Learn where to buy blank sublimation wine bags, how to size your design and how to make wine bags with both sublimation designs and Infusible Ink.
One of my best friends is obsessed with Dirty Diet Cokes. If you’re not familiar with the term (Soda shops in Utah are like coffee shops in other parts of the states), it’s where you mix Diet Coke with Coconut Syrup, limes and cream. I decided to make her a fun Dirty Diet Coke gift basket as a little pick me up. Even though this post is about how to make sublimation wine bag, I’ll be customizing mine for the soda drinkers in my life. You can definitely change the designs up for wine lovers too!
Why Sublimation (or Infusible Ink) Over HTV?
So why use sublimation for wine bags instead of HTV? There are two reasons sublimation is a better option for this project. First, it’s permanent. You don’t have to worry about it peeling or fading over time. Whatever design you put on your bag will last forever (as long as you are using a wine bag made for sublimation). This makes it great if you wanted to make it a traveling wine bag (you gift it to someone new and they gift it to someone else) or if your wine bag gets wet or dirty, you can just throw it in the wash and it’s good as new.
Secondly, when you put HTV on a surface that is getting stretched, like when you put a wine (or Torani syrup) bottle in a wine bag, it tends to pucker and/or stretch. This can cause the HTV to start to peel. So if you want your wine bags to look the best, and stand the test of time, sublimation is definitely the way to go.
Where to Buy Wine Bags for Sublimation
For this tutorial I am using a Cricut Infusible Ink Wine Bag and a Smooth Burlap Wine Bag from 143Vinyl. Any of the Cricut brand blanks will work for both Infusible Ink AND sublimation. You can check out all the Cricut brand blanks here. If you’re shopping on Cricut.com, use code TF10 to save 10% and get FREE shipping on $50+ orders.
143Vinyl also has a wide variety of sublimation blanks and wine bag blanks. You can use code TF5 to save 5% sitewide at 143Vinyl too. You can also get wine bags to use for sublimation on Amazon. Check out my Sublimation Blank Amazon Store here.
When you are looking at your wine bags to determine if you can use them with sublimation, make sure they are made of polyester. It doesn’t have to be 100% polyester (the higher the percentage of polyester, the brighter your project will be), but it does need to be at least 65%. Any material that is less than 65% polyester, your sublimation design will turn out faded and will start to come off in the laundry.
Wine Bag Design Sizing and Placement
I highly recommend checking the size of your wine bag before you create your design. Not only are wine bags not all the same size (as you can see with these two bags), but the size of your design will be different depending on the size of your wine bottle too.
When I was measuring my wine bags for these designs, laying flat I would have sized them between 4-4.5″ wide. However, after I put the Torani syrup bottle in the bag, I realized if I made it that size, you wouldn’t be able to see the full design when you’re looking straight at the bag. I found it’s easiest to use a measuring tape to measure from one side of the bottle across to the other side to determine how big you want your design. Ultimately I went with 3″ wide for the burlap bag and 3.5″ for the white bag.
Have your wine bottle in your bag when you’re deciding where to put your design as well. Pull the ribbon or string to vlose the bag and see where your design fits best. Especially if you have a design that is taller than it is wide, the ruffling at the top when the wine bag is closed can affect how your wine bag looks finished with the design. ***Make sure to take the wine bottle out before you press it though.
Supplies
Aside from the blank wine bags, there are a few other supplies you’ll need to make these customized wine bags. You can use either a Heat Press or an EasyPress 2, but a household iron will not work because it does not get hot enough (needs to be at least 385F) and doesn’t stay hot for long enough (you press for a full 60 sec).
- Blank Wine Bag
- Infusible Ink or Sublimation Paper
- Get the Leopard/Buffalo Plaid Diet Coke Design for FREE at the end of this post
- EasyPress 2 (with EasyPress mat) or Heat Press
- 2 Pieces of Cardstock
- Butcher or Parchment Paper
- Lint Roller
- Heat Resistant Tape
How To Make Sublimation Wine Bag
As I mentioned earlier, before you cut (or print) your design, measure your wine bag with the bottle in it. Then print out your sublimation design or cut your Infusible Ink. ***MAKE SURE TO MIRROR YOUR DESIGN BEFORE PRINTING/CUTTING. If you’re new to Infusible Ink, check out this post to learn more about how to use it.
If you are using Infusible Ink, weed away the excess paper with your fingers. Don’t use a weeding tool because it can press some of the ink fibers into the backer and they will transfer on to your project. If you are doing a sublimation design, tear around the design to prevent fine line press marks on your bag.
Next, you’ll preheat your EasyPress or Heat Press. If you are using a heat press, preheat to 385F. If you are using an EasyPress, I suggest heating to 400F. I’ve used my EasyPress enough with Infusible Ink and Sublimation projects to know it drops to 385F after about 10 sec and stays between 385 and 390 for the rest of the time. You’ll want to set your time to 60 seconds for both the EasyPress or heat press.
While it’s preheating, use a lint roller to clean your wine bag of any dust or debris that could affect your design. You’ll also want to preheat your bag for 10-15 seconds.
Put a piece of cardstock inside your wine bag as well as one on top of your EasyPress mat, or inside your heat press. This will prevent any bleeding from going to the back of the bag and/or the mat.
Next, line up your design, face down on your wine bag. Use heat resistant tape to attach design to your bag.
Once your heat press or EasyPress has reached temperature, place a piece of butcher paper on top of your design and wine bag and press with medium pressure for 60 seconds.
Remove wine bag from heat press (or off of EasyPress mat) and peel away paper backer.
Dirty Diet Coke Gift Basket Ideas
You now have a customized gift bag perfect for Christmas, birthdays, or just because. If you’re making a Dirty Diet Coke gift basket, include Diet Coke, Torani Coconut Syrup, Heavy Cream and Limes. You can use this design below for free. Just click the download button under the picture. Commercial use is ok but please don’t sell the design itself.
What type of design would you put on your wine bag? To check out more sublimation tutorials and craft projects, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you want to see the day to day life behind the scenes, and lots of project inspiration, give me a follow on Instagram or Facebook.
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