- Hello everybody, Jennifer Maker here. It's a beautiful day to learn
how to fill a shape with words to make a custom design. I'll show you how to plan a simple design in different ways to add beautiful colors to bring your idea to life. I'll then show you how to
put your custom word designs on pillows, but you can use
yours for shirts, cards, decorations, and so much more. (upbeat music) One of the things I love the most about learning how to use tools is the control you can have with them. When you get comfortable with tools, you can add one of a
kind designs to anything without compromising on color, style, size, or anything really. So that's why we're learning
how to fill shapes with words to make designs to go on
these awesome pillows. We're going to make our
design using free tools from Cricut Design Space. You can use other software to prepare and print
the designs of course, but I found some of the
Cricut Design Space tools very helpful. And since this is a word-based design, the huge selection of different typefaces they have inside Design
Space really helps a lot. I'll show you exactly how
to prepare a shape to fill, make your list of words,
how to position them, so the result still looks like your shape, and different ways to add color. Then, I'll show you how to prepare and put your custom
design on your pillowcase. I'll use sublimation in this video, but you could also use
printable iron-on transfers if you prefer. If you're new to sublimation
and want to learn about it, check out my Sublimation
for Beginners guide at
jennifermaker.com/sublimationforbeginners. It is a great place to start. To make the pillows, I'm using these white
polyester pillowcases I've showed you before. They fit a 15-inch square pillow insert so they look great on a couch or a chair. And this is a nice flat space for adding your own sublimation design. You can try other pillowcases, or put your designs on
other items, of course. Remember, you don't need a cutting machine for this approach, but you
will need a sublimation printer with sublimation ink inside
of it and sublimation paper. I'm using eight and a half by 11 inch or letter size paper for this project. Plus you'll need a heat press and a mat to protect your work surface. I'm using a Cricut EasyPress, but you can use a flat heat press that reaches the temperature you need. Now heat presses are not all the same, so I have information
for different press types in my "Sublimation Cookbook" over at
jennifermaker.com/sublimationcookbook. I'll also show you why I recommend having pressing pillows on hand, in addition to your pressing mat. See the full list of materials and tools for this project at jennifermaker.com/585 to make sure you have
everything else you need to make a fun design like this heart that you can download for
free at the same link. And if you want to make
more custom designs like I did on this pillow, stay tuned to the last
step for more details. So, are you ready to create
a word design with me? Let me show you where to get my free files and then we'll get started. Step one, get my word shape designs. You can use lots of
shapes for inspiration, but it's a good idea to start easy. So I'm going to demonstrate how
it works with this heart design and I encourage you to practice
until you feel confident. First, download my designs
at jennifermaker.com/585. You can either download
right from that link by saving the project, or download for my entire
free design collection. To find it, look for libraries
in the red bar at the top, and then click either get a password if you don't yet have
one, or enter the library. Search the page for design number 585, and click the link to
download the designs. I found it easiest to
prepare and print my design using Cricut Design Space. Something to note is that
while there are online programs that will put your words
into a shape for you like Shapecloud, they are limited. You won't have as much
control of the results and they have different rules about how you can use
the finished designs. So I want to teach it this way that is accessible to
everyone and reliable to use. In the download folder, there are heart cut files
in the SVG and DXF folders. There are also some pre-made designs in the PNG and PDF folders, like a butterfly with
a watercolor gradient, another butterfly with a
solid rainbow gradient, and a heart with a watercolor gradient. Use these done for you
designs as inspiration or just as shortcuts. If you want to use one of these designs, just add it to your canvas as a complex print then cut image, resize it to fit your project and print. But I really want to show you how to fill a shape with your own words. So I'll show you how to use
the heart in the SVG folder to create similar designs
in Cricut Design Space. If you're not sure how to upload, go to jennifermaker.com/svgs
to learn how to unzip and upload files to Cricut Design Space. Step two, prepare and print your designs. Before you start designing, you need to know how much
space you have to use. Packaging on whatever you're going to use probably has the dimensions,
but it's always good to check. So, smooth out your pillowcase, and measure the height
and width of the area that you can sublimate. I'll put my design right in the middle. You'll also want to keep
in mind your paper size and other constraints, like Cricut's print then cut area, but this is a good place to start. Over in Cricut Design Space, click upload. Select upload image, and then browse To find the
shape SVG you want to use. You can use this
technique on other shapes, but pick something with
a recognizable silhouette and enough uninterrupted space to fit words at a legible size. Click upload. On the next screen, select your image and click add to canvas. Here's the start of our word design. Remember, we're going
to use the print half of the print then cut feature
in Cricut Design Space, which will work well for this, but it does have size limitations. Let's make sure the heart will fit by clicking the operation
menu at the top of the screen and changing it to print then cut. That looks okay, but you can also change
to the design's dimensions using the size fields. Make sure the lock icon
at the top of the window next to size is closed because that means you can change either the W field for width
