3 Ways to Fix Your Heat Transfer Vinyl Mistakes

Mistakes happen! Keep your cool when working with vinyl- there’s almost always a way to fix things. Today we’re sharing our top three different ways to come back from an HTV mistake.

 

Fix #1: Remove It

AlbaChem Vinyl Lettering Remover for HTV Mistakes

Some mistakes (such as spelling errors) just have to be removed. Use a product like Vinyl Lettering Remover (VLR) on the inside of the shirt to break down the HTV adhesive and make it easier to remove. Many Siser® Authorized Distributors offer VLR or a similar product. For example, Pro World goes over the steps to removing HTV with VLR in their blog post here.

How to Remove an HTV Mistake with VLR on the Pro World blog

Without VLR, you can use the heat of your home iron to warm and loosen the adhesive then peel away the HTV with  tweezers. However, this method does not remove the adhesive residue, so be sure to protect your iron plate with some kind of cover sheet (or you might be cleaning it later!) and plan to apply new HTV over that area. Melissa from Silhouette School shows how you can use heat and tweezers to pick off a small problem in her blog post here.

Removing an HTV mistake with heat and tweezers on Silhouette School Blog

 

Fix #2: Cover It Up

HTV accidentally applied outside the lines

Use the same color as the fabric or HTV in the project to hide the mistake. Or cover it with a different element in the design.

Covering up a heat transfer vinyl mistake with more HTV

Want to know more about this heat transfer vinyl mosaic project? See how it was made on IGTV then try it out for yourself with the FREE CUT FILE from Caluya Design.

 

Fix #3: Incorporate It

Embrace the mistake with creativity and incorporate it into your design. As Tim Gunn would say “Make it Work!” Sometimes the best results come from mistakes and more often than not people won’t even notice unless you point it out. Other times, you have to find the humor in the situation like Joe did when he improvised and turned part of the StripFlock® Pro Fluorescent unicorn mane into a mustache and goatee on Facebook Live.

StripFlock Pro fluorescent unicorn with a mustache and goatee improvisation.

Keep these 3 fixes handy by pinning the image below to Pinterest. Have you fixed your heat transfer vinyl mistake another way? Tell us about it in the comments!

Three solutions for when you accidentally apply heat transfer vinyl (AKA HTV or iron on vinyl) that you didn't mean to.