Copyright Silhouette School 2016. Powered by Blogger.


One Click Trick to Cutting Tiny HTV and Vinyl Designs and Text

If your Silhouette isn't cutting through HTV it can create a mess when you're trying to weed the heat transfer vinyl - especially on small designs.

Cutting small HTV, HTV, heat transfer vinyl, Silhouette 101, Silhouette America Blog

Today I'm going to share a one click trick in Silhouette Studio that will solve this issues about 99% of the time!

Silhouette CAMEO Not Cutting Through Heat Transfer Vinyl?

I previously shared a tutorial on making DIY custom koozies with heat transfer vinyl.  One of the koozies had really small text.  The first time I cut the text it cut fine, but when I weeded it more than half of the letters peeled up with the excess vinyl. Giant fail.

Cutting small HTV, HTV, heat transfer vinyl, Silhouette tutorial

I know better than this which is why I was annoyed with myself.   It's just one click of the mouse that makes all of the difference with tiny intricate designs like this.

HTV Cut Setting Change for Small Designs 

I re-loaded my Silhouette cutting mat with a new piece of heat transfer vinyl and this time from the Send panel I clicked "Heat Transfer, Smooth" and then increased the passes from the default of 1 to 2.


Silhouette Heat Transfer Vinyl, Heat Transfer Vinyl Silhouette, heat transfer vinyl, HTV, HTV Vinyl

This time, I weeded with NO problems...look at the difference and all I did was double cut or increase the passes for the one on the left.  The blade depth (2), speed (8), and force (4) all stayed the same.

My material and the mat and the size of my design - all the same. The only thing that changed was a double cut.  

Cutting small HTV, HTV, heat transfer vinyl, Silhouette tutorial

If you have really detailed and delicate areas you may want to reduce the speed as well.

In addition, to make weeding vinyl or HTV even easier on yourself, remove the excess vinyl/htv starting from the corner and pulling in a diagonal direction.

Cutting small HTV, HTV, heat transfer vinyl, Silhouette tutorial, koozie

 And to see how I added the 'Sharpie-ish' name, check out the custom koozie tutorial here.

Cutting small HTV, HTV, heat transfer vinyl, Silhouette tutorial


Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! 

Get Silhouette School lessons delivered to your email inbox! Select Once Daily or Weekly.

www.silhouetteu.com

21 comments

  1. Awesome. The end to wasting vinyl. This has been an ongoing issue that I didn't know how to resolve. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just finished a large order of banner flags which had VERY small wording on them and after much wasted vinyl I started playing with settings and came up with this same answer. It wasn't perfect but did simplify the process tremendously. I still had to piece in some letters but not whole wasted sheets of vinyl.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Help! I am cutting Oracal651 with a new blade set on 2, speed 2 thickness 5. I really don't need the little letters just the shadow that they make and all the little parts (like the insides of the a and e or the lines for x and w.) I guess the blade is dragging these parts out of place. Double cutting didn't work either. : ( What should I do? New font? Thanks in advance for your help!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. try making thinckness 11 or 12

      Delete
    2. besides playing with the settings always check the blade for "clogs". When I notice the blade is dragging it is usually because it no longer swivels due to tiny piece of finyl in the opening. The new blades unscrew to clean - also use magnifier to see- sometimes hard to sii I tiny piece from a small e or other letter in the tip.

      Delete
    3. I cut Oracal 651 all the time. I use 1 , 5 or 6, and 10. Your speed is way slow and your thickness needs to be 10. Less than that and it probably isn't cutting through.

      Delete
  4. I've not used this but does this not cause the carrier to be cut through?

    ReplyDelete
  5. you make having a silhouette soooo much more enjoyable because I don't have to figure everything out. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I guess right, but it doesnt work for me. sigh

    ReplyDelete
  7. What if you are using regular vinyl and not HTV?

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm confused, I thought you did the weeding first, then applied transfer tape, is it different for heat vinyl?

    ReplyDelete
  9. My blade seems to cut through and when I use the cameo with out a mat is spins or jams. So frustrated

    ReplyDelete
  10. I couldn't believe it! It worked!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Total game changer. I'm amazed. Thank you oh Goddess of All Things Silhouette!
    Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  12. How do I do this on Cricut Explore

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't say for sure, but you may be able to find something similar in the Custom cut settings.

      Delete

Thanks for leaving a comment! We get several hundred comments a day. While we appreciate every single one of them it's nearly impossible to respond back to all of them, all the time. So... if you could help me by treating these comments like a forum where readers help readers.

In addition, don't forget to look for specific answers by using the Search Box on the blog. If you're still not having any luck, feel free to email me with your question.