or the H field for height. And the other dimension will be automatically
adjusted proportionately. Then type the new width or height you want in the matching field and press enter. If there is a red icon
in the layers panel, it means the design is larger
than the paper will allow. Click it and check that the size mentioned matches your material. If it doesn't, click change
paper size and adjust it. I'm using eight and a
half by 11 inch paper. If the icon is still there, click it and select auto resize image to automatically set your image to the largest dimensions available. About eight and a half inches wide is the maximum for print
then cut on this design, and will look good on the pillowcase. Once the heart is the correct size, click the operation menu and select guide, to make it a see-through shape that isn't part of the final design. Now we're ready to add our words, but that will be much easier with a plan. Think about the theme of your design and come up with the main
word that comes to mind. When I see a heart, I think of love. So click the text icon to
make a text box appear. Most words will fill space more
evenly if you use all caps, but it depends on the typeface
and the look you want. Type the first word and
then open the font menu. There are some really
nice options available, which you can see by
clicking the filters icon and checking the box, "For free." I also check the box for current because that means the letters are nicely spaced out already. You can play with different styles, but I like the letters
to be on the thicker side so that they fill the shape more evenly. Click a few options to
see how your word looks. You can also use a typeface
that you've downloaded and installed on your computer by clicking system and searching for it, like I'm doing right now to find JM Sweet. JM Sweet is a free font that I designed that has nice even letters and is easy to read at different sizes. But the letters are still thick enough to show different colors and patterns, which we'll cover once
the design is laid out. You can download JM Sweet
and other free fonts at jennifermaker.com/542, plus, learn how to use them
in Cricut Design Space. When you have a font you
like, close the menu pop-up and drag the word to the side. Don't worry about the size yet. We want to start with a list of words with the same typeface. So click duplicate, and make a new text box
with the same settings. Double click it to activate editing mode, then type the next word
that comes to mind. A mix of word links makes
filling spaces easier, so let's add the word cherish. Move that to your list and
then make another text box. You definitely want a few short words so you have options to fit
small spaces like the word kind. Keep going until you have
all of your words in a list. Take a minute to make sure everything is spelled correctly, of course. Now select the longest word or the word that you want
to be the most prominent and click duplicate. Then drag the copy over the
shape's biggest open area. I'll put love right in the middle. See the corner squares
on the bounding box here? You can adjust the word
size visually with those. With the lock icon at the
top of the screen closed, drag a corner in to make the word smaller or drag it out to make
it as large as you want. Duplicate another word
and place it in the shape. Leave a white space between it,
the first word and the edge. When you're designing nothing
is perfect right away, so don't stress, we're
just getting started. Keep duplicating words
from your original list and roughly positioning them
inside the guide's edges. I like to have a copy of
each word on the larger side so I can read the full list, but you can mix it up of course. I still have some big white spaces, but at this point I like to pick an area between an edge and a word
and fill in using more copies. You can adjust each word's
dimensions as you go to fill in spaces and move
the existing text as needed to create the look you want. I like to zoom in with the
plus icon to see the details and out with the minus icon
for the overall progress. Now, at some point the words will start running into each other when you're filling white space. Since we're trying to fill the shape, that's basically what we want, but don't let the words overlap
or they'll be hard to read. Opening the lock icon to adjust the word's height
and width independently can make it easier, or try a
different word in that spot. Try to position your words
to match the shapes outline as much as possible, but you can fine-tune the design once you have more words in place. And chances are good, you'll accidentally select and
move the wrong word or shape at some point and that's okay. Just click the arrow pointing to the left to undo your last action until your design looks like
it did before the mistake. To change the words' orientation, move your cursor near a
corner of the bounding box until the curved arrow appears. That's the rotate tool. Click and drag counterclockwise
to rotate the word until the graphic right
above it reads 270 degrees. Or clockwise until it says 90
degrees to face the other way. Then use your arrow keys to move it or the size fields to resize the word instead of relying on your cursor. It can also be difficult
to select the correct word when they get very small and
close together, so be patient. Zooming in can give you more control or try clicking through the
layers with the matching word in the layers panel, until a bounding box shows
around the troublemaker. Once one section is filled,
move to the next open area, and fill from that edge
to a positioned word using the same techniques. Remember to vary your words in sizes to keep the design interesting. Take your time and keep
filling in the entire guide with your words. You may need to adjust some sections you thought were finished
where the areas meet, and that's okay. Experimenting is all part
of the learning process. You'll be very comfortable with positioning and resizing
things on your canvas after all this practice. Once you like how the words look, zoom out to see the entire
design and its edges. You want the shape to
still be recognizable just using the words, so click the eye icon in
