DIY Strawberry Shortcake Hoodie

Transform a plain pink sweatshirt into a cute Strawberry Shortcake hoodie with some iron-on vinyl applique and a Cricut Joy cutting machine.

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Hands up if you had a Strawberry Shortcake doll as a kid. Well it seems a whole new generation has fallen for her sweetly scented hair.

Recently my own kiddo asked me to make her an outfit inspired by her newfound love of Strawberry Shortcake, so I whipped out my out my trusty Cricut Joy (a sweet little cutting machine), and got to work.

In honor of my childhood Strawberry Shortcake doll I enhanced a plain pink hoodie to have similar clothing design features as the original doll’s clothing.

Did you have one of these Strawberry Shortcake dolls as a kid? You can still purchase vintage dolls here on Etsy.

These features include strawberries, spots, diamond squares, crosses and stitch lines.

The design was easy to create with a variety of ready made design files on the Cricut Design Space application.

I used Cricut Joy Smart Iron-on materials cut with my Cricut Joy, and pressed the details onto the garment using my Cricut Easy Press Mini (a practical mini craft iron).

I must say Cricut doesn’t disappoint.

I love how professional the results ended up on this bedazzled Strawberry Shortcake themed hoodie.

girl wearing pink strawberry shortcake hoodie

Using Cricut equipment and materials give such a professional finish that you wouldn’t know this wasn’t a DIY if I hadn’t mentioned it.

Don’t limit yourself to making a just a hoodie, you could use this design to make a Strawberry Shortcake Tshirt, sweatshirt, or even a whole Strawberry Shortcake outfit with matching top and skirt.

What if I don’t have a Cricut Cutting machine or Easy Press Iron?

I’ve had some feedback from readers mentioning they can’t afford to invest in some of the more expensive Cricut tools right now. I totally get that, I received my Cricut Maker as a gift, and though I absolutely love it, it is a big investment that I would think twice about if I were to purchase it myself.

You can still make this project! – I’ve got a few ideas for adapting this project on a budget.

Trace your designs onto iron-on vinyl of your choice, cut it by hand and iron on with a regular household iron. This flocked iron-on vinyl from Expressions Vinyl would look super cool and is under $5 a sheet.
Make an iron-on fabric applique using the basic steps from this applique tutorial. You can sew around the edges if needed.
Make a stencil with freezer paper and paint on your designs. Follow the instructions in this freezer paper stencil tutorial.

How to Cut and Press Strawberry Patches with your Cricut Joy

You will need:

Pink Top – hoodie, T-shirt or sweatshirt.
Cricut Joy Smart Iron-on in red, green and green glitter (Regular iron-on can be used with a mat) (Amazon US | Cricut)
Cricut Joy (or any other Cricut cutting machine) (Amazon US | Cricut)
Cricut Design Space account (free to sign up)
Cricut access subscription (optional)
Computer, ipad or smart phone
Cricut basic tool set (Amazon US | Cricut)
Cricut Easy Press Mini or regular iron
Cricut Easy Press Mat (Amazon US | Cricut) or fabric pad/tea towel
Non-stick Baking paper

How to:

1. Open the Strawberry Shortcake Sweatshirt Project in Cricut Design Space.

2. Follow the Design Space instructions and feed Cricut Iron-on material into the cutting machine (shiny side down) and start cutting function. The Cricut Joy will pre-measure and align the Cricut Iron-on material before the cutting starts to ensure there is enough material for the project.

Note: Cricut Joy has the ability to cut both with and without a mat. If you are using another style of cutting machine, affix your iron-on material, shiny side down, to mat and prepare for cutting.

3. Remove excess Iron-on material, taking care not to remove any of the design.

4. Use the weeding tool to remove remaining Iron-on cutouts.

5. Plug in and warm up the Easy Press Mini. I chose a medium temperature setting, as the garment fabric I’m using is a cotton-polyester blend.

Note: Check Cricut Heat Guide for best temperature settings for your chosen fabric and vinyl combination.

6. Position iron-on designs onto the garment making sure the surface is nice and flat, and the carrier sheet is on top. If your garment is wrinkly I recommend giving it a quick iron before pressing the iron-on designs. Cover the iron-on design with non-stick baking paper and press (with light pressure) for 30 seconds.

7. Allow to cool slightly and gently peel away the carrier sheet.

Trouble shooting: If you find some of the Iron-on pieces hasn’t fully adhered you can cover the design with non-stick backing paper and press again for 5-10 seconds till design is fully stuck on.