# Heat Transfer Vinyl / Tackle Twill Tutorial



## JoshEllsworth

Here is an advanced tutorial on a "new" decoration method, tackle twill adhered with heat transfer vinyl. This process gives you the simulation of a kiss cut applique. The advantage to this process is that you can apply the twill fabric to a t-shirt without having to own embroidery equipment and software. Items needed to reach the finished result are as follows: a heat press, a vinyl cutter (twill compatible), design software, heat transfer vinyl and pressure sensitive poly-twill. Any questions feel free to post them

Click here or watch below: YouTube - Heat Press Tackle Twill Without Stitches

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8iDt2-33L4[/media]


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## T-BOT

thanks Josh.

Does Twil fray along the edges ?


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## JoshEllsworth

T-BOT said:


> thanks Josh.
> 
> Does Twil fray along the edges ?


Not with this method. The heat transfer vinyl is actually encapsulating the entire outside edge of the twill preventing fraying.


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## T-BOT

JoshEllsworth said:


> Not with this method. The heat transfer vinyl is actually encapsulating the entire outside edge of the twill preventing fraying.


Thats great news Josh.
Im sure that people who have used Twill material in the past will ask you that same question, so now we know the answer.


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## Rodney

Newbie question here...but what is twill and why would I want to use it?


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## JoshEllsworth

Rodney said:


> Newbie question here...but what is twill and why would I want to use it?


Tackle Twill is a process where designs are cut from polyester twill fabric and sewn or heat pressed to a garment. An adhesive backing tacks the material in place and the edges are sewn with a zig-zag or satin stitch or heat pressed with transfer vinyl. Tackle Twill is most commonly known for its use for athletic lettering on the uniforms of professional sports teams. The use of twill to create "appliques" is a great alternative to filled areas of embroidery and creates a cool look by adding dimension and texture. The main advantage of tackle twill is the reduction of embroidery stitches needed to fill a design area. Tackle twill looks great on hoodies as well.


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## T-BOT

is it ok if i post a pic. of a 2 color cut here ?


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## Rodney

> is it ok if i post a pic. of a 2 color cut here ?


Sure thing 



JoshEllsworth said:


> Tackle Twill is a process where designs are cut from polyester twill fabric and sewn or heat pressed to a garment. An adhesive backing tacks the material in place and the edges are sewn with a zig-zag or satin stitch or heat pressed with transfer vinyl. Tackle Twill is most commonly known for its use for athletic lettering on the uniforms of professional sports teams. The use of twill to create "appliques" is a great alternative to filled areas of embroidery and creates a cool look by adding dimension and texture. The main advantage of tackle twill is the reduction of embroidery stitches needed to fill a design area. Tackle twill looks great on hoodies as well.


Thanks for the breakdown Josh  I knew it looked familiar, but I wasn't sure what the main market for it was and I wanted to be sure I was thinking of the same thing.


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## badalou

Josh, why are so many instructions done with Corel draw? I use illustrator CS2


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## T-BOT

this is your 2 color traditional twill material cut. 
the adhesive on the blue bonds to the black background. No fraying on the blue. there is also adhesive on the black background but the black would need edge stitch to prevent from fraying. 

design(c)jennrock/VJ/much music.


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## Rodney

If a customer comes to you, do they usually say "can you print tackle twill?" or do they call it something else?


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## T-BOT

Rodney said:


> If a customer comes to you, do they usually say "can you print tackle twill?" or do they call it something else?


can I answer that ?  

perhaps a Sports League type customer may as for "Twill", but the average customer that needs stuff printed i dont think they would know about "Twill".

Like Josh said, its more geared towards real rough tough sports uniform names/numbers/logos or for a somewhat emb. type look/application.

for sure on heavy knits, on thin fashion/t-shirts it does not hang well, kind of stiff looking.


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## JoshEllsworth

Some more fashion oriented companies are using it as well. Neighborhoodies refers to it as "stitched". Its also referred to as applique. And a generic term would be fabric stitched down (since thats the traditional method) or that authentic look. Mitchell and Ness did a pretty good job of creating an awareness for twill.


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## JoshEllsworth

T-BOT said:


> for sure on heavy knits, on thin fashion/t-shirts it does not hang well, kind of stiff looking.


I've seen it a lot on the pro club tees.


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## John S

Rodney said:


> If a customer comes to you, do they usually say "can you print tackle twill?" or do they call it something else?


They come in and say "I want really big numbers on this shirt". How much will it cost?

That's why my embroidery shops now sell cut vinyl


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## vctradingcubao

John S said:


> They come in and say "I want really big numbers on this shirt". How much will it cost?
> 
> That's why my embroidery shops now sell cut vinyl


Same here John, and when they hear how much, most eventually back out. Vinyl is a great alternative to embroidering big numbers, too bad these materials are not available here. Next month, I'll be adding heat transfer service to our shop. I plan to use the opaque transfers (even for white or light shirts), print the large numbers using two colors if needed (1 inside, another color for the contour) and just cut the excess materials using a pair of scissors, or cutter. I want to use the opaque because I want it to feel "vinyl-like".


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## BEatMaKeR

Hi, I seen this "tackle twill" used in a photo online. Is the yellow portion in the photo "tackle twill". If so, it looks to have some shinny or reflective properties to the material like silk would. It looks very soft. It also looks slightly puffy or pillow-like?










However, from the other photo I seen posted in here by T-bot on page 1 about "takcle twill" it looked flat and vinyl looking.

Can someone please explain this to me?

