Let me give you some background about this shiny material you will surely adore. A specialty vinyl called Foil HTV can give your vinyl project a unique SHINE. Foil vinyl is, therefore, what you all need if you want to create an extraordinary and eye-catching vinyl project. So here it is. There are two types of foil vinyl; the first is the 2-step (crown) foil, wherein a variety of prints and solid colors are available for this item. It is very portable, eye-catching, and simple to use.

How to use this:

For the first step, before cutting, create your design and make sure to mirror it. If using a silhouette, change the cut setting to Heat Transfer (Smooth). Choose the smooth HTV setting for other machines. The shiny side down, place your transparent adhesive sheet on your mat. Place your mat inside the machine. After cutting is complete, remove your mat from the machine. After weeding your design, take the adhesive sheet off the mat. Make sure to center your weeded design on your garment and lay it down with the shiny side up. Your attire should be lightly heated-pressed for 15 seconds at 315 degrees. Apply light pressure to avoid overpressing the glue and spreading it out too much.

For the second and last step, your foil sheet should be placed shiny/printed side up on top of the clear adhesive. Press with medium pressure for 15 seconds at 275 degrees. Allow the clothing to cool completely. Remove the foil sheet once it has thoroughly cooled. Lay the unused portion of the foil sheet on the design and press once more if you notice any areas where the foil doesn't adhere. Save the remaining foil, if any, for your subsequent project. 2-Step foil is renowned for having a more worn appearance.

The second one is the 1-Step Foil which is available in several solid colors. Suppose you have previously used Easyweed Siser or another solid HTV. In that case, you may be more familiar with the usage. The process of cutting is the same. Lay the mat down, shiny side up. You can cut the material by utilizing the cut options for Heat Transfer Smooth. The blank of your choice can be placed once it has been cut. To create the mirrored effect, the Heat settings should be set to 305 degrees and applied once with light pressure. Press the item twice with firm pressure to give it a hammered, grainy appearance, and voilà!

Now that you know the two types, let us dive into more detailed questions about this foil vinyl.

Keep on reading, crafters!

WHAT TEMPERATURE DO I USE FOR FOIL VINYL?

Proper pressure and temperature is the key to proper adhesion. If you use foil vinyl, follow this temperature for clothes iron or heat press. Oh! I also included the appropriate pressure and time to do it well. Remember, temperature +pressure+time is the formula for any heat transfer vinyl project.

Application guidelines (for a home iron):

• Place Cotton and Linen on the dial of the iron.
• Pre-heat the shirt for 5 seconds
• Put a Teflon sheet or parchment paper on your designed vinyl
• Put on a level, hard surface (ironing board not recommended)
• Apply medium-firm pressure when pressing the iron (do not slide the iron)
• For 10 to 15 seconds, press each part of the design.
• Replace the cover sheet and press again for 5 to 10 seconds if any areas of the design lift after application.
• Peel carrier cold

Heat Press Application Instructions:

• Cut backward
• Weed the excess vinyl
• Warm the clothing for 2 to 3 seconds.
• Apply the design at 150°C/305°F.
• 10-15 seconds of medium pressure are required
• Peel the carrier cold

I also provide the correct washing instructions in case you finish this and decide to wash your foil vinyl shirt.

• Before your first wash, wait 24 hours.
• Cold machine washing with mild detergent
• To dry, hang the item
• Avoid dry cleaning.

HOW DO I PUT FOIL VINYL ON CRICUT?

You can personalize without committing to Foi vinyl! Make labels, home décor, media covers, easily removable media covers, and more. Use all cutting machines from Cricut. Below are the cutting and application instructions.

Cutting Adhesive Foil with a Cricut Machine

• Place the Cricut Standard Grip cutting mat on top of the adhesive foil, liner side down.
• Place the mat into the machine after choosing the images and size.
• To adjust machine settings, refer to the Custom Cut Guide.
• Click CUT

Using Cricut Transfer Tape

• Using the Weeder from the Cricut Tool Kit, remove the negative pieces from each image while leaving the liner intact. The act of weeding is what is being done.
• Remove the transfer tape liner.
• Over the images, gently press the transfer tape (adhesive side down). To prevent bubbles, start in the center and move toward the edges. Burnish (rub or polish) the tape onto the adhesive foil using a craft stick or the scraper included in the Cricut Tool Kit.
• At a 45° angle, peel off the adhesive foil liner. Burnish the transfer tape onto the adhesive foil and peel it away once more if the adhesive foil does not separate from the liner.

