DIY Valentine’s Shirt and How to Layer Glitter HTV

I can’t stop making shirts for my daughter….I think I have a problem!  Every holiday or school event that comes around, I am making a shirt for the girl!  Is it bad that I was kind of bummed we were on vacation when her class celebrated the 100th day of school, and I couldn’t make a shirt?!  Yea, I think I have a problem.  I’m addicted to heat transfer vinyl…particularly the glitter variety.  There, my secret is out!  This year, she wanted a shirt with a very special message….”You are Loved”.  I thought it was super sweet that she wanted kids to see her shirt, and get the message that they are loved!  I really can’t ask for a sweeter little girl!  So, today I am sharing with you one of my favorite heat transfer vinyl tips….how to layer glitter HTV!

Layering glitter HTV is an interesting process.  I feel like it is a hit or miss to truly layer it, and so I have found a way to make it look layered…when it really isn’t.  Over the countless washing and drying of her shirts that I have made, most of the time the HTV stays on and doesn’t peel for quite sometime, which is encouraging because I have to use an iron for my HTV.  But, sometimes the thickness of the HTV makes me wonder if it is truly adhered to the design under it…and how long it will stay.

To create the layered look with HTV, I found the following method works well.

Set up your cut file in your Silhouette Design screen.  I went with a very simple heart shape.  {This is a great project for HTV beginners}.

Open the Text option, and type “You are Loved”.  Center it on the heart.  

Select your text, and mirror it.  This will create two versions of your text.  Just move the original one off the design screen, and center the reversed one on the heart.  

Next, lay the red glitter HTV shiny side down  on your cutting mat and load it into the Silhouette.  Set your cut settings for HTV, and send it to cut.  When your machine is cutting, it will cut the heart, AND the text out of the middle of your heart.

After it is finished, unload it and begin weeding.   Take off the excess red around the heart.  Then, carefully remove the letters from the inside of the heart and discard them.  Your heart should look like this:

On your design screen, remove the heart but leave the text.  Set up your silver glitter HTV shiny side down on your cutting mat, and load it to the machine.  Send it to the Silhouette to cut, and you should have your “You are Loved ” cut out of silver HTV.  Weed away the outer excess and the inner parts of the letters and discard these.

Heat your iron to the hottest cotton setting you have, or warm up the heat press.  Since I am using an iron, I like to iron the area where I am going to put the design to warm it up. Place the heart in the center of your shirt and cover it with parchment paper.  Firmly press your iron all over the heart.  I press in each area for about 30 seconds.  Remove the parchment paper and carrier sheet of your vinyl, and your heart should be on your shirt.  You should see the shirt through the letters…but no worries.  You are going to cover them up shortly!

Next, line your “You are Loved” up with the space on the center of the heart.  Lay the parchment paper down, and make sure it covers EVERYTHING, including the heart.  You don’t want to press HTV with an iron without a barrier in between.  Press firmly on the “You are Loved” for about 30 seconds, pause, and repeat.  Gently peel back the clear carrier sheet.  

You have achieved a layered HTV look and a super cute Valentine’s Day shirt!  

Check out these 10-Tips for Using Heat Transfer Vinyl, as well as my Silhouette Cameo Projects Page!