a little crease down the middle of my design to line it up with the center, and then I press.
- When it's done, lift the heat straight off, immediately remove the paper, and now you have a peekaboo hoodie with a complete pocket design.
