How to Design 1 Cut File That Makes 2 Transfers

Making the most of your materials and saving time are two huge factors to consider during production in your HTV business. Today I’m sharing a design trick that will help you do both! It’s actually super simple to do and uses a tool we’ve talked about before: Offsets! This post shows you how to use the Offset tool in Scan N Cut Canvas . Cricut Design Space doesn’t currently have an Offset tool, but some fonts come with a shadow layer that function like one. Here’s how to go about creating an offset in Silhouette Studio V.4.

How to Create an Offset in Silhouette Studio V.4

Select the object (you know it’s selected when the box lines appear.) Then go to the Offset panel and select Offset, this will automatically create a .125 external offset.

Select Apply. Now you can fill the object with color. If you’re still working in V.3, you’ll notice the color selector has moved to the top panel towards the left.

I added some inner details for extra interest. However, keep in mind this trick works best with simple object cut files.

Next, I resized the design to fit on a tote bag and set up my cutting mat. Place the shiny side of the HTV on the sticky cutting mat. The shiny side has the carrier that keeps the HTV pieces in place. Load the mat into the machine and select Send.

Your cut settings will depend on how worn your blade is and what heat transfer vinyl you cut. This post explains how to identify a good cut and find your best settings.

Unload the cutting mat and use your Siser Weeder to pierce the corner and remove the outside excess.

Now set the weeder aside for this part because this is where 1 starfish becomes 2! You don’t want to poke holes or rip any of the HTV from here on out. Instead, bend the carrier so you can see the cut lines and carefully peel the inner HTV.

Now you have 2 versions of 1 starfish to heat apply and sell! The offset and dots are still on the carrier and make 1 starfish shape, while the weeded inverse can be heat applied as well.

How to Apply Glitter HTV to a Tote Bag

First, put your iron on the Cotton setting. When it’s heated up, pre-iron the tote bag to remove any wrinkles.

Next, place the HTV with the colorful side up. Since the adhesive is on the back of the HTV, it can be applied with or without the carrier. The first transfer needs the carrier to hold the dots in place, but the weeded design can be applied with just a cover sheet on top.

Press firmly until each section of HTV has received 15-20 seconds of heat. Then peel the carrier from the first transfer. If the second transfer had multiple pieces and you needed to realign them, you could reuse the carrier from the first transfer by sticking the pieces to it.