How to Make a DIY Koozie

Learn how to make DIY koozies with adorable pool float designs! It’s easy to personalize your can koozies with heat transfer vinyl, your Silhouette or Cricut, and this step-by-step tutorial! This post contains affiliate links, which help to support this site at no extra cost to you.

Today I have a fun new vinyl project to share with you all + some new cut file designs I’m super excited about!

This whole project started when I recently discovered that you can buy blank can koozies. Did you know this?? It’s true! They are colorful, inexpensive, and super easy to customize with heat transfer vinyl.

I knew they were kind of the perfect way to put my new pool float designs to use. Speaking of which, how cute are these?

I mean are pool floats the cutest or what? I have four pool float inspired designs, and you can get all of them in this fun little pool floats cut file mini bundle!

Back to DIY koozies! These guys are really easy to personalize. But if you have never worked with them before, you might have some questions.

First – Can You Iron on Koozies?

Yes! Neoprene drink koozies work really well with heat transfer vinyl and a home iron or heat presses.

If you are using a heat press, however, be sure to watch your pressure. Because the neoprene material of a koozie is thicker than a t-shirt or other common iron on materials, you make need to adjust the pressure on your heat press to make sure it’s not getting too much pressure.

Ready to learn how to make your own custom drink koozies?

How to Make DIY Koozies

It’s really simple to make your own custom koozies with just some blank koozies and a little heat transfer vinyl! Before we get started, you will need to round up a few supplies.

DIY Koozie Supplies:

• Blank Koozies
• Heat Transfer Vinyl (I used Siser Easyweed)
• Silhouette Cameo or Cricut Maker
• Weeding Tool
• Multi-Purpose Paper, Parchment Paper, or Thin Cotton Fabric
• Iron
• Pool Float SVG Designs

This is a pretty simple iron on project, but if you are new to working with heat transfer vinyl, be sure to check out my beginner’s guide to working with heat transfer vinyl first right HERE.

Step One. Prepare Cut File.

The first step is to open up the cut files in your cutting machine software and scale the designs to fit on your koozie. (Read more about scaling and positioning iron on projects here.)

Step Two. Cut Heat Transfer Vinyl.

Since my pool float designs are multi-color, we will need to make a few different cuts – one for each color of vinyl being used.

I have a full guide on cutting multi-colored HTV designs with lots of tips to make it easy right HERE.

Step Two – Apply Each Layer

Use the top layer as a guide to help you place the lower layers. You can see more about this technique as well as my full guide on cutting multi-colored HTV designs with lots of tips to make it easy right HERE.

When layering heat transfer vinyl, you only need to iron each layer for a few seconds each (just enough to get it to stick) since each layer will get more heat with the application of each additional layer.

After applying each layer, remove the clear plastic backing and cover it with multi-use paper, parchment paper, or a thin cotton cloth to protect the already applied layers.

And that’s it! Once the final layer is applied, your DIY koozies are all ready for keeping those drinks cool!

So what do you guys think? Any DIY koozies in your future?

More Vinyl Projects

• How to Use Iron on Vinyl on Leather
• How to Use HTV on Wood
• Make Your Own Stickers with Printable Vinyl
• How to Use Etched Glass Vinyl