A method for manufacturing a thermal transfer from a high-loft substrate such as velvet. The method begins with a high-loft material sheet. The sheet is registered in a vacuum press, and a vacuum is applied to one side. A sublimation graphic is printed onto an opposing side of the high-loft material sheet. Next, an adhesive layer is laminated onto the opposing side of the printed sheet. The sheet is optionally laser-etched on the printed side, and is laser-cut into a desired shape. A protective release sheet is applied over the printed graphic. The method makes it possible to sublimation-print the transfer onto high-loft fabric such as velvet and yet still retain fine graphical registration and detail.