Reverse Weed Vinyl for Intricate Designs!

Materials

• Permanent Vinyl I used Cricut Permanent Vinyl, Brights Sampler - I used red for the cardinals, yellow for the sunflower
• Iron-on Vinyl I used Cricut Everyday Iron-on Vinyl in Gold - OR
• Glitter Iron on Vinyl I used Cricut Glitter Iron-on Vinyl in Gold - for the pillow cover
• Permanent Vinyl in black I used Cricut Premium Permanent Vinyl in black - for the vase trees and words
• Cricut StandardGrip Transfer Tape
• 8" x 8'' shadow box in back
• 12'' x 12'' Cotton pillow cover - I used light blue -OR-
• 12'' x 12'' Cotton pillow cover in black
• 12" x 12" Throw Pillow Insert
• One 7.25″ high cylinder vase (I got mine from Dollar Tree)
• Blue Painter's Tape I used ScotchBlue Original tape
• Design #449 (My free SVG/PDF/DXF design files available in my free resource library - get the password by filling out the form at the bottom of this page)

Tools

• A way to cut your vinyl, I used the amazing Cricut Maker but you can also use the original Maker or an Explore series machine with the fine-point blade.
• Green Cricut StandardGrip Mat, 12" x 12"
• Weeding Tool
• A craft knife (I used the Cricut True Control Knife) to trim away extra vinyl and make scoring lines when needed.
• Scissors
• Silicone "Weeding" Ring (optional) to help keep extra bits of vinyl out of my project.
• Cricut BrightPad Go - (optional) An additional tool that helps make it easier to see the weeding lines
• Lighted Magnifying Glasses (optional) to help see weeding lines
• Brayer
• Scraper
• Measuring Tape
• Rubbing Alcohol -AND-
• Coffee Filters to clean the vase
• Lint Roller - to keep the vase steady

Instructions

STEP 1 FOR ALL PROJECTS: GET MY FREE INTRICATE VINYL DESIGNS

Go to JenniferMaker.com/449 and look for Libraries in the red bar at the top, then either click Get a Password, if you don't yet have one or click Enter the Library. You can find the designs on the page by searching the page for number 449 and then click it to download the ZIP file.

The download folder includes PDFs to cut by hand, and DXF or SVG files for use with a cutting machine. I'll show you how to use the SVGs with a Cricut.
In the SVG folder, you will find my beautiful Cardinal Remembrance Vase design, a sunflower, and a Let It Snow design.

Upload the SVG file of your choice to Cricut Design Space and add it to your Canvas.
Here's how they each look on my Canvas:

If you're not sure how to do this, go to jennifermaker.com/svgs to learn how to unzip and upload files.

STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR DESIGN

Project 1: Cardinal Design in Permanent Vinyl

Here's what my Cardinal Remembrance design looks like on my Canvas.

The design is sized for the vase in the materials list and I don't recommend making it smaller. If you want to make it any bigger, make sure the lock icon in the top menu is closed to maintain the proportions before resizing.

See the boxes around your words and trees? These are "weeding boxes" I added to the design to make it easier to weed. They're cut at the same time as the image, so you can work with less excess vinyl. They also make it easier to find a corner to start weeding easier and faster.
I'll show you exactly how this works by adding a weeding box around the cardinals – that way you can use weeding boxes around anything you want in the future!

Click the Ungroup icon above the Layers Panel to work with the layers separately. Then, hold Shift and select just the tree and word layers. Click "Attach" to keep them together during cutting.

Then, click the eye icon next to the attached layers to hide them and make the birds easier to see.

Select the layer with the birds and click Ungroup to separate them. Then, in the Align menu select "Align Bottom."

Finally, click the Align menu again and select "Distribute Horizontally" to create an even amount of space between each bird. This way they will all fit into a smaller “weeding box.”

Click the Shapes icon on the left and select a Square from the Free area to add it to your Canvas.

With the lock icon at the top open so the square can become a rectangle, click and drag a corner of the shape so it
covers the cardinals. Use the Arrange menu to Send to Back so the birds are visible.

Adjust the rectangle so there is a bit of space all around the birds. Mine is about 10" wide and 2" tall.

Drag a bounding box around both the birds and the rectangle, then click "Attach" to keep them together during cutting. Now they have a weeding box, too!

Use the Color Box next to Operation to make the birds and their weeding box red.

Unhide the trees and words and your design is ready to cut!

STEP 3: CUT YOUR PERMANENT VINYL DESIGNS

Check that the correct machine is listed in the top corner, then click "Make It!"

If prompted, select "On Mat" and "12 x 12” then “Confirm.”

