Materials5 min readUpdated
Heat transfer vinyl is cut face-down through a carrier sheet, which is why the design must be mirrored before cutting — and why a forgotten mirror is the most expensive five seconds in crafting.
Build the design reading normally. Mirroring is the last thing you do, not the first.
Flip the design horizontally. Text should now read backwards on screen — that is the confirmation it is correct.
Place the HTV with the glossy carrier sheet face-down on the mat, so the blade cuts the matte vinyl and not the carrier.
Remove everything that is not the design, including letter centres. Weed while it is warm from cutting if you can — it releases more easily.
Press at the temperature and duration for your specific HTV, carrier side up.
Peel hot or cold as the manufacturer specifies. Getting this backwards lifts the design off with the carrier.
Each press cycle re-heats every layer below it. Press the largest, bottom-most layer for the full time, then press subsequent layers for two to three seconds only — just enough to tack them — and give the whole thing one final full press with a cover sheet at the end.
Not all HTV layers. Glitter, holographic and flock are usually top-layer-only; putting another layer on top of glitter rarely bonds properly.
HTV is thinner than adhesive vinyl and needs less pressure. Cutting too deep goes through the carrier sheet and the design falls apart during weeding. If pieces shift while weeding, the cut went too deep.
Free, no install, no watermark. Open the studio and export a cut-ready SVG in the next five minutes.