DIY Mom Fanny Packs with the Cricut Maker
If you’re like me, this time of year, you’ve just finished up back to school lists and making sure each kid has the backpack of their dreams. Now that school is back in session and kids are off learning their ABCs and geometry, it’s time for a fun project just for moms! These DIY fanny packs are perfect for carrying all of those mom essentials, and also those kid essentials that mom gets to carry ;). Sponsored by Cricut, I’m sharing how I used my Cricut Maker and iron-on to make these super easy and fun to make fanny packs!
You’ve heard me talk about my love for cutting fabric with the Maker and rotary blade. I’ve used my Maker for everything from a quilt, to baby pants, to a backpack, and I love that I easily can go from projects like those to an iron-on project with just a simple blade change. Because of the Adaptive Tool System, the Maker really is the ultimate cutting machine when it comes to versatility and performance. For me personally, it has practically eliminated the chance of user error, which I definitely need, haha!
Now that I’ve made a few fanny packs, I’m dying to make more for my mom friends. Filled with their favorite things (or yours!), they’d be such a fun gift for a mom who’s going through a hard time or even just a mom who deserves a special surprise to brighten her day!
Or how about a fun baby shower gift, filled with miniature sized baby essentials?
Ready to get started?
How to Make DIY Fanny Packs
Supplies:
Cricut Maker
Cricut Fine Point Blade
Iron-on – black, white, and gold
Standard Grip Mat
EasyPress or Iron
Fanny Packs – black, pink, and white
Pressing Cloth
Tools – scraper, weeder/tweezers
Scissors
DIY Fanny Packs Project in Design Space HERE
Open project in Design Space and click “Make It” on the lower right hand corner. I love to connect my iPhone or iPad to the Maker with bluetooth, so I can set up my machine wherever I’d like without it having to be plugged into my computer!
Once the project is loaded, you can change colors within the designs as you’d like, and can also adjust the size of each design if needed. You can also delete any unneeded designs if you’re only making one or two fanny packs! When you’re ready to cut out the designs, click “Make it” on the upper right corner.
Since mats 1 and 2 will have text, it’s important to make sure to click “mirror” before cutting. Click “purchase” on the lower right hand corner, and, you’ll be directed to purchase any designs needed. Once that’s complete, you’re ready to cut!
Use the mat image to determine how large of a piece of iron on you’ll need, and cut accordinly. Place the iron-on shiny side down onto the mat and use the scraper to smooth and adhere to the mat.
Make sure the fine-point blade is loaded into your Maker (I had to switch out the rotary blade because I use it so much!). Place the mat in the guides and click the load button on the Maker.
Once the mat is loaded, click the “C” to begin cutting, and watch the Maker work it’s magic! When cutting is completed, click the unload button (same as the load ;) to remove the mat and peel away the iron-on and the mat. You can weed the iron-on now, or wait and do it once all the pieces are cut (or even better, while the others are cutting) like I prefer to do.
Repeat the steps above to cut mats 2 and 3. Use scissors to separate designs as needed and use a weeder or tweezers to weed the negative iron-on.
Next, we get to fuse the iron-on to our fanny packs! Because of varying fabrics, you’ll want to test the fanny packs to find the best heat settings to use. My fanny packs were nylon, and I was worried that it would melt, but with cautious testing I found that 280 degrees and 30 seconds on my EasyPress was perfect, and I had no problems with melting.
Center the bear iron-on onto the pink fanny pack, sticky side down. To protect the synthetic fabric and give a more flat surface, I found it really helpful to stick some folded cotton fabric inside the fanny pack before using my EasyPress. I also placed a press cloth over the fanny pack before fusing.
Place your EasyPress (or iron, if you’re using one) over the iron-on area and press firmly for 30 seconds. Peel up a corner of the plastic to ensure the iron-on has adhered to the fanny pack (if the iron-on has taken on the texture of the fanny pack, you know it’s good!), and repeat the EasyPress process if any areas need a bit more time. With regular iron-on, you can peel the plastic while it’s warm, so no need to wait for it to cool.
Place the “Mama” iron-on over the bear, and repeat the process above to adhere it to the bear. I gave it one more good press after removing the plastic to help the texture of the fanny pack come through evenly on all areas.
Next, repeat the steps above to complete the “Party Like a Soccer Mom” fanny pack.
Lastly, to make the “Mom Life = Best Life,” first fuse the text to the fanny pack following the above steps. Next, add the “=” to the middle, centering horizontally and vertically.
Great job!
Now that you’ve made your own DIY fanny packs with your Cricut Maker, you can fill them up with your favorite things and head to the park, out on errands, or give them as gifts to your favorite mom friends!
For more DIY fun, click here!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
These look great – but of course in the UK “Fanny” means something completely different!……..
Haha, yes it sure does!