On the Prepare screen, make sure your layers look correct and the weeding boxes are in the right places. Then click back on the first mat and click "Continue."

On the Make screen, set the Base Material to "Premium Vinyl - Permanent Glossy", which means permanent vinyl. Make sure your Cricut Fine-Point Blade is clean and in Clamp B as indicated on the screen. I always change my Pressure to "More" for a cleaner cut. Select “Remember Material Settings” since we are using the same material for both mats.

Put your first color of vinyl shiny side up on your green StandardGrip machine mat, making sure it covers the correct design areas visible on your screen. Use a brayer to get the vinyl as smooth as possible on your mat.

Then, load the mat into your Cricut and press the flashing button to begin cutting. When the cut is complete, unload the mat.
Repeat for the other mat.

TIP: If you have any trouble cutting the vinyl, check out my Cricut Tips & Tricks for Cleaner Cuts.

STEP 4: REVERSE WEED THE ADHESIVE VINYL DESIGNS

Now here’s where we will do things in reverse. First, remove the excess vinyl around the weeding box. Then cut a piece of transfer tape slightly larger than the weeding box.
Now add it to the vinyl using the taco method. And YES, we’re adding the transfer tape before we weed it! Bend the transfer tape so it's shaped like a taco, or a U shape, with the sticky part at the bottom. Lower it to the center of the design, then smooth the sides.



Use your scraper to remove any air bubbles and ensure the vinyl is well adhered to the transfer tape, this is also known as burnishing. 


Now flip over the mat and gently remove the vinyl and transfer tape.



Burnish the back side again with the scraper.

With the transfer tape touching the work surface, slowly peel off the vinyl backing paper. Go extra slow to make sure all of the vinyl stays put. If little pieces pull up use the scraper tool or your finger to burnish them back in place.

Now all we are left with is the transfer tape and the vinyl. And now we are going to weed off of the transfer tape.

Here’s a trick that will make this a lot easier. Grab a green standard grip cutting mat and we will use that to hold everything in place as we reverse weed.

Place the transfer tape on the mat with the sticky side of the vinyl facing up. 



Remember, when we are reverse weeding, we are pulling off all the vinyl that is not part of the design or the excess vinyl. That leaves only the design on the transfer tape. The weeding boxes help too. Identify the corner of the weeding box and lift it with your weeding tool to remove the negative space. It helps to work in sections, trimming off excess vinyl once it's successfully lifted.

Since we're working with permanent adhesive vinyl and transfer tape you can see things get a bit sticky. Just take your time and try your best not to get too stuck to anything. If you do, gently pull away so you don’t accidentally pull up part of the design that’s supposed to stay put.

If any pieces come up that shouldn't, pat them back into place.

The letters are super tiny, so they will take a little extra patience to weed, but again, reverse weeding makes all the difference here. I also gently wiggle the vinyl as I’m pulling it up and use my scissors to cut away excess vinyl as I go. Remember to remove all the center pieces as well.

Once both mats are weeded gently remove everything from the mat and set each piece aside in a safe place where it won’t get stuck to anything.

I’m putting these cardinals on a glass vase, so if you are also, be sure to wipe down the surface of your vase with alcohol and a coffee filter or other lint free towel. Lay the vase down with the opening at the top. Gently hold it in place with a lint roller or scraper tool on one side.

Grab your tree layer and, using the same Taco Method I showed you earlier,, hold the transfer tape on each side with the sticky side down. Make sure the roots are at the bottom!

Gently rest the transfer tape's bottom taco shape on the vase. From the center press the vinyl down on the vase smoothing from the inside to push out any air bubbles, remember it's okay to move slowly. 

You can use your fingers or a scraper tool for this step.



Once everything is in place, find the bottom corner of the transfer tape, then slowly peel it back to reveal the design.

You can keep the cardinals all on one strip of transfer tape and place them one at a time or you can cut the tape so they're each on a small square.


Place them wherever you like. I like to spread them out all around the branches. And feel free to add a few cardinals or all of them.

And you're all done!

PROJECT 2: SUNFLOWER SHADOW BOX

Reverse weeding also works well for intricate vinyl designs like my bunch of sunflowers!

First, determine where on the frame’s glass you’d like to place your decal and measure the space you’d like to fill. I’m using an 8" x 8’’ shadow box so the inside measurement is about 7.5'' x 7.5''. 



Back in Design Space, here's what my sunflower design looks like on my Canvas.



An easy way to visualize the finished product is to use a guide. From the Shapes menu create a square that is the size of the area you're working with. Mine is 7.5'' x 7.5''. Set the Operation to Guide so it's not part of the cutting process and move it to the back under “Arrange” at the top.

