Fields Of Heather

How To Use VLR To Remove HTV - Fixing A Cricut Fail

Cliff Notes:

VLR - Amazon is the only place I know of to find it.
Apply to the back of the fabric. Stretch the fabric. Peel off the htv.
Super easy. Worked great!
I reapplied a new design over the area where I had used the VLR, and it went on beautifully! No problems at all.

There are examples below, and a video of it at the bottom - showing how well the vinyl peels off!

I love this pillow (second from the left), despite my mistakes in not welding the pumpkins to the truck... But my husband and I did not get married in 1993. That's when our twins were born. We got married in 1991. Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking either. :-)

VLR is something I had heard mentioned a few times on different facebook groups, so when I placed my last amazon order, I added a can to my order. It has sat on the shelf ever since. I was intimidated by it.

Today, Design Space was down. (Still is, actually...) so it was a good time to try the VLR. My first challenge was opening it. Although I knew it couldn't actually be aerosol, when I saw I had to puncture the top (which the label says is plastic, but sounds more like metal when tapped) it made me nervous to use a hammer and nail. I couldn't think of another way to do this, so a hammer and nail it was.

That worked fine!

The next instruction was to remove the red tip from the spout - my spout did not have a red tip. The cap appeard to be missing. (So once I was done, I taped the top close, because this smells like something that might evaporate, and it is not exactly cheap.)

(For these pillows I had used the "backside" of some clearance fabric.. so the inside of the pillow case has a design, as shown here. The wet spot is where I applied the VLR)

The next instructions are to turn the item inside out and apply the liquid to the back of the design. That sounds easy enough, but it is actually a little tricky, if you cannot see the design through the fabric, and do not want to remove all of the vinyl. Still, I managed well enough. I ended up losing both the 3 and the 9 - but I don't mind replacing two small numbers, I was replacing one anway!

Once you apply the liquid, you stretch the fabric, and then when turned right side out, the vinyl comes off REALLY easily! Or at least it did for this one!

In addition to my date mistake, I had this pillow, that my sister in law had asked me to make. She brought the cover. I applied the htv. Then two weeks later, my nephew changed his mind and enlisted in the Navy, instead of the Air Force. She had suggested I just add all of the branches to the pillow and make the Navy the largest.. but I thought I would like it better if I could remove the htv and start fresh.

For the this second one, the material didn't have as much stretch, so the vinyl didn't pull up quite as much on it's own. It still was REALLY easy to pull up a corner and peel the vinyl right off!

(a quick video of the htv peeling off, to show you how easily it comes up!)

I reapplied a new htv design over the area where I had used the VLR to remove the old, and it went on beautifully - no problems at all!

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ANOTHER REMOVAL

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I often tackle projects purely out of curiosity. This is one of those. 🙂 I made my husband a t-shirt more than a year ago. It's one of his favorites, and I'm sure it has been washed more than 40x by now. The vinyl was wearing off. In places, the color was gone, with just the vinyl residue left behind. So I used VLR & removed the vinyl. So far, while wet, you can see the design strongly - the shirt has faded around the design. So I can reuse the shirt only if the new design covers the old - or if I use the exact same design.

Even after washing and drying the shirt, and ironing over these marks - they remained.

I think because it was more that the shirt around the vinyl had faded...

So I recovered it with the exact same design. :-)

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https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/09/cricut-which-vinyl-do-i-need-where-do-i.html

Using A Plain Old Regular Iron For HTV Cricut Projects

I've been crafting at least weekly, often daily, with a cricut machine now for 6 years. And I have never used a heat press.

I just use a plain old iron. I set it between cotton and wool.

No steam.

It's a thrift store iron. It cost me $2. It's good and heavy - and old. Probably a 1980's model.

And my projects hold up great. I have no issues at all, which is why I have never felt the need to look at heat presses. I know this is not the case for everyone, and if I were to do this as a business, I'd probably consider a heat press because I think it might be faster when doing a lot of shirts all at once. But I really don't know, because I've never actually used one. :-)

Note - I do not use Cricut Vinyl. I tried some when I first got my machine, but it was the priciest option available to me at the time, and I didn't find anything about it to be special. I quickly switched to Sizzix, and then eventually switched to a variety of other brands - Transwonder, Caregy, HTVront, & Craftables are some of my favorites. Find links, and price comparisons, here:

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/09/cricut-which-vinyl-do-i-need-where-do-i.html

Here's a look at how I do what I do:

parchment paper, silicone baking sheet, thrift store iron, on an ironing board.

