How To Make A No Sew Iron On Fabric Applique
When typically large objects become tiny I find them exceptionally cute! Maybe that’s what makes this onesie so adorable, or it could be the pretty hot pink glitter, but mostly I think it’s the pink and blue quatrefoil fabric. I’m so excited to share this tutorial today, not only because it’s stinkin’ cute, but because I’m going to show you to use EasyWeed® Adhesive to create a no sew fabric applique!
Iron On Fabric Applique Supplies
- EasyWeed Adhesive
- 100% Cotton Fabric
- Glitter Heat Transfer Vinyl
- Silhouette Cameo
- Scissors
- Weeder
- Parchment Paper
- Home Iron or Heat Press
After you’ve gathered your supplies, prep the fabric for the adhesive by ironing any wrinkles out. Next, flip the piece of cotton to the back side and place the EasyWeed Adhesive on the fabric with the carrier side up.
With your iron on the Cotton setting, press firmly over each section for 10-15 seconds until all the adhesive is ironed onto the cotton. I’m using a piece of parchment paper in between my iron and the EasyWeed Adhesive carrier as a heat transfer cover sheet that acts as a heat barrier protecting the fabric.
Wait, don’t peel the carrier yet! Now that the fabric is backed with adhesive, it’s sturdy enough to run through the Silhouette Cameo. Place the fabric side up and clear carrier side down on the Silhouette cutting mat. 
My artwork is set up in Silhouette Studio so that the pink outline (that will be cut from Glitter HTV) is a mirror image of the blue elephant (that will be cut from fabric.) I found the Fabric (thick fabric like canvas) pre-set in Silhouette Studio cut the EasyWeed Adhesive backed fabric perfