I recently shared a Frugal Friday technique for using foil scraps or “damaged” pieces of textile foil. Today, I’m going to share another simple way to use scraps. It’s a tip that’s pretty logical, but something you may not have thought about. Often you’ve got leftover pieces that are too small to use on their own. But you can create a multi-color pattern by combining the foil scraps.

Step 1: Cut and weed a piece of clear adhesive

Cut a shape from your clear adhesive. I’m using a solid heart because it’s very easy to see the shape. Don’t forget to mirror! Weed the excess.

Step 2: Press your clear adhesive

Check the manufacturer’s website for information on the temperature for your product. I’m using Siser’s EasyWeed Adhesive, so the setting is the same as the regular HTV — 305°.

Since you’ll be pressing several layers, you don’t want to overheat this clear adhesive. So you’ll flash press. That means to press only for 1-2 seconds — just long enough to allow you to remove the carrier sheet. The adhesive is usually a warm peel, so you can remove the carrier right away. It’s hard to see the clear adhesive because it’s, well, clear. But look for the shiny area.

Step 4: Layer and press the foil scraps

Take your foil scraps and lay them over the adhesive. You want to cover the whole design. Overlap them slightly so that there are no gaps. They can be parallel strips or free-form scraps.

This time you want to press for the full time. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s recommendations. My Magic Foil needs 10-15 seconds. HERE’S THE CRITICAL STEP! Textile foil is cold peel. That means you have to wait until the surface is cool to the touch to remove the foil plastic. Check out my distressed foil technique post for some tips on speeding that part up.

At this point, the foil is probably smooth and really shiny. If you want it to look more textured or a little less shiny, press again for a few seconds.

Variations

• You can do this on paper as well as fabric. I use the clear adhesive because I don’t have a laser printer at home, but theoretically you should be able to do it with the toner. I’ve also tried it with adhesive vinyl, but got mixed results.
• Use this technique with together with the distressed foil technique and you can come up with some amazing combinations!

 

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