Application

• Make sure the work surface is dry and clean. Put the transfer tape with the adhesive foil images where you want them to appear on your surface.
• Burnish transfer tape onto the surface now, working your way from the center to the edges. You can use a craft stick or the scraper included in the Cricut Tool Kit.
• At a 45-degree angle, peel the transfer tape away from the adhesive foil. If the transfer tape sticks to the adhesive foil images, burnish the transfer tape onto the foil and peel it off once more.

Cricut and foil vinyl is a perfect match; use this guideline to achieve your project perfectly!

IS FOIL VINYL PERMANENT?

Foil is soft vinyl ideal for any project that can be adhered to. Both matte and sparkly versions are available. Vinyl with adhesive foil has a metallic foil-like appearance. Amazingly, it cuts and weeds. Adhesive foil is a removable foil. As a result, it is only intended for temporary use. Use removable labels, decals, and other DIY projects made from foil vinyl if you want to decorate for special events and then take it down.

The benefit of using this removable foil vinyl is that you can switch out the design when it looks worn and you no longer want it.

CAN FOIL VINYL BE LAYERED?

I know you want some experiments to achieve a unique vinyl project. And like you always do to other types of vinyl, you can also LAYER this shiny foil vinyl. This will totally add shine to your vinyl project.

There is also a trick to layering them to achieve a 2-tone look! It would be best if you employed the Distressed technique to achieve a 2-tone appearance:

Method of Distressed Heat Transfer Foil

1. Start applying your adhesive (or substitute for an adhesive) as you would when Foil vinyl.

2. Crumple your foil vinyl. This will result in some of the foil cracking and breaking off.

3. Using the same procedures as we covered above, apply the distressed foil over the adhesive.

4. Always remove the foil in the cold! Once more, the results will be better the colder you peel it. To spread the heat, it helps to rub the foil over a cold surface. When you peel the foil, you'll see that the crumpling has given it a cracked, worn appearance. If you want a distressed look with just one color, you can stop here without applying any more foil. However, the foil is now cracked, leaving spaces for more foil to stick to the adhesive.

5. Lay a second sheet of foil vinyl on top of the previously applied distressed foil without crumpling it. Apply it following the same advised application guidelines.

6. You'll notice that the second layer of foil adheres to the open adhesive formed by the cracks in the first distressed-foil layer when you apply it and peel it COLD. You end up with a 2-tone Heat Transfer Foil design as a result!

2-LAYER DESIGN WITH FOIL VINYL

Now let's proceed to layer two-layer design using foil vinyl. Get ready to prepare the following materials:

• Starcraft Soft flex vinyl
• Eayweed adhesive vinyl
• Tweezers
• Heat press
• Parchment paper or Teflon Sheet
• Scissor
• Blank shirt

Follow this step-by-step tutorial:

1. On your Design Space, think of your preferred design. Resize it to how you would like it to fit on your shirt.

2. Because we celebrated the new year, we will use 2023 as our design with a short statement underneath saying "another year, another craft."

To make it more shiny and unique, we will put some tiny hearts inside the year 2023.

3. 2023's lucky color is magenta, so I decided to make the 2023 color magenta. Oops! I forgot! Separate the tiny hearts from 2023 because that would be for our second layer and the statement "another year, another craft," and that's it! We now have two layers.

4. For the first layer, magenta "2023," we will use starcraft soft flex. Please put it on your cutting mat with the carrier sheet side down and hit the cut button on your Cricut machine.

5. For the second layer, we will use Easyweed adhesive vinyl. To load it in your mat, put it with the smooth side down and hit the cut button.

6. Now, we have to remove the excess vinyl. Do it gently, as you may tear your design. You better use tweezers for this step.

7. Next step is the heat press process. As always, pre-heat the shirt for 3 seconds to avoid wrinkles. After that, get the first layer and put it on the shirt. Press it for about 8-5 seconds at 285 degrees Fahrenheit with medium pressure, then peel it off immediately.

8. Now, we need to lay down the adhesive. Set the heat press at 275 degrees Fahrenheit at medium pressure for 10 seconds. And peel off your backing immediately.

9. Now, it will look like nothing on your shirt. You may see a little bit of sheen from where your design was, but don't worry; it was okay. This is just the start of the magic!

10. For the last step, get a foil and cut it. This must be a little bit large from your design or cover the whole design. Set your heat press machine at 305-320 degrees Fahrenheit, firm pressure for about 10 to 15 seconds. After that, don't peel off your foil. Please wait until it completely cools down. Hold down your shirt and peel off the foil for the final step. And that's where the magic happens!

This is so simple, and I know this is another DIY craft for you!

Keep on shining, crafters! And please share your crafting experiences with us.

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For your vinyl crafting needs, please check our website at xvinyl.com. We offer different Adhesive and Heat Transfer Vinyl, perfect for your next project.

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