Cricut Iron-on Vinyl: What is It and How to Use It?
Cricut Iron-on Vinyl is one of the most widely used materials every crafter wants to use in their DIY projects. They use it for various crafts, including shirts, tote bags, aprons, shoes, and more. However, there are two main types of Vinyl - Iron-on Vinyl and adhesive Vinyl. In this post, we will cover everything you need to know about Iron-on Vinyl, such as how to use it and its different types. We will give you the simple steps to use Iron-on using a Cricut cutting machine.
What is Cricut Iron-on Vinyl?
Iron-on Vinyl (Heat Transfer Vinyl) is a heat-sensitive adhesive used to apply on base materials such as fabric, paper, wood, and metal. It is a flexible and thin material in various forms, like percut rolls and sheets. Besides, the possibilities are infinite with colorful varieties of Iron-on Vinyl sheets.
Different Types of Cricut Iron-on Vinyl
Here are the different types of Iron-on Vinyl for Cricut projects with their own benefits and features.
Sportflex Iron-on: Thin and light in weight. It is easily stretchable and looks beautiful when used with fabrics (polyester and nylon).
Glitter Iron-on: As the name suggests, it has a glitter effect and comes in various colors.
Holographic Iron-on: It has a multi-color with a three-dimensional effect that changes according to light.
Foil Iron-on: It is similar to aluminum foil that you use to pack your lunch. But it is more reflective than aluminum sheets.
Smart Iron-on: It doesn’t require a cutting mat on the Cricut cutting machines (Cricut Maker 3, Explore, Joy models).
Patterned Iron-on: Available in classic and trendy patterns.
Besides, Cricut Iron-on Vinyl comes in different finishes and colors. For example, rainbow, patterns, and finishes, including glitter and metallic foil. Plus, you can buy this item in rolls, packs, and sheets.
What Materials Will You Need to Make Projects With Iron-on Vinyl?
You can consider these materials while making Iron-on Vinyl for Cricut projects:
Iron-on Vinyl
Take any project-based materials, e.g., a t-shirt or cotton tote bag.
Cricut machine
Cricut Design Space app
Fine Point Blade
Cricut EasyPress or heat press
Cutting Mat (StandardGrip or LightGrip)
Weeding tools include fine tweezers, hook tweezers, weeder, hook weeder, and piercing tools.
Cricut mat or a folded towel to shield your work surface
How to Use Cricut Iron-on Vinyl?
Using Iron-on Vinylis simple and takes a few minutes to stick with your blank. This easy-to-comprehend guide will teach you how to cut, weed, and apply Iron-on Vinyl using a cutting machine.
Step 1: Create Designs on the Cricut App
Launch the Design Space software and start a new project. You can use premade designs by browsing the Cricut Image library. Otherwise, you can also create your own design on the app.
Step 2: Mirror Your Design
Next, on the mat preview screen, you must mirror your design using a mirror toggle. It is an essential step to mirror your design on a cutting mat. However, if you don’t mirror your design, you will not get a final result accurately.
Step 3: Choose the Specific Materials
Further on the screen, you will need to select a particular type of material from the given list of materials. Also, you find the different pressure settings for different Vinyl. Hence, you should choose the correct settings accordingly.
Besides, load the Fine-Point blade into the cutting machine. Then you are ready to go.
Step 4: Placing Vinyl on the Mat
Now, this time, you should place Vinyl on the cutting mat. The shiny surface (with a plastic carrier sheet) should face down on the mat. You can use a brayer (or scraper tool) to adhere the Vinyl to the mat properly.
Step 5: Time to Cut
After loading the mat into the machine, press the “Go” button to make the cut your design. When your cutting is done, you can press the “Load/Unload” button to remove the mat.
Step 5: Weed the Design
Your next step should be to weed the design, meaning peeling the excess Vinyl, excluding your design. See the picture for a better understanding.
Conclusion
Cricut Iron-on Vinyl is a special type of Vinyl that is different from regular adhesive Vinyl. It is widely used for fabric, leather, paper, wood, metal, and more. However, there are different types of Iron-on Vinyl that we have already discussed in this post. Further, you will find the materials required to make your first project with Vinyl materials. With the tutorial guide, you can apply Iron-on Vinyl materials to your desired project. We hope the article was helpful and will guide you to use the Iron-on Vinyl material with ease.
FAQs
Question 1: How can I weed Cricut Iron-on Vinyl?
Answer: Follow these steps to weed your Vinyl design:
From the outer side of your design, try to weed out the extra part that is not required in your design.
Then, peel the pieces from the inner part of the design.
After that, weed until you’re left with your design only.
Flip the sheet and make sure the design is looking like the way you’ve made it.
Question 2: Can I overlap the Cricut Iron-on Vinyl?
Answer: Yes, you can do this if you want to try different colors of Vinyl to overlap. However, it might be a little time-consuming, but the result would be really exciting. You can apply several layers of the Iron-on one another. You can heat each Vinyl design individually using a heat press, then place the second layer and heat it again. This is how you can overlap the Vinyl.
Question 3: Does Iron-on Vinyl remain permanent on the project?
Answer: Yes, you can get both permanent and temporary removable Vinyl for your projects. Cricut offers both types of Iron-on Vinyl, such as permanent and removable. These materials are also compatible with Cricut Maker and Cricut Explore Air machines. So you can choose what suits you best for your projects.
Visit: cricut.com/setup
cricut setup explore air 2 setup
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cricut design space setup