DIY St. Patrick’s Day T-Shirts with a Home Iron
Metal HTV vs. EasyWeed® Adhesive & Foil
If you frequent the Siser Facebook page you may have heard Joe explaining the newest line of HTV called Metal. You might have even won a sample pack of it. For those who weren’t as lucky, we’re giving you a second chance! Keep reading for the giveaway information at the end of this tutorial!
Just to re-cap, Metal is a shiny HTV available in gold and silver. It comes on a pressure sensitive carrier, and has the same application settings as EasyWeed® Foil (305°F, medium pressure, 10-15 seconds, peel cold). However, while you can purchase Metal from your authorized distributor or reseller, EasyWeed Foil is going to be harder to come by. We know you guys love this product! We know because we just can’t make it fast enough to keep it stocked for all our sellers. So while some distributors may still have EasyWeed Foil in stock, from here on out EasyWeed Foil will only be available at Michaels Craft Stores.
For some of you, Michaels is a quick and convenient stop, but others prefer to stay loyal to their distributors and their discounts. So I wanted to provide you guys with not only one EasyWeed Foil substitute, but two that can be purchased from your authorized distributor or reseller!
First, let’s talk about EasyWeed Adhesive and screen print foil. This is a two step application process, but still produces a very shiny outcome.
How to Iron On EasyWeed Adhesive & Foil and Glitter HTV
For cutting and weeding information check out this post.
Pre-iron the t-shirt to remove any wrinkles or moisture. Then fold and crease the carrier to center it on the garment. Finally, place a heat transfer cover sheet on top to prepare for heat application.
how to iron on EasyWeed Adhesive on a cotton t-shirt
2. With your iron on the “Polyester” setting, press each section of the design firmly for 5-10 seconds. You can tell the adhesive has transferred to the shirt when it’s clear. Then you can peel the carrier hot.
Peel carrier from EasyWeed Adhesive while still hot
3. Cut a piece of foil to size and place on top of adhesive. The color side should always face up. Replace the heat transfer cover sheet before pressing.
Place gold screen printing foil on top of EasyWeed Adhesive
4. Press each section of the design for 10-15 seconds before waiting for the foil to cool completely. Peeling the foil cold will give you the best coverage on the adhesive. There will always be very small bits of foil that don’t transfer to the adhesive and remain on the foil sheet, but that just helps to create a weathered look.
Wait until foil is completely cold before peeling away excess
5. The second layer has small parts of the artwork knocked out, so all of the HTV lays on the fabric. This blog postexplains how to knock out artwork in Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Studio, and CanvasWorkspace.
With a heat transfer cover sheet on top, I pressed the Glitter (Avoiding the foil to retain maximum shine! If I pressed the foil again it would produce a more hammered look.) for 15 seconds and peeled the carrier warm. EasyWeedAdhesive and foil are so much fun because you can create all kinds of styles!
Align and press Glitter HTV with a heat transfer cover sheet over everything
Now, let’s talk about the new line of Siser HTV: Metal!
How to Iron On Metal Heat Transfer Viny
Cut Metal with the shiny side down and the gray side up. Recommended cut settings can be found here. After cutting, weed out the excess heat transfer vinyl.
Weed out excess vinyl with your Siser Weeder
2. Align the Metal layer with the Glitter and stick the carrier sheets together. Now you can fold and crease the center and align it on the t-shirt. Once you like the placement, take away the Glitter layer and replace it with a heat transfer cover sheet.
Crease and center both layers of HTV before pressing
3. With your iron on the “Cotton” setting (and no steam!) press each portion of the Metal HTV for 10 seconds. Just long enough for the HTV to release from the carrier and stick to the shirt. If there’s any bit lifting, that’s ok because we’re going to heat it again on the second press. Let the carrier cool and peel it away.
Wait until carrier is cold before peeling from Metal HTV
4. Re-align the Glitter HTV, replace the cover sheet, and iron over the entire design (including Metal) for 10-15 seconds. This press will fully bond the Metal as well as the Glitter. Peel Glitter’s carrier while warm.Press everything for 10-15 seconds and peel Glitter’s carrier warm
So, there you have it- two ways to achieve a metallic foil look with Siser materials. If this tutorial was helpful or maybe you just like the St. Patrick’s Day shirts, pin the image below!
Now that you’ve made it through the tutorial, you deserve a prize! Click here to enter for your chance to win a prize pack full of silver and gold Metal heat transfer vinyl! I’ll announce the winner on Instagram live next Friday, March 9 at noon EST. You have a whole week to spread the word and enter to win! See you next Friday 🙂
Stay on trend with metallic and foil designs! DIY your own shiny St. Patrick’s day t-shirts with EasyWeed® Adhesive & Foil or NEW Metal HTV and (always) Glitter! Click here for the iron on instructions plus the chance to win a pack of the brand new Metal heat transfer vinyl!