the guide layer to hide it. If the edges don't look right, like if a curve looks too
straight or there's a bump, click the eye icon
again to show the shape. Then adjust the text in the problem area and keep checking until you're happy. When everything looks correct, click the eye icon for
the guide layer to hide it if it's still visible, because it can confuse some
of the coloring options I'll show you. Delete the original list of words. Your word design is almost ready, but you must pick a color fill option before the final steps. I'll show you three options, but you can use these basic
steps in many different ways. (ethereal chimes) Option number one, a single color. If you want to make your
design all one color, click select all in the top menu. To change everything at once, we need all these words to be together instead of totally separate layers. And there are five functions that I know people find confusing. Group, attach, flatten, weld, and unite. Now, weld and unite are
more for cutting projects, but should we use group, attach or flatten to make this design? Let's see. If we click the group icon
with two little squares, all the words will stay together and we can move them as
one item on the canvas. But group is like a paperclip
for your screen only. It will not keep items
together when you click make. That's not a heart, so
that's not what we want and I'll undo it. Okay, select all again, and then click attach this
time to see how that goes. I can still move them all together. And now when I click make, they stay in the right
spots on our map preview. And if we go back to the canvas, I can click a specific
word in the layers panel and move just that, which is helpful if you
find a mistake late. So attach is the answer for this project. We'll look at flatten in the next option. Use the operation menu
to select print then cut, and make all the words into
a single printable layer. All right, so now click the color box next to the operation menu
and select the color you want. I'll pick red. (ethereal chimes) Option number two, multiple colors. But what if you want to
use more than one color? First, decide how many
colors you want to use. That's how many sections you'll need to divide your design into. I'll use three colors,
red, orange, and yellow. So I'll use a third of
the design for each color. To do this, click and drag your cursor over the top third of the design. If there are words selected that you want to make a different color, hold your command key on the Mac or the control key on Windows, and select the layer in the layers panel that you want to remove
from the selection. Or if there's a word you want to add, hold down your shift key and
click it in the layers panel to add it to the selection. Then click the color box and select the first
color you want to use. I'll use red. Use the same process to select
the next third of the design, making sure you don't have
any red words selected, and then change them to the middle color. My middle color is orange. And then select the rest of the words and make them the lighter color. I'll use a golden yellow. But if we select the entire
design and click attach, you'll know that everything
turns back to one color, which won't work right. So let's undo that, and try the last function
I mentioned, flatten. Now when you flatten,
the colors remain intact and the design automatically turns it into a print then cut operation. (ethereal chimes) Option number three, pattern fill. Cricut Design Space also has
some really pretty patterns that you can fill your designs with. Again, start by clicking select
all and attaching the words and then change the
operation to print then cut. Click the color box next to operation and under print type select pattern. Use filter and pick a color to explore different pattern options. Select a pattern you like
and click off the design so it can render. Now to adjust the pattern,
click the design again, and then click the color
box and select edit pattern. You can use these tools
to adjust the pattern and see the new results in the preview. Scale increases or decreases
the size of the pattern on the shape. You can zoom in and out using the slider. Horizontal or vertical moves
the pattern side to side or up and down. Rotate rotates the pattern on the design and the left flip icon flips
the pattern horizontally while the right icon flips it vertically. Edit the pattern until
you like the result, and then close the popup
to see the final result. (ethereal chimes) For any color option. Once you've picked a color
style and finished your design, click save and give your project a name if you haven't already. Your design is now ready for printing. Make sure the correct machine
is selected, then click make. On the prepare screen, make sure your material size is set to eight and a
half by 11 inch letter if you're using the
same size paper as I am. Click mirror, since we'll
apply the design face down and use heat to transfer it. You want to be able to read
the words after all this work. Then click continue. On the make screen, click send to printer. Select your sublimation printer
from the printer dropdown to show the associated
settings that you can control. Yours may look different depending
on your operating system, but this recording for my Mac
is still a helpful reference. The add bleed option
adds a little extra ink that matches your design all
around its edge as a buffer, so there isn't any white space between the design and the cut edge. But since we're not using
a Cricut to cut anything, that extra ink would actually
make the words look funny and run together. So do not turn on add bleed. But you do want to use system dialogue for more control of your printer settings. So be sure to toggle that on. Click print, then minimize
the Cricut Design Space window to find the print dialogue box. It usually is behind it. The dialogue box should have
the correct printer selected, but double check. Your settings may look
different than mine, but what you want to do is set the media or paper to an option
like premium photo matte, and the quality to best or highest. We've already mirrored the design, so keep any options like
