How to Cut and Weed Small Vinyl Designs

Knowing how to cut and weed small vinyl designs is SO important when creating vinyl projects. Creating and cutting small intricate designs is one of my favorite aspects of using a Silhouette Cameo. Today, I am going to share some tips for how to cut and weed small vinyl designs, while also creating a DIY decal for an Apple AirPods case.

This is a sponsored post.  I was provided product from StyleTech Craft for this project.  All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.  See my full disclosure and privacy policy HERE.

It has happened to all of us who cut and weed small vinyl designs-we have this beautiful design, weed it, and the little dot on the “i” is missing, or we have lost some other part of our design. This is probably the most frustrating aspect to working with small vinyl designs. So how do you fix it?

Use the Proper Cut Settings.

Having your machine set to the proper cut settings is the most important step. Most often, the pre programmed settings for cutting glitter adhesive vinyl are perfect. On my machine they are:

• FORCE: 10
• SPEED 5
• PASSES: 1

My biggest tip is to make sure your SPEED is all the way down to “1”. Keeping your speed slow avoids the blade pickings up the smaller pieces and dragging them along when cutting. Setting “PASSES” to 2 does cut it again immediately. This will assure your design is cut.

Before unloading your mat and vinyl, check to make sure it did cut through all the way.

The Best Vinyl to Use on an Apple AirPods Case

An AirPods case’s surface is REALLY smooth. This makes it ideal for really any type of vinyl. I think ideally the thickness of StyleTech’s Gloss or Glitter vinyl is ideal. Matte may work, but in my experience, it is thinner than the others and very fragile to work with. Choose a vinyl that does not have a rough texture or an overly intricate design to it.

How to Weed Small Vinyl Designs

Even if you have a beautiful, perfect cut, weeding your design is really the last step to assuring you have a perfect cut.

One thing I have started doing is cutting around my cut design before I weed it. Having less vinyl to work with and drag along when I am weeding is ideal. This concentrates your weeding area to just around your design, and it’s easier to work with.

Having easy to use weeding tools at hand is super important! I like to have a hook, as well as tweezers and small scissors.

Materials to Make an Airpods Case Decal

• Silhouette Cameo or similar cutting machine
• Apple Airpods Case
• Transfer Tape
• Cutting Mat
• Weeding Tools
• StyleTech Craft Glitter Vinyl

How to Make an Apple AirPods Case Decal

First, set up your design in your Silhouette Design Screen. I chose to type my name, since the width of that covers the space nicely.

Next, choose a color and finish of vinyl for your decal. I chose a beautiful purple color in a glitter finish.

From here, add the vinyl to the cutting mat, and load it into the machine. Check your cut settings so they match your vinyl type.

Send your design to cut. Before removing the cutting mat, check to make sure it cut through all the way.

Remove the mat, and cut a small square around your design. Then, start weeding. If you have “o”, “a”, etc in your design, weed the inside of the circles first. Then, starting at an angle in the corner, gently peel back the vinyl to reveal the cut of the design.

Prepare the AirPod case for the vinyl by cleaning it with a small amount of rubbing alcohol and letting it dry. Cover the top of your design with transfer tape. Gently peel off the back, so the adhesive is exposed.

Next, align the design on the case. Starting in the middle, gently but firmly smooth it out to the edges. Using a burnishing tool, rub over it to assure it is secure.

Finally, starting at an angle and peeling back gently, remove the transfer tape.

Cutting and weeding small vinyl designs does not have to be frustrating! With some patience and some simple tips, you can have a small but beautiful design to dress up your space!