This using glitter vinyl post serves two purposes. It is one of the onesies I did for the baby shower I went to Saturday. Her theme was pandas and purple so I made guess what. PURPLE PANDAS!!! But really this is a tutorial on how to work with glitter vinyl.
Glitter vinyl offers some difficult challenges to work with. Whether it is HTV or regular vinyl there are some techniques that make it a little easier. But first if you want the design it is in my downloads
What you will need
- Glitter HTV
- something to put it on
- Iron or Easy Press
- Download File
Cutting
If you only knew how many times I have cut the wrong side of HTV. LOL. I use a pick to separate a very small part of the HTV in a space I am going to weed anyway. It is easy to tell which side is the HTV and which side is the “paper”. Put the “paper” side down. BTW if you ever cut the wrong side, just turn it over and re-cut. Most brands the backing is thick enough that you didn’t cut all the way through it anyway. It makes weeding a little more difficult because you now have two images, one reversed on the wrong side, but at least the vinyl isn’t wasted.
I always set my cricut on custom materials to cut then you would select the material “glitter iron on” and set it to more. This seems to work with one cutting but before you unload your mat, check to make sure it cut all the way through. If it didn’t press the C before you unload your mat, and it will cut again.
Weeding
Once the pattern is all cut, you need to weed it. I have a Cricut Bright Pad. They are about $48 at amazon. You need some type of light source to put under the project. Before I got the Brightpad, I used a LED lamp , a bowl and a piece of glass. It wasn’t high tech but it worked. Any light pad will work. You can find others on Amazon for under $20.
Also you will need a sharp pick. I have a set from Harbor Freight that cost 2 or 3 dollars. I have just found a pinpen from 651vinyl.com that works great. While you are there look at the weeding ring. It is great! I used to stick the weeded vinyl to my hand but my skin had a reaction to the sticky. The weeding ring solved that.
Here is another trick that works well. Rub a very little bit of baby powder on the back of the vinyl. You will be able to see the lines clearly. If you do this, make sure to wipe the baby powder off with a damp rag before applying the vinyl.
Ironing
I don’t have an Easypress. And I don’t see the need for one right now. The infusible inks will work with a high temp iron like mine but they aren’t as bright and you need to leave the iron on longer. But it works.
With an iron set and the highest setting without steam, warm the area you are going to put the design on then place the design where you want it. Press fairly hard on the design in segments. Use a lot of pressure. You are trying to melt the material and force it between the fibers. After you have pressed each area, go over the whole design slowly a few times. If it doesn’t stick well try again. Glitter vinyl is very difficult to melt. This make take a few tries.
After it cools and I’ve taken the paper off, I always repress the design just to make sure it seals. Use parchment paper between the iron and your design.
BTW if you are layering your vinyl, never put a layer on top of glitter vinyl. It just wont stick.
And now you are an expert at using glitter vinyl. Well, maybe not but you know more than you did.
This tutorial contains links to sellers of which I am an affiliate and get a small commission. Your price is not affected.