Thanks.


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## T-BOT

BEatMaKeR said:


> However, from the other photo I seen posted in here by T-bot on page 1 about "takcle twill" it looked flat and vinyl looking.
> 
> Can someone please explain this to me?
> 
> Thanks.


yes, it is shinny like. Just not a good photo.

this type of material has Texture, not like flat vinyl. 
Sorry, Im a transfer maker not a photographerrrrr.   

you seriously need to order some and look at it in your hand and not at webpages.

here is another close up, look at the texture, thats a sure way to tell...i hope its visable.


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## BEatMaKeR

That's kind of interesting... looks like the photo I posted did not have a vinyl adhesive making it stick to the shirt which made it have some give.. and made that "pillow" look.

The photo you posted looks stuck to the material better. Looks more stiff. I like both of those ways... just wish I knew how to decipher them or describe their techniques.

Do you have anymore photo's or other examples? Or know of a spot online to checkout?

Thanks.


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## T-BOT

the photo I posted was just sitting there on top of a piece of paper.

The ones we actually pressed on the shirts the client has them.  

I don't think you will get a puff effect when using adhesives, more like a raised effect since it is a thicker material than vinyl. Very stiff and tough, that's why it is the number 1 choice on professional tough sports like Football and Hockey etc... so when a player grabs your shirt to pond you one, it will not come off.

You should just order samples from Josh.

the photo you posted may be you are right, no adhesive and just sewed around the edges.


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## davidwii

Twill designs are a very hard product to market online. They look great and aren't fully appreciated until people see them in person. A photo normally just doesn't do the designs justice compared to in person....IMO.....any thoughts?


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## T-BOT

davidwii said:


> Twill designs are a very hard product to market online. They look great and aren't fully appreciated until people see them in person. A photo normally just doesn't do the designs justice compared to in person....IMO.....any thoughts?


You're right about that. They do have a unique look, finish etc...


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## JT

Where does one get this Twill material and the Spectra 2 vinyl?? What's the cost on the Roland gx24? I have more questions but I don't want to get to crazy with it. I'm new at this and I'm very interested in this method.


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## JT

JT said:


> Where does one get this Twill material and the Spectra 2 vinyl?? What's the cost on the Roland gx24? I have more questions but I don't want to get to crazy with it. I'm new at this and I'm very interested in this method.


Took a look at the imprintables website. Guess I should have check that out first. What can I use in the meantime to apply the twill and vinyl ? (It's going to take a short while before I'm able to get the GX24)


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## Solmu

JT said:


> What can I use in the meantime to apply the twill and vinyl ? (It's going to take a short while before I'm able to get the GX24)


You apply it with a heat press, the GX24 is used to cut it.


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## brentonchad

Has anyone applied twill like this or presented to potential clients? If so what was the response like from the clients?


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## st258

I saw in a lettering catalog, I wont mention their name, they charge extra for putting Pressure sensitive "glue" on sew-on material. Could I just use a pressue sensitive spray to apply to twill, to make into a pressure sensitive twill to apply to the vinyl? Also, do you heat-press the vinyl on the shirt, peel the paper, put the PS Twill on and cover with a teflon sheet, heat press again, or is there another way to apply the materials?
Smitty


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## edua

ok this is going to be my first post. I joined to this forum since last year, Read alot about the t-shirt industry. and i have LEARNED ALOT!!! thanks to this Forum.
I have a Roland Versacamm and my question is if i will be able to used this machine to cut the tackle twill?


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## JoshEllsworth

edua said:


> ok this is going to be my first post. I joined to this forum since last year, Read alot about the t-shirt industry. and i have LEARNED ALOT!!! thanks to this Forum.
> I have a Roland Versacamm and my question is if i will be able to used this machine to cut the tackle twill?


Yes and No It will work, however you would be putting wear and tear on an expensive piece of equipment, when you could get a cutter to cut twill for $1500.

Another concern would be keeping the print heads clean. Cutting twill naturally creates small fibers that want to gravitate to the print heads and can cause drop out in your prints if they aren't cleaned regularly.

All that said - I do have customers who cut twill on the Versacamm regularly.


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## edua

JoshEllsworth said:


> Yes and No It will work, however you would be putting wear and tear on an expensive piece of equipment, when you could get a cutter to cut twill for $1500.
> 
> Another concern would be keeping the print heads clean. Cutting twill naturally creates small fibers that want to gravitate to the print heads and can cause drop out in your prints if they aren't cleaned regularly.
> 
> All that said - I do have customers who cut twill on the Versacamm regularly.


Thank Josh.
I think its probably a better idea to invest in twill cutter. 
Thanks again for your Help Josh


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## CreativeInk

i was wondering about the distressed applique? Do u need a commercial embroidery machine? i have a brand new home embroidery machine would that work?


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## Wrightdesign

If I did not have Josh or Rodney I would not know what to do with my Corel Draw , Roland or Vinyl.Thank you so much for all yall's information.
wrightdesign


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## BigTonyOfDC

Wow, its crazy because wanting a custom hoodie got me into the business. I went to a local shop, and he suggested using twill, rather than pay him $70+ for a single sweatshirt, I got going!

How do I know if my vinyl cutter can handle the twill? When I got started, I didn't have alot of funds to seed things, so I went with a US Cutter model... Also, what kind of twill works for this technique? Anyone have experience doing this?

Thanks again


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## Wrightdesign

Josh,I did not see a Thanks button. Thank you for showing that you tube video. I have watched many of your videos & ea one helps me.


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