How to Make Custom Pet Face Pajamas

We rescued Frankie, who at the time, had lived her life confined to a cage as part of a backyard breeding operation. She was abandoned and broken and as I like to describe her "has more issues than Vogue." Frankie endeared herself to me. Her little Ewok teddy bear face and her cat-like personality have made her one of my favorite things. She's been with us for more than two years now, and bits of her old scared distrustful personality surface, but to say I'm her favorite would be an understatement.

After our Sophie girl passed away from cancer, we ordered socks for the whole family with her face on them. I didn't think that I could create a custom dog face pajama on my own, but I thought I'd give it a shot. I love my Frankie pajamas and know that if you create your own, your favorite pet will be right there making you smile too.

Easy to Make Custom Pet Face Pajamas

Frankie is one of the cutest things ever, but she's hard to photograph. She doesn't like to sit still while I take her picture, in fact, I'm pretty sure she doesn't know how to sit on command. Oops.

To make your pet pajamas though, you're going to need a good picture {or two or three!} of your pets' face to create them. I used three images of Frankie. You'll need to start by removing the background of the image you want to use, so you just have floating heads for your project.

How to Remove the Background from an Image

You need to find an image that you can remove the background on. You can easily do this in the PicMonkey app {it's free!}, just download it for your mobile phone.

1. Open the PicMonkey mobile app
2. Choose your photo
3. Tap the BG remover at the bottom of the app
4. Watch the magic
5. If the tool removes to much, you can switch to manual and use the paintbrush to restore parts of the image. If you need to remove more of the image, use the eraser tool. 
6. Tap the checkmark when you are done
7. Tap save and upload the image

You will also need:

photo transfer paper {I used 13 sheets for this project} for light fabric or for dark fabric
plain pajamas or other clothing items
inkjet printer {you can send your project to your local office store for printing}
cutting machine like a Silhouette or a Cricut

I used my Silhouette machine because I'm more familiar with the trace and cut feature in that software. I have both the Silhouette and the Cricut and like both for different reasons.

You can read which I think is better {the Cricut or the Silhouette and why} here. 

You can find a tutorial for the trace and cut using the Silhouette here and here.

Remember, I used three different images, so I did this three different times. I also made the images various sizes and used fill page to make sure I used up the materials as best as I could.

A few more tips for using the trace and cut feature on your Silhouette:

1. Use the extreme threshold as you trace your image.
2. Make sure you have the registration marks on for your page since you will be using this image as a print and cut. Sending it first through your printer {which needs to be set at 8 1/2x 12}, and then through your Silhouette.
3. Make sure you have selected the image and it has a "cut" outline
4. Print your image on a color printer

Once you have printed your image in your color inkjet printer, use the cut setting on your Silhouette to cut the outline of the image out. Weed the image.

Once you have all of your images cut out, turn on your iron or your heat press.

I'd suggest using a heat press because you can control the temperature more consistently. 

Here is more information about the Circut EasyPress.

Follow the package instructions on your printable heat transfer paper. Remember, there are heat transfer papers made for darker and lighter clothing, so make sure you purchase the kind that is right for your project.

I put the images upside down on my pajamas and used my Cricut EasyPress at 360 degrees for 30 seconds to get the image transferred. Wait for the paper to cool slightly and then peel the transfer backing away.

You'll have cute little custom pet face pajamas in no time! Save this pin on Pinterest for later, and if you make some, please tag me on social media so I can see them!

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