We want about an inch of space between the flower and the guide. With the lock icon closed to maintain the design proportions, type "6.5" into the width box to resize the design to fit the shadow box.

Select the sunflower and move it into the guide.

Since the design is oddly-shaped, making a square weeding box will still waste material. Instead, click "Offset" and type ".5" for the size with rounded corners and click "Apply."

Then select the flower and offset and click "Attach" so they'll cut together. 

Use the color box next to Operation to change the color back to yellow and we're ready to cut!

Follow the steps from the Cardinal design to cut, reverse weed, and prepare your flower.
Then clean the glass on your shadowbox and add your design. 

If you’d like to try a new technique for adding vinyl to glass you can give the wet method a go. I have step by step instructions on my blog at jennifermaker.com/how to apply vinyl with the wet method. 

PROJECT 3: LET IT SNOW IN IRON-ON VINYL ON A PILLOW

For this next project we’re going to use iron-on vinyl, which is NORMALLY reverse weeded, so we won’t do anything different than usual. But, this design is more intricate than normal, so I’ll show you how to weed an intricate iron-on vinyl design to cover all the bases.

Here's my “Let It Snow” design.

You can zoom out to see all of the design by clicking on the minus (-) sign on the lower left. 

I’m going to add this design to a pillow!

We’ll use a guide like we did for the sunflower to preview our design and make sure everything looks right.

Click on shapes again and add a square, this time we’ll make it the same size as our pillow cover which measures 12 by 12 inches. Then change the operation to “Guide” and “send to back.” 

Drag the design into the square. With the lock icon closed to maintain the proportions, click and drag a corner of the bounding box until the design is the size you have in mind. I think 10 inches looks about right.

I’m going to use Gold Glitter Vinyl so I’m going to change my design to that color as well to get a preview. That looks great! We are ready to cut! 

Click “Make It”, Select "On Mat" and "12 x 12" then "Confirm."

On the Prepare screen, there is a toggle button labeled "Mirror" under the mat, which is really important for this iron-on vinyl project. We always mirror iron-on vinyl so we can cut  and weed it in reverse!

Iron-on vinyl comes adhered to a shiny, clear, heat-resistant liner that protects your design during the heat-transfer process. Unlike sticky vinyl, the adhesive side of Heat Transfer vinyl or HTV, faces away from the liner and the decorative side is visible through the liner. The heat source activates HTV's sticky side to adhere it to your item, while weakening its bond to the liner so you can peel it off to reveal the transferred design.
The liner MUST remain intact and stay between the heat and your item to avoid ruining the design and equipment. Because of this, it is necessary to load the HTV liner-side down so your machine can cut your design and leave the liner intact. The "Mirror" function transforms the design into a reflection so that it will look correct once flipped to be decorative side up. If you don’t mirror your design it will appear backward on your base material. This is especially important if your design includes text.
Trust me, we’ve all made this mistake before!

So make sure to toggle the “Mirror” switch to “on”, or green.

Click “Continue.”

On the Make screen, choose your material, if it’s not in the favorites you can click on “Browse All Materials” and use the search window to find it. And I always select "More" pressure to ensure the best cut. 

In case you forget to toggle “Mirror” on, you will be reminded on this screen as well. It also reminds you to place your iron-on vinyl SHINY SIDE DOWN on your green StandardGrip machine mat, so do that and secure it with a brayer.

If you ever have any questions about cutting vinyl, I have put together a great resource to help. It’s “The Ultimate Guide to Vinyl” and among other things it explains how to tell which side of the iron-on vinyl goes down on the mat. You can find it on my blog at “jennifermaker.com/vinylguide.”

Double-check that the Fine-Point Blade is loaded in Clamp B, then load your mat into your machine and press the "Go" button.

After unloading the mat, it’s time to weed our design.

When it comes to wedding intricate glitter vinyl it can be tricky to see the cutlines in the vinyl. I like to use my Cricut BrightPad Go. This model is cordless and super lightweight so I can take it anywhere to weed. There are also five brightness settings which really helps reduce eye strain.  Of course you can weed without a bright pad, but I think the light makes weeding glitter vinyl so much easier! I also used some painters tape to hold my design in place as I weeded.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s all weeded!

I pressed my “Let it Snow'' design on a pillow using my Cricut Autopress, but you can also use a heat press or regular iron. For step by step instructions on everything you ever wanted to know about heat presses check out my blog at jennifermaker.com/cricut heat presses.

STEP 5: SHOW IT OFF

Notes