If you are like me, being able to make t-shirts was one of the big draws of a Silhouette Cameo. I love to dress my girls up for special holidays and occasions, and what is cuter than an personalized shirt? I think my very first projects were just vinyl decals, but very soon after, I began with HTV. I used an iron a few times before convincing my husband a heat press was a good investment. Since then, I have made TONS of shirts for my girls, gifts and customers! Along the way, I have picked up a few tips and wanted to share them.

This post includes access to THREE of my cutest SVG files. and give you step by step directions to cutting these files (as well as other HTV designs).

The files for these SVGs can be found by accessing this page, or by clicking on any of the images below.  Please keep in mind, these designs are for personal use only.  If you would like to use them commercially, please contact me.

1. Preparing the design.

The very first step in prepping a HTV design is getting the design ready. I’m going to assume you are either A.) Using my design or B.) Have already selected your design. Either way, there are a few things you need to do. With any design, you will need to figure out what size you want it to be. I usually measure the shirt and try and decide what dimensions I would like. There are some sites that give suggestions for sizes per type of shirt, but I find it can really depend on what you are wanting to achieve. For this one, I was cutting them for a size 2T and 4T shirt, so I went with 5 X 5 and 5.5 X 5.5 respectively. To make my designs this size, I selected the whole group and then dragged them to the specified dimensions. It is important to note that depending on the file, you may have to ungroup it. You will do this by right clicking the design, and then clicking on ungroup. You will especially need to do this if you are going to cut multiple colors for the design. If you are using my design you will need to first ungroup the whole design, and then ungroup the leprechaun hat separate from that.

2. Preparing your material.

To make a shirt, you will need to use HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl). You will need to decide what colors you would like to use and get those ready. For this design, I chose black, green, gold glitter and green glitter. After I ungroup the design, I go ahead and put different parts of the design together by what color I want to cut them in. For example, the text and the band of the leprechaun hat will be in black. I want the shamrocks to be in green glitter, the hat itself to be green, and the buckle on the hat to be gold glitter. Grouping them by color minimizes the amount of times you have to cut. You can also space them closer together to conserve vinyl. I try to be as frugal with vinyl as possible but probably waste more than I should!

Once you have chosen your colors and separated them in your software you will need to place the HTV on the mat. It is important to remember that HTV and 651 vinyl are cut completely opposite. To cut HTV you need to make sure the material is adhered to the mat shiny side DOWN. This is because the material you are cutting is essentially being cut upside down.

3. Preparing to cut

Before actually clicking the send button to begin cutting, there are a few more important things to note. As with any design, you need to make sure that none of your letters need to be welded. This makes sure that your design is cut as one seamless piece, instead of individual letters being cut. To weld text you need to right click, then click weld.

It is also extremely important to remember that you have to mirror your design when cutting HTV. Again, this is because you are essentially cutting it backwards so it can be applied to the shirt. To mirror, you will need to right click and select flip horizontally. Newer versions of Silhouette Studio may also remind you to mirror when you select any HTV settings on the Send screen.

In regards to settings, I typically use the settings suggested by the Silhouette Software. I have found I have to tweak them sometimes, but never by much. For this design I used Heat Transfer, Smooth. I was using a brand new blade, and found the settings to work perfectly.

I had to make four different cuts for my design, since I was using four different colors. I grouped all the black objects together and cut them at once, all the green glitter shamrocks and so on.

4. Weeding the Design

Once your material is cut, you will remove it from the mat and prepare to weed it. There is a clear film underneath your material. That is the heat transfer sheet. Do NOT take it off! It allows the material to withstand the head when it is being pressed.

I always cut my designs down so that I am working closer to the actual design. I also use an exacto knife to cut lines in between the text to make it a little easier to weed. Don’t forget to remove all center pieces. Also, be careful to make sure nothing gets stuck on the sticky part of the film. If it is on there when you press it, it will get stuck to your shirt!

Go slowly, because HTV can tear. I have found that for whatever reason, it often has tiny parts that don’t cut through. I just lightly press these with my exacto knife and then they come up easily.

5. Applying & Pressing the design

You do not need to put transfer tape on HTV. It comes with a built in transfer sheet that conducts the heat. All you will need to do is flip it over and apply it to the shirt. The clear film will now be on top. I take a small ruler and measure to make sure the design is centered on the shirt. For kids shirts, I generally like the design to start about 1.5 inches from the neckline.

Once you have found where you would like your design to be, you will be ready to press. You have two options for pressing, a heat press or iron. A heat press is ideal, but you can also make an iron work. Since I used a heat press for this tutorial, we will start with how to use your heat press to apply HTV.

Be sure before pressing that you have allowed your heat press to fully warm up. Your temperature and timing are typically what is suggested from the manufacturer. I found my press didn’t always like their recommendations, so I had to play with it a bit. Mine is currently set at 315 for 15 seconds. Before pressing, be sure to cover the shirt with a Teflon shirt to protect it. I also put a small dish towel underneath to raise the rest of the material so that it is even with the seams. Otherwise, you may get uneven pressure and your material might not adhere properly.

If you are using an iron, the steps are very similar. The big difference is you will be the one applying the pressure. I found it useful to place a towel on the floor and actually apply my designs on the floor. You will still need to place a Teflon sheet over the shirt before using the iron. Since iron settings vary, I would just recommend going with whatever your highest setting is. Once it is heated, you will need to press down firmly, as hard as you can in one section. Being the floor gives you more ability to actually put your weight into it. Using the iron is a bit slower process, as you have to do the design section by section. Do NOT actually “iron” it and go back and forth. This can cause the design to warp. Just do one section, LIFT and repeat until the design is complete.

With my design, you will have to apply the design in sections. I started with the words, then added the hat and shamrocks, then the black part of the hat, and finally the gold buckle. I pressed a total of four times (with an iron this number will be much higher). The first and second press are pictured. This design is fairly simple to layer as it only has 2 small pieces. However, be aware, layering is not always this simple!

When you have pressed all the pieces you should be able to see the grain of the shirt through the smooth vinyl. This is how you know there was enough pressure.

And Viola! Just like that, you have an adorable shirt for your kiddo to wear! The possibilities for future shirts are endless!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful! If you have an additional questions, be sure to leave them in the comments! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day y’all! Happy Crafting!