I work right on my ironing board. I think it works so well for me because it's the perfect height for me. It's an antique, all wooden, ironing board, if that makes any difference. It belonged to my husbands grandmother. My craft space is a corner of my laundry room, so the ironing board is just convenient for me.

Others may tell you it HAS to be a solid surface, not a padded ironing board. I don't know what to tell them - this is what I have always used. I suspect the silicone baking sheets may be what makes the difference, but again, I don't know.

Silicone Baking Sheet

I use silicone baking sheets inside my items when ironing. It reflects the heat back, and gives me a nice flat surface inside the item.. Ok, I don't really know why this helps. Its just how I do it, and it works well for me, so I keep using them. :-)

A few have messaged me, they did not have silicone baking sheets and wondered what I would recommend in their place. Honestly, I recommend ordering silicone baking sheets.. but after taking to one woman a bit, we came up with the idea to wrap piece of cardboard from a cereal box in aluminum foil. I heard back from one of the women who tried this and it worked great! I haven't heard back from the other, so maybe it didn't work at all for her. I don't know.

Cover With Parchment Paper

I place parchment paper over the carrier sheet. Most of the time. I've done a few items without, and it's sometimes fun to watch the carrier sheet melt up a little... but I'm usually afraid I will mess up the design if I do not use the parchment paper. YOU CAN OVER HEAT HTV AND BURN IT. So be cautious at first, do a test design on scrap fabric to get used to your iron. I'd recommend that even if you are using a heat press.

I have used wax paper when I was out of parchment paper. Apparently you shouldn't do that, it could transfer the wax from the paper to your item and ruin your t-shirt or pillow or whatever. I only did it a few times, and it was cheap wax paper, so maybe there wasn't enough wax to cause a problem. I'm not recommending it, I'm just telling you that I am very casual with the "rules" and so far have not had any problems.

PRESS

I press for 15-30 seconds in each area. Just press the iron down, do not move the iron back and forth as you would if you were ironing.

I usually start with 15 seconds or so, then try to peel back the carrier sheet. If the vinyl sticks to the carrier sheet, I put the carrier sheet back down and press it a few seconds more.

You CAN iron too long, or at too high of a temp, and burn the htv. So go slow, until you get used to the process - or better yet, cut out a test design and practice on scrap fabric, to find the right temperature and time for your iron.

NOTE - Some vinyl is "cold peel". Eventually you'll be comfortable with the difference, but when starting out, be really sure to read the description. Cold Peel means you have to let the vinyl cool for a few seconds before you pull off the carrier sheet. That can be confusing at first, because it will look like the htv is not attaching to the fabric, if you do not let it cool first. The nice thing about htv is that you can always iron again - so err on the side of caution.

CHECK FOR FIBERS

The most important step! Hold your item up to a good light, and look for the fibers to show through the vinyl. Your vinyl should now have the pattern of the material showing through it.

If you cannot see the pattern, put the parchment paper back on top, and press again.

Another example - this is on a t-shirt

And one more example. This particular shirt has been washed MANY times.

When I have had htv peel, It was always, always, because I was in a hurry and didn't check to make sure I could see the fibers through the vinyl. I'm so used to this working so very well, that sometimes I get careless and do not check well enough. Since I don't sell, it's never an issue for me to go back, those very few times, and iron the loose section back down. In every case, the part that didn't stick was small detail - in one case VERY small text on a t-shirt, in another a small line in a pumpkin design on a textured pillow. Simply place the parchment paper over the design and press again.

This is one of my husbands favorite shirts. It's been washed dozens of times. The top and bottom are htv, the center circle is print and cut on avery transfer paper. It was all pressed with an iron, and it has held up great! It's just starting to show a little wear (which is more noticeable in the photo than in person) on the left side of the circle. Nothing is peeling, but the print and cut paper does tend to wear a bit more in repeated washings.