flip horizontally, unchecked, or you'll undo the mirroring. And make sure your sublimation paper is loaded correctly in your printer. There should be notes on the packaging and printer to help and then click print. Let the print sit to dry so
you don't smudge the ink. Now for our normal print then cut project, we put the printed image on a machine mat and use the Cricut to cut out the words, but we want them to stay together on the white background for sublimation so you don't need Cricut
Design Space any longer. Instead, after the print is dry, cut a square around the design. Make sure to trim away the
black registration marks or those will go on your pillow. And roughly knowing the
design's middle point can help us center it on the pillow. To do this, fold the left
edge to the right edge, so the design's widest section matches up, and crease just on the white paper, the top and bottom edges
to mark the middle. Don't crease the ink or the
transfer could be damaged. And then fold the bottom edge to the top and crease the sides to find the middle. Sometimes a blunt cut edge can leave an indent in
the fabric after pressing, so tearing, which is
also called feathering, the paper makes it more gradual. Just don't get too close to the ink 'cause you might, you know, tear into it. Step three, prepare and
sublimate your pillow. Remember, always open a
window or turn on a fan before sublimating to help
improve your ventilation. Now set your heat brush to the
correct temperature and time. According to my "Sublimation Cookbook," the EasyPress needs to be
set at 385 degrees Fahrenheit or 196 degrees Celsius for 60 seconds for a polyester pillowcase. Place your pressing mat
on the pressing area, and put the pillowcase face up on the protected pressing mat. Lint roll the design area to
remove any dust or debris. The ink will dye any polymers it touches and you don't want to
sublimate lint. (giggles) Fold the bottom edge up to match the top, which creates a horizontal
line at the center point. If your press is larger
than the pillowcase, make sure the zipper,
especially the zipper head, is out of the pressing area
because it could get damaged. Put fresh white butcher paper
on top of the pillowcase to protect it from direct heat, and then lightly press the crease and design area for 10 seconds. This removes excess
moisture, smooths wrinkles, and creates the horizontal crease. Unfold the pillowcase to
show the horizontal crease, and then repeat the process
using the other edges to add a vertical crease. They'll intersect in the middle. Now position the pillowcase
on the pressing mat face up with the zippered edge closest to you. Now remember I recommended
having a pressing pad and a pressing pillow. If you only have a pressing pad, put clean white cardstock
inside the pillowcase to protect the back layer from excess ink. Then move the zippered edge
down and off pressing pad's edge so the rest of the pillowcase is flat and you can press the
design without any issue. But if you have a pressing pillow that will fit inside the case and is larger than your
design, it really helps. You can set the bottom pressing pad aside, and just put the pressing pillow inside the pillowcase
under the design area to lift the fabric away
from the edges and zipper. Add white cardstock inside the pillowcase on top of the pressing
pillow to protect it, and the back layer from excess ink. See? Now there's no way the heat press will touch the zipper edge. Place the design face
down on the pillowcase so the image is correctly oriented for the opening at the bottom. This way, the zipper will be harder to see when your pillow is done. Align the paper's creases with those on the pillowcase to center it. Secure the design in place
with heat resistant tape, and then place uncoated
white butcher paper on top of the pillowcase
and the sublimation paper. Now, press the design with light pressure for 60 seconds at the correct temperature. When the time is up, lift
the press straight up and return it to its base. After pressing, let the design
sit for about 10 seconds so the dye settles on the
fibers and won't smudge. The smudging or blurring is
called ghosting in sublimation. Now remove the butcher paper,
tape, and transfer sheet to reveal the sublimated design. And then put the pillow form inside and zip the pillowcase closed to enjoy your new custom decor. Step four, show it off. And here's how my
sublimation pillow came out. Isn't this cool? Step five, customize it. If you love the idea of these word shapes, but want to have even more
control over your design or work with more complex
shapes, I can show you how. I have some more fun shapes to try, and I can show you how
to fill them with words in different orientations
through a special program called Jennifer Maker Advance. The Advance program helps you
advance your crafting skills by teaching you how to truly
make these popular designs unique and special just for you through tutorials and templates, as well as give you advance
access to my vast library of designs, projects, and resources. I may or may not be accepting new members into the Advance program at
the time you see this video, but if you're interested, go to jennifermaker.com/advance
to learn more. And there you have a
completely custom pillow with your own words. Now that you know how to
make this type of design, you can decorate lots of different items. There are some online tools that you can use to make
similar designs faster, but you won't have as much
control of the results. And they have different rules about how you can use
the finished designs. So I much prefer making
them in Design Space. Just remember to be patient while you're learning
how to do it. (giggles) Now, caring for these pillows is easy because the sublimation
ink dyes the fibers instead of just sitting on top of them like heat transfer vinyl would. Just wait at least a day
so everything is set, and then wash it with cold or
warm water and mild detergent. Then hang it to dry or
tumble it on low heat, put the right size pillow
inside, zip it shut, and you are all set. And more templates for different shapes and instructions on how to fill them with different orientations of the words are all available over at
jennifermaker.com/advance. And that's it for today. Until next time, this is
Jennifer Maker reminding you to craft a life you love. (upbeat music)
