How to Use Cricut Iron on Vinyl

If you are new to the Cricut crafting world, we have a great tutorial for you. We are going to show you how to use Iron-on Cricut vinyl as well as discuss what types are currently available. Iron-on vinyl can be used on a wide variety of items including cotton bags, polyester, hats, t-shirts, and more.

Types of Cricut Iron-on Vinyl

You may have already heard of, or used, HTV in your crafts. So you may be wondering, is iron-on different from Heat Transfer Vinyl?

The straightforward answer is No. Both are supplied on a heat resistant carrier sheet, both have an adhesive backing that activates with heat and adheres to your blank. Both are also cut with the shiny side or carrier side down and pressed with the shiny side up.

Can you use it with an iron? It is possible but you will need to have the correct heat and pressure in order to get a successful result.

Did you know that Design Bundles has a collection of Free SVG Files for Cricut? You can download it instantly and start using the designs immediately with included commercial and personal use licenses. It's a win-win!

Before we dive into using the Cricut iron-on vinyl, let’s take a quick look at what is available at the moment.

All of the iron-on vinyl mentioned below, with the exception of Patterned, use a warm peel technique. Patterned vinyl requires a cold peel.

With the exception of the Everyday vinyl, the other HTV options can’t be layered on top of each other. Everyday iron-on can be used as a base for the other type of vinyl.

Everyday Iron-on - We will be using this HTV during the tutorial. It is a great way for beginners to start out making t-shirts. Everyday iron-on is compatible with layering as it acts like a base. It’s easy to cut, easy to weed and durable if cared for correctly.

Glitter Iron-on - Get your bling on with a range of colors in this collection of HTV. Sparkle like a diva or just add accents to any project. These types of HTV can’t be layered directly on top of each other.

To create a layered effect you will need to create cutouts using the Slice Tool. Keep in mind that the Slice tool will only work with two selected elements at a time.

Holographic Iron-on - Holographic HTV has a rainbow of colors that change as you tilt them. They give a very unusual effect that is eye-catching on t-shirts.

Foil Iron-on - Foil iron-on vinyl has a beautiful metallic finish for a classic but modern look.

Sportflex Iron-on - If your products are of the stretchy kind, then the Sportflex iron-on is exactly what you want. Think along the lines of swimming costumes, nylon and polyester materials.

It’s thin enough to stretch without distorting but strong enough to handle multiple washes. The use of this vinyl will depend on what you are applying it to.

Patterned Iron-on - With a range of patterns, you can create some great font filled projects for home décor, themed t-shirts and more. From dots to mosaic squares and party pastels, there’s no end to what you can create. Don’t forget, you need to peel this HTV once it has cooled down completely.

Now that you know what amazing options you have, let’s jump in and get started.

Materials and Tools Needed for this Project

Cricut Cutting Machine - We will be using the Cricut Joy cutting machine, but you can also use any Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore Air

Cricut Design Space - We will be working on the PC version

Fine Point Blade

Design - A very cute paw print SVG called My Valentine has Paws from the Plus Hub

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Heat Transfer Vinyl - Everyday Iron-on Matte Pink or a color of your choice

A blank - For example, we are using a small 100% cotton pencil zip bag

Heat press or Cricut EasyPress

Standard Grip Cutting Mat

Parchment paper - to protect your vinyl and heat press when pressing a second time

Heat press pillow - to prevent impressions left by seams and zips

Weeding tools

Lint roller

Step 1 - Prepare the Design then Cut the Cricut Iron-on Vinyl

In this step, we are quickly going to prepare the design. First, you need to upload your purchased SVG to Cricut Design Space. Once that is done, add the design to your canvas.

You may also need to change your machine if you are using more than one. On the homepage, click on the drop-down menu top right corner. Now, select the machine you want to use.

Attach and Resize the SVG

We will need to resize the design to fit our blank, which is a pencil case. Before resizing, it’s a good idea to attach all of the SVG elements to resize everything consistently. This will also tell Design Space to cut the SVG as it shows on the screen.

Cricut Design Space is intuitive in that it will rearrange the SVG elements to save material. In another project, this would be great, but we don’t want that to happen here. This is why we use the Attach option.

Select everything either by dragging a selection box around the design or clicking on the Select All button at the top of the screen.

Then, on the bottom right, click on Attach. You can still edit individual elements just by clicking on them under the Layers panel.

Next, at the top of the screen, make sure the Lock icon is unlocked. This will allow us to independently resize the width and height of the SVG. Check the size of your blank and type in the dimensions. Our SVG was sized to 15.5cm x 10cm (6.10” x 3.93”).

Cut the SVG Design with your Cricut Machine

We are now ready to cut the design. At the top right corner of the screen, click on Make it. On the next page, select your mat size and click on Confirm.

Important!! Mirror your SVG

This is one step you don’t want to miss. You cut with the shiny side or carrier side down but heat press with the shiny side up. You need to mirror or reverse your design for cutting, so that when you heat press, the design shows correctly.

It’s very easy to do and Design Space will always remind you. On the mat settings screen, under the mat (or mats, depending on your design), you will see a slider next to Mirror. Click on this slider to activate it so it shows as green.

Next, click Continue to go to the cut settings.

Select Cut Settings for Iron-on Vinyl

Cricut Design Space already has a pre-set cut setting for their Iron-on vinyl. On the cut settings page, click on Browse All Materials next to the first of three steps. Then, search for the iron-on vinyl that you are using. We selected the Iron-on setting and then clicked on Done bottom right corner.

You can leave the pressure on Default or click on the drop down menu to select More. If the HTV doesn't cut all the way through, you can cut again. More on that next, but first, follow the instructions.

Remember to load your mat, with the vinyl shiny side down and your Fine Point Blade. Here is a visual guide for loading your mat.

Cricut Design Space will detect the mat, material and blade before instructing you to click on Go bottom right of the screen.

Once the cutting is complete, don’t unload it yet. Use your weeding tool or a very thin craft knife to test an area to see if it lifts up. If the vinyl did not cut properly, or you’re not sure, there is an on screen option to click Rerun or Unload. Click on Rerun and let the machine cut using the same settings again.

Step 2 - Heat Press the Cricut Iron-on Vinyl SVG

After you have unloaded the mat, lay the mat face down and peel it back from the vinyl. Doing it this way will help to prevent the vinyl from curling.

Next, weed out or remove the excess vinyl.

Position on your blank and, if needed, use a heat pillow. Heat pillows protect the back of the blank if a zip or seam is present so an impression isn’t left behind. You can also use a folded towel placed inside your bag.

You can quickly find heat settings by going to the Cricut Heat Press Guide and choosing your heat press, vinyl and material. We used a normal heat press but selected the EasyPress 2, chose 100% cotton for our material and the Everyday Iron-on vinyl setting.

In order to apply the settings, we did need to select the Cricut Pressing Mat option.

You can then follow the heating and pressing instructions. If you don’t want to flip the bag or blank over, once the liner has been removed (allow it to cool first), place a piece of parchment over the design and press again.

You will know that the HTV has adhered properly if you can see the fibers through the vinyl. There you go, all done and ready for the next crafting adventure!

Design Bundles has a wide selection of dog paws SVG cut files to choose from if you are looking for something different.

We hope that this tutorial has inspired the confidence to help you craft even more. Once you get past the starting point, it’s a world of imaginative fun and creation. This is only the beginning of what you can do with your Cricut cutting machine.