The Ins & Outs of Patterned Vinyl - Weeding, Transferring and Applying Patterned Adhesive & Heat Transfer Vinyl

Have you wanted to try something new with your vinyl designs? Patterned vinyl allows you to make your designs pop – and it is easy to work with! Take fun patterns - like serape, camo, floral, ombre and so much more - and turn them into unique designs you can apply to almost any garment or object. Don’t be intimidated to give patterned vinyl a try, we have the step by step directions, as well as some videos to help you conquer this new craft with confidence!

There are two types of patterned vinyl we will be touching on: patterned heat transfer vinyl and patterned adhesive vinyl. Which product you use depends on your desired application. If you’re working with t-shirts or other garments, heat transfer vinyl is what you need. If you’re wanting to make stickers for indoor and outdoor use, grab some of our patterned adhesive vinyl. We will go into more detail about the different types of patterned adhesive vinyl below.

Patterned Heat Transfer Vinyl

Our patterned heat transfer vinyl is applied a little differently than our traditional HTV because it is printed in house per order and it does not come with a carrier sheet. You will need to purchase heat transfer mask separately to transfer the cut patterned HTV to your garment.

Do not Mirror, Place Pattern Side Up

Whether you’re using a heat press or home iron to apply your patterned HTV, be sure you do not mirror your design and place your patterned HTV on your cutting mat with the paper backing down and the pattern facing up. You should be able to see the pattern when you’re cutting your design.

Weed Excess HTV & Apply Heat Transfer Mask

After you have used your Cricut, Silhouette or other cutting machine to cut your design out of the patterned HTV, use a weeding tool to remove the excess HTV that will not be apart of the final design. Once your final design is remaining, cut a piece of heat transfer mask to fit over the entire design. Place it over the design and burnish the HTV onto the transfer mask using a scraper or credit card. Slowly remove the HTV sheet from the transfer mask leaving the design on the mask. We recommend turning your design over once you have applied the mask and remove the backing from the back, not the mask from the backing. 

Applying Patterned HTV with Heat Press

Cover your design with a Teflon sheet or parchment paper. Press your design at 305º-310º for 10 seconds with medium pressure. Hot or cold peel.

Here is a video so you can see the steps in action:  

Applying Patterned HTV with Home Iron

Set your iron to the highest setting – do not use any steam. Place your garment on a hard and sturdy surface to apply you patterned HTV. Cover with a Teflon sheet or a piece of parchment paper, and then firmly iron your design for 15-30 seconds – do not slide the iron from side to side until you’re sure the design in adhered. Let design cool before removing your transfer sheet. If it is not completely adhered, recover the design and repress areas that did not stick for another 10 seconds.

Here is a video so you can see the steps in action: 

*Two quick tips:

• Our heat transfer mask is reusable so don't throw away the backing it comes on. You should be able to get a few uses out of it. 
• If you are in a pinch and do not have heat transfer mask, a previously used carrier sheet from another material with some stick. Our hologram and liquid carrier sheets usually work great!

Patterned Vinyl

To apply patterned vinyl, you will need tp purchase application tape separately to transfer your design to the desired object.

Do Not Mirror, Place Patterned Side Up

The cutting process for patterned adhesive and heat transfer vinyl is the same. You do not need to mirror your design and the patterned vinyl will be placed patterned side up and paper backing side down.

Weed Excess HTV & Apply Adhesive Tape

Next step is to cut your design using your vinyl cutter. You will then weed out any excess material in your design. Once you’re done, remove the paper lining on your application tape if applicable. Then place the tape on top of your design and use a tool - like a scraper or even a credit card - to burnish the design onto the adhesive tape. After it is adhered, you will then remove the vinyl backing, leaving your design on the application tape. This will expose the sticky part of your design.

Applying Patterned Vinyl

Your design is now ready to be transferred to an item of your choosing, like a car window, wall or wood sign. Once it is in place, burnish it on to ensure it is adhered. Lastly, peel the application tape away slowly to reveal your final design!

Join for More

That’s it! That’s all there is to patterned adhesive vinyl and heat transfer vinyl.

Let us know if you have any questions and make sure you share your creations in our iCraft Vinyl Facebook Group. We have built a community with more than 30,000 crafters!

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