How to Iron On Glitter HTV to a Cotton Canvas
It’s no secret an art canvas offers a perfect place to show off your creativity. But for today’s craft you can put away the paint and grab your HTV! You’ll also need these supplies-
Supplies
- Glitter or other thick HTV
- Cotton art canvas
- Home iron or heat press
- Siser Weeder
- Parchment paper
- Heat transfer pillow
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Craft cutter like the Brother ScanNCut
Once all your supplies are gathered you can design your artwork. I made this design in Adobe Illustrator, saved it as a .svg, and imported it into ScanNCut Canvas. Next, I wirelessly transferred the design to the Brother ScanNCut machine where I mirrored the image and cut each piece.
Need tips on cutting HTV with the Brother ScanNCut? Check out this post.
After cutting, weed away the excess heat transfer vinyl.
Next, the most important step: Filling the gap in the back of the wrapped canvas with a heat transfer pillow to achieve proper pressure. Without something supporting the back of the canvas, you can’t iron firmly like you need to. The 5″ x 18″ pillow worked perfectly for this project, but you can use a folded up towel or t-shirt in a pinch.
Before applying the HTV I want to make sure my design is centered, so I measured the canvas and marked the center point with a pencil.
Use the center point as guide when you place your transfers. Next, cut a piece of parchment paper to size and cover the application area. With your iron on the hottest setting, press down firmly for 20-30 seconds.

P.S. I recommend using a thicker HTV, like Glitter, that won’t show the canvas texture through the material.
Give the carrier a few moments to cool and then gently remove it.
Repeat the application steps for each color, recovering and applying 5-10 seconds of heat if necessary. When all the pieces are firmly stuck down you can display your masterpiece!
Pin this craft for later!
Looking for more Glitter project ideas? Check out our Pinterest board: Glitter HTV Inspiration
I love using Siser HTV to make home decor projects, including wall art! In fact, I did a blog post on it too along with a video :-)
http://blog.parsbee.com/266-2/
These pieces are now hanging in my living room.
Happy Crafting!!! Liz
Can you do this same process on a painted canvas?
Hi Tammy! Different types of paint may react under the heat, so it would be best to test it out. Be sure to use a cover sheet of some kind so you don’t accidentally gunk up your iron.
I too am wondering if you can htv on a painted canvas!
can you use a heat press instead of iron?
Absolutely! I’d recommend still building up the center of the canvas and doing short presses (1-5 seconds) for each color of HTV. Since this item won’t be washed you just need to heat it long enough to be able to remove the carrier without any HTV. Please be aware though that you may not be able to lock the upper platen down since the canvas is so thick.
[…] you are pressing an item that is not entirely flat (e.g. pressing HTV onto a canvas) it is a good idea to use a heat printing pillow in order to get adequate pressure. If you are […]
What temp on the iron? Polyester?
Hi Jan! We typically recommend the “Cotton” setting which is hotter than “Polyester.” If you use the Poly setting you may need to press for an extra 5-10 seconds.