10 fun and creative DIY Back to School shirt ideas

20 August 2024

Created On: August 12, 2020 | Updated: August 20, 2024˜

The upcoming school year looks different for so many kids. As a mom of six, five of my kids are going back this fall and it’s important to me that my kids feel a sense of fun when it comes to planning back-to-school. That’s where my Cricut machine comes in. With it, I am excited to create unique, personalized T-shirts and signs for their first day.

Below are a few of my favorite ideas, along with T-shirts I made for my kids, to give you inspiration. There’s also an iron-on T-shirt tutorial further down if you prefer to skip there directly.

Custom “Class of” Shirts

We love this cute shirt from Our Photo Diary that can be updated for each year. You can design your own or customize this Class of 2034 T-shirt and Sign project in Design Space with a variety of colored iron-on heat transfer vinyl.

No Prob-llama

This cheery llama shirt may be used for a student or teacher heading back to school. You can find the SVG file over at Hello Creative Family. Crystal used her must-have items to create this shirt, including the Cricut EasyPress and Everyday Iron-on.

Back-to-Home School

If your kids are virtually learning or homeschooling this year, here’s the perfect shirt for Back to Home School. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or student, this DIY project lets you showcase your style and enthusiasm for learning from home.

Ready to rule the school

This Ready to Rule the School shirt from That’s What Che Said displays an array of bright colors by layering iron-on. See our iron-on layering technique article to get the best results.

Virtually there

If your student’s schools are still virtually learning, don’t skip the first day of school pictures just because of distance learning!

Teachers make a difference

Need the perfect shirt for teachers who are headed back to a virtual classroom? Find the below design here in Design Space.

First Day signs

Don’t forget about that first day of school sign! Here is a quick and easy First Day of School sign. If you use removable vinyl, you can reuse the sign again and again (and in my case, again and again for my five kids) for different grades.

Remember all the special things from each grade using this design from Ginger Snap Crafts.

Ginger Snap Crafts First Day of Fourth Grade Sign

There are signs specifically for virtual schooling too, like this Back to School-ish Distance Learning sign.

Game On t-shirt tutorial

The new school year is just around the corner. To help you get started, here are steps to making a great back-to-school shirt.

Supplies needed

Print this list

You can find the design for this Game Over Back to School shirt in Design Space.

Game over, back to school

Step

Be sure to adjust the image to the size that will work best for your shirt. I’m making this T-shirt for a 4th grader who is sized 10/12, so I’m doing a 7″ long design.

Step

After you have sized your design, click Make It button. Make sure that you mirror your image (as shown) and Continue.

Step

Select the correct material in Design Space and correspondingly, place the material onto the machine mat. Load the mat with material by pressing the flashing arrow as you gently feed the mat into the machine. Then press the flashing C to start cutting.Unload the mat from the machine and remove the material by slowly peeling the mat away from the material (rather than the material off the mat) to keep it from curling.

Step

Weed (remove the negative from) your design and center it onto your shirt. A good rule of thumb is to place the image 3 fingers width below the collar.Use the Cricut Heat Guide to find the appropriate temperature and timing to press your material. Since I’m using Everyday Iron-on on a 100% cotton shirt, I will set my EasyPress at 315°F and preheat it for 5 seconds first. The preheat is important because it helps remove any moisture that might be in the shirt. Then, I will press it for 30 seconds on the front, flip the shirt over, and press for 15 seconds from the back.