I do not wash anything special. Everything gets tossed in the regular wash, and if it happens to be inside out, it's only because that's how it was tossed in the hamper. I line dry in the summer and use a dryer all winter. No problems with either. :-)

For a few years, it wasn't unusual for me to make 5-10 shirts in a week, we have a huge family. And grandchildren. And two sons who have been deployed, so that was a LOT of red friday t-shirts... But I do not sell. I wish I could, but it is just way too stressful for me.

I won't tell you you don't need a heat press. I don't really know what you need. All I can tell you is that I most certainly do not need a heat press. Thankfully - because as you can see here, I really don't have room for one!

You can tour my very small cricut/soap making/sewing space here - http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/04/my-cricut-craft-space.html

Tips For Using HTV:

Remember, for HTV you place the HTV Shiny side down on the mat

And you Reverse, or Mirror the design. You're cutting on the BACK of the material. Once weeded, you'll flip the design onto the fabric, and iron [or heat press] it on.

I have never felt the need to purchase a heat press. My iron has always worked great for me

Price Comparisons, Brands of vinyl I personally like, Price Guidelines...

How To Remove HTV

If You Make A Mistake

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Find The Facebook Group For This Page

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1121399284857845/

Fall Truck Snowglobe - 3d Paper Project With Cricut

I took a winter svg, and turned it into a fall svg.

The process I used could be used to change the basic card into any design you wished - spring, summer, fall - birthday, dinosaur , unicorn- you name it!

This post is sorted into Three Sections. First are the commercial use svgs, followed by Personal Use Svgs, followed by "Projects" - which is where you will find things like cards, earrings, and various other svgs for specific projects.

Related Links:

Index Of Free SVGS By Theme
How To Use Free SVGS In Design Space
The Facebook Group For This Page (With LOADS more free svgs posted every day!)
Cricuting Through The Seasons - A month by month list of projects and free svgs by season & holiday'
Where To Find Free Summer Themed SVGs

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Mermaid Themed Free SVGS

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COMMERCIAL USE

Commercial use svgs can be used on projects you plan to sell. You may not sell the svg, but you can use the svg on an item and sell that item.

3D Layered Mermaid Design

https://crafthousesvg.com/collections/freebies/products/free-3d-layered-mermaid-svg-fb105?ref=6959505

Quick Links:

https://niksgraphicshop.ca/2018/05/31/birthday-diy/

Although this states it is for silhouette, it includes an svg that will work with your cricut!
http://kimberdawnco.com/free-birthday-board-svg-cut-file/

More Birthday Stat Boards:
https://caluyadesign.com/?s=Birthday

Everything You Need For A Mermaid Birthday Party
https://www.abbikirstencollections.com/2017/10/sea-mermaid-paradise-birthday-party.html

Printables & Cut Files for a Unicorn Birthday Party
https://printablecrush.com/free-unicorn-party-printables-cut-files/

DIY Flamingo Birthday Party
http://idiehdesign.com/diy-flamingo-birthday-party/

Craft With Me: Birthday Party Fun- Free SVG Files
https://www.iamunique.me/blogs/crafting-with-unique/craft-with-me-birthday-party-fun-free-svg-files

Epic Zelda Birthday Party with free SVGS
https://thequietgrove.com/blog/2018/05/31/how-to-throw-an-epic-zelda-birthday-party-free-svg-png-files/

LONG list of free paper flower templates and tutorials (Both large, and small)
http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/01/making-paper-flowers-with-cricut.html

Party Hats
http://svgcuts.com/blog/2011/02/15/free-svg-file-sure-cuts-a-lot-02-15-11-party-hat/

https://love-the-day.com/free-svg-you-take-the-cake

Confetti Balloons
https://www.whitehousecrafts.net/single-post/2018/04/26/MAKE-IT-CONFETTI-PAPER-BALLOONS-WITH-FREE-SVG-FILE

CAKE TOPPERS

https://www.pressprintparty.com/diy/wild-one-cake-topper-free-svg/

http://www.clubcrafted.com/2018/05/10/printable-cake-toppers-birthdays-svg-templates/

Make a Birthday Cake Topper
https://svgandme.com/happy-birthday-cake-topper-svg/
Cake toppers can be easily made with a couple of layers of card stock. Often they are made with posterboard, with a layer of glitter card stock on top. But if you wish to use chipboard and have the maker, there is a tutorial here.