This month we are celebrating the holiday season with an adorable sublimated Santa Hat that is sure to make everyone at the holiday party jealous!

All you need to get started with this projects is:

• SparkleBerry Sublimation Transfer
• Heat Press/EasyPress
• Butcher, Parchment or Copy Paper- we refer to this as protective paper
• Heat Safe Tape
• Sublimatable Santa Hat
• A piece of cardstock and scissors
• Lint Roller

Let's prep our project for the best results!

As you may have noticed, the Santa hat is uneven with it's cute pompom and red fold-over bottom. To help us get even pressure, we will be creating a template from cardstock. You can also use a pressing pillow if you have one that is the right size. Make sure the size of the template not only fits inside your hat, but is also big enough for your design! You want the cardstock to be small enough to fit inside the seams but big enough to fit your design. I promise, this is the hardest part of the project! ;-)

Don't forget to preheat your heat press or EasyPress to 380°F while you're getting everything set up so you're ready to go! My heat press usually lands around 397°F when I set it at 400°F but those few degrees will not make a difference. If you have a timer on your heat press, set it to 60 seconds. 

Now all that is left to do is to put it all together. Start by lint rolling your hat to get any debris off. Then slip your cardstock inside your hat (you may want to cover it with protective paper if you're planning to reuse it or if you are using a pressing pillow) and place your sublimation design on your hat with the printed side facing the hat. Secure with heat safe tape. Lastly, cover the bottom flap of your hat with your protective paper to protect it while pressing.

And now...it's time to press! 

As you know from last month, I am a huge fan of Artesprix and their awesome tutorials. Ashley from Artesprix named this next process "making a sublimation sandwich." If you haven't checked it out yet, you can find the Artesprix Youtube channel here. 

We are already protecting the inside of our hat with the cardstock so all we need to add is the top layer of the "sandwich" by adding a protective sheet on the top. Your layers should be as follows:

• bottom of the hat
• cardstock inside the hat
• top of the hat
• your sublimation print- print side facing the hat and secured with heat resistant tape
• your protective paper

Place your sandwich on your press, making sure the pompom falls off your pressing surface and won't get in the way. Double check your press is set to the right temperature (380 F) and your timer is set to 60 seconds. Close your press on medium pressure or place your EasyPress on the item and apply light, even pressure while the timer counts down.

Now all that is left to do is to carefully peel off the protective paper and sublimation paper. Be careful not to burn yourself or to move the sublimation paper on the hat back and forth while it is still hot. This can create ghosting which is an unwanted heat transfer that will make your design look blurry.

And there you have it! The cutest Santa Hat ever!

If this fun project got you hooked on sublimation, check out our Sublimation Transfers at www.SparkleBerryINK.com. The Sublimation Transfer option is available on every single pattern! This is similar to Cricut's Infusible Ink, only more economical and ...it's SPARKLEBERRY! What more do I need to say?

We can't wait to see your cute Santa Hat creations! :) 

xoxo, Mandy