This using metallic HTV tutorial serves two purposes. As promised here is another 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!!! Really this is a tutorial on how to work with metallic vinyl.
Using metallic HTV is much easier to work with than glitter vinyl. And can look just as impressive. If you need to review using HTV, you can get some hints and tips here.
What you will need
- Metallic HTV
- something to put it on
- light source
- 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 “metallic iron on” . Unlike glitter vinyl, metallic vinyl cuts easily.
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 Bright pad, 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 but they are smaller.
Also you will need a sharp pick. I have a set from Harbor Freight that cost 2 or 3 dollars. Another tool that is useful is a weeding ring. I used to stick the weeded vinyl to my hand but my skin had a reaction to the sticky. The weeding ring solved that.
When using Metallic HTV, it weeds fairly easily, but for a project as complicated and this one I like to cut a paper copy or just print a copy on paper so I have a guide for weeding.
Here is another trick that works well. You probably wont need it when using metallic HTV but just in case, I mention it here. 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. Metallic vinyl tends to crinkle when it gets too hot but I like that effect and it sticks just as well.
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.
And now you are an expert at using metallic HTV! OK, maybe not but you definitely know more than you used to.
Here is another design I did with metallic vinyl. It is a shirt I made for my self, sort of self advertising. This is my new logo.
This tutorial contains links to sellers of which I am an affiliate and get a small commission. Your price is not affected.