HTV: It's not just for t-shirts and fabric

I gotta tell you — HTV is probably my favorite material to cut. I rarely have to change my cut settings, don’t have to use a mat (on pieces that are wide enough to fit under the rollers) and the plastic carrier holds everything in place really well. Plus there are SO many great colors and patterns. Did you know there are many other materials you can adhere HTV onto besides just fabric? Today, I’m going to share some of those with you.

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Why HTV?

You may be asking yourself, “Why would I want to use HTV on these surfaces? Wouldn’t regular adhesive (pressure-sensitive) vinyl work?” I can think of many reasons, but here are a few–

I find that HTV has a wider range of colors and patterns than adhesive vinyl. I’ll give you some links below for the patterned types.
I have scraps of HTV that aren’t large enough for something like a shirt but are still of a good size and have great colors or patterns.
This is also a good way to use up older or lower quality HTV that might not stick long term on a garment.
Sometimes I weed out something like a heart and just hate to throw away something so pretty.
It’s usually quicker and easier to get HTV onto something like wood instead of using paint.
It stays on some surfaces better, such as leather.

If you’re new to using HTV, I recommend you look over my post here for an introduction. Before we go any farther, let’s look at what things are similar and different when you apply HTV to other surfaces.

What are the tricks for using HTV on other surfaces?

Preparation

On surfaces such as glass, metal or ceramic, clean the piece first with rubbing alcohol, just as you would with regular vinyl.

Cutting

Many brands of patterned HTV are NOT cut mirrored as regular HTV is. That’s because it’s been printed on white HTV with a special printer. You then put a carrier on top of the HTV to lift it and transfer it to your project. Always check the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pressing

This takes practice. Be willing to have some imperfect projects in the beginning.
In most cases, use the same temperature. For items with a low heat tolerance, start with a lower temperature and experiment as needed. The plastic carrier can melt so it’s better to start low.
You can use a heat press on flat surfaces.
For curved ones, use a home iron or a heat gun (paid link).
For items like metal or glass that conduct heat, wear heat-resistant gloves or an oven mitt.
You don’t need to pre-press as you do with a garment. That’s to remove wrinkles and moisture.
To hold the HTV onto the project, try some heat tape (paid link), particularly if your surface is curved. (You’ll see an example below).
If your surface isn’t flat, stabilize it. I do NOT recommend holding it with one hand while you iron with the other. #recipefordisaster. A folded bath towel or books set on either side work well.
If you’re using a heat press, check your pressure beforehand. Something like wood is much thicker than a t-shirt and you don’t want to break your press.
You probably won’t send it through your washing machine, so you don’t necessarily have to press the full time. Start with a short time and experiment.
When using a home iron, don’t use it the same way as when you press clothes. Instead of sliding it around constantly, press and hold in one area at a time.
Be careful with the pressure on glass especially.
Use parchment paper or a Teflon sheet over the carrier, as you would with a garment.
Let it cool down before you remove the carrier, then lift it carefully to check the adhesion.
Repress for several seconds after removing the carrier, still with the cover sheet.

Usage

I handwash things like cups so they last longer.
I don’t recommend HTV on items that go in the oven.
I’m not convinced that either HTV or pressure-sensitive vinyl is food-safe.

Now, let’s look at just a few of the surfaces you can put HTV on.

Metal

I was making a Christmas metal tag garland for my sister, intending to etch them with my Curio. But I found it wasn’t as easy to read as I liked. I scrounged around my craft room and found some HTV that fits her style perfectly. I can’t remember where I got that one, but check out Sparkleberry Ink for fabulous patterns of all types. Look in the Holidays and Seasonal categories.

My piece was only 6″ x 12″ and I wanted the letters on the garland to be easily readable, so I used the pattern as a background and cut some letters in white. I just cut some rectangles to fit my metal tags, which I got at Hobby Lobby. You can see here I used the heat tape, because there’s not a sticky margin around the rectangles. It’s that sticky carrier that usually holds HTV onto the project.

Of all the surfaces I’ve played with, metal is the one that required the most press time.

I’d love to give you a pic of the finished garland, but, um, yeah, I was running behind schedule and shoved it in the box to mail it as soon as it was done.

Wood

Here’s something I made for my kitchen — a cutting board with a chart of measurement equivalents. It’s a design from the Silhouette Design Store called Kitchen Conversion Chart, but I replaced the roosters with Farm Animals.

This piece is for decoration only. Besides the fact that cutting on it would mess up the design (as it would with regular vinyl), it’s not food-safe. Since there’s so many small pieces, this was much easier to cut and weed than adhesive vinyl.

I’m betting it will stay put better as well.

The HTV sticks best to raw wood. If the wood has paint or varnish on it, the HTV sticks to that and not to the wood itself and so peels off pretty easily. Also, the smoother your wood is, the easier it is. However, you can definitely get it to stick to a textured wood with persistence. Here’s some I tested on a piece of scrap wood.

I like that because of the textured look.

Glass

HTV also works on glass. Here’s a mug I did with the Texas Shapes design from Deborah Stine and Heart Set by Hazel & Ruby. This Featherly Teal is of of my absolute favorite Sparkleberry patterns. Because it’s not a flat piece, I used an iron.

If you’re using a heat press (for flat surfaces only), don’t close the press all the way until it locks. You’ll probably wind up with a big mess of broken glass. Just in case, put a towel UNDER the glass before you press. Then lay on the glass piece and HTV as normal. Lower the top platen until it just touches the surface.

Here are some other ideas for glass surfaces–

A glass cutting board can be a great project for HTV. Put it on the underside (you won’t mirror if you normally would) so that you can serve on and wash the top side.
Got a photo that’s too small for a frame you love? Put a frame of HTV around the outer portion of the glass. Or add an embellishment in the corner.
HTV sticks to mirrors as well, although it’s trickier.

Ceramic/porcelain

Things like ceramic coffee mugs are great for HTV. Many folks find it stays on longer than regular adhesive vinyl. I recommend that you not use the HTV in an area where lips or food will touch it — just to be on the safe side.

Here’s a ceramic pedestal sign I got at Dollar Tree and added HTV onto. I’ve got it in my guest bathroom by my basket of essentials my guests might forget. The font is called MK Tall and Skinny and I think those skinny letters will stay on better.

I tried the heat tool on this one, as well as my iron. I was fully expecting to like the iron better, but found the heat gun worked best because I could see the HTV. The best procedure was to heat it, push it down with my fingers, wait for it to cool, then try to remove the carrier. It took a few tries but worked well.

When I used my iron, it was harder to see when I was overheating it, which caused wobbly letters from the HTV being too pliable.

It could also be that I wasn’t waiting the proper amount of time before trying to remove the carrier. Fortunately, I was able to heat it again and pull it off to start over.

These would be great as markers on a buffet table, wedding table numbers, for names for Christmas stockings, or anywhere you only have a small space for a sign.

Leather

This one makes pretty good sense, since leather is basically a type of fabric. When I was first experimenting with cutting leather on my Curio (see the project here), a few times my blade dragged across the leather and made scratches. I saved those pieces, and added leftover HTV scraps on top to cover the scratches.

You can find the football textured HTV here. (paid Amazon link).

Combine this with etching/tooling and you could get some awesome leather projects.

Cardstock/Paper

This is another material that I’ll usually use with pressure-sensitive vinyl or cardstock. But, as I said before, sometimes you have some pretty HTV that you want to use.

Here’s a gift bag I made by pressing a patterned HTV onto it. I feel like the HTV will stick longer since the surface is glossy.

That heart design is no longer in the Silhouette Design Store, but you can find the HTV here.

Where to find patterned HTV

I said at the beginning of the post that the wide variety of patterned HTV is one reason I like to use it on these surfaces. But where do you get it?

Hands down, my favorite patterned HTV is Sparkleberry. This company has GORGEOUS patterns and it’s very good quality.
- You can find all the patterns on their website here.
- Michaels also carries some of their patterns in store, but the price isn’t as good as just ordering directly and you’ll find a much bigger selection on the Sparkleberry site.
- Amazon carried Sparkleberry as well.
The major craft stores and even Walmart sell some patterned HTV in several brands.
Siser, Thermoflex and Chemica are reputable brands that can be purchased multiple places online. You’ll find other brands on Amazon. Just be sure to read the reviews.
Etsy has some good offerings from smaller businesses. Again — check the reviews. I have heard horror stories of folks getting poor quality prints that were pretty obviously ripped off another designer with just a low-resolution screen shot of the pattern.

What else?

HTV will also stick to a multitude of other surfaces. What other surfaces have you tried it on? I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment below.