Make a Hocus Pocus Shirt for Halloween

The (objectively) best Halloween movie ever is the inspiration for this charming and simple Halloween DIY! Grab your Cricut machine and make a Hocus Pocus shirt for Halloween.

It’s just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!

The best Halloween movie ever (according to me) is the perfect place to get some inspiration for DIY! You have probably seen our Hocus Pocus cookies, and maybe even the Hocus Pocus pumpkins.

So let’s make a Hocus Pocus shirt for Halloween!

Psst — before you dive in, be sure to sign up for my VIP group so that I can send more of my best Halloween ideas straight to ya.

Hocus Pocus shirts for Halloween

We’ve done Halloween shirts before, and even Disney Halloween shirts, but these are extra special!

Made with a Cricut machine, there’s a simple iron-on overlay technique that makes them look a little bit fancy and perfect for kids or grownups. We also added a tie-dye effect that I think you’re going to like.

How Did we Get that cool tie-Dye Effect?

Before I applied the iron-on design, I reverse tie-dyed a shirt that Henry had in his drawer. This is a super cool and easy way to make a blank colored shirt look a little more interesting and elevated!

It’s called reverse tie-dye because as opposed to taking a white shirt and adding color, you start with a colorful shirt and use bleach to remove some of the color. It’s a really easy process, but just takes a little caution because you’re working with bleach.

You can also choose to totally forego this step and make your Hocus Pocus shirt on a plain white or colored tee.

Supplies You’ll Need

• Plain white or colored shirt
• Optional: bleach, rubber bands, gloves
• Cricut Machine
• Iron-on vinyl in black and white
• Scissors
• Iron or Cricut Easy Press

How to Reverse Tie-Dye a Cotton Shirt

1. If you’d like to reverse tie-dye your shirt, you’ll need to start with a plain cotton shirt in your desired color. Get the shirt completely wet and wring out the excess water.
2. Next, lay the shirt flat and use your fingers to pinch and scrunch various sections of the shirt, continuing until the shirt is in a small ball. If you like, you can add rubber bands around the balled-up shirt to keep the scrunches in place.
3. Put on protective gloves. Sprinkle or spritz bleach onto the shirt until bleach has covered all of the visible areas of the shirt, front and back. Allow to sit for a few minutes.
4. Check if the color is fading. If it has not faded to your liking, leave the bleach on for a while longer (up to an hour).
5. Once faded, rinse the balled-up shirt with cool water. Remove the rubber bands and rinse again. Wring out excess water. At this point it’s a good idea to run the shirt through a quick rinse load in your washing machine, then dry.

Make a Hocus Pocus Shirt With a Cricut Machine

1. If you’d like to reverse tie-dye your shirt, follow the instructions in the notes section before you add the iron-on design.
2. Open Cricut Design Space. I’ve made it super simple for you and saved this design file right here! Open the design file and add it to a new project on your canvas.
3. Select both layers and resize them to the right size for your shirt. Be sure to resize them equally for the final design to layer properly.
4. You’ll need to create this project in two cuts. For the first cut, hide the layer that only says “Hocus Pocus,” and cut the layer with the full design out of black iron-on vinyl.
5. Once that layer is completed, then hide it and show the other layer. Cut this layer out of white iron-on vinyl.
6. Weed both pieces, removing the excess iron-on material.
7. Iron on the black piece with either a hot iron or Cricut Easy Press. Gently peel away the backing.
8. Next, overlay the white piece onto the words “Hocus Pocus”, setting it slightly to the right and lower than the black words to create a drop shadow effect. Before you iron this on, be sure to replace the excess backing that you removed onto the black lettering so that your iron doesn’t come in contact with it and melt it.
9. Remove all backings and you’re done!

What If i Don’t Know How to Use a Cricut Machine?

Never fear! I have a huge area in my library of posts full on Cricut machine tips.

If you’re new to it, I know that it can feel overwhelming. But this project is actually a really fun one to tackle for beginners because it has basic techniques with a little twist that makes the final product look really impressive.

Check out and pin or bookmark some of the posts below to help you get to know your Cricut better.

• What is a Cricut Machine And What Does It Do?
• How Much is a Cricut Machine (And Will I Use it Enough to Justify the Cost)?
• Three Easy Cricut Projects for Beginners
• How to Make Money with Cricut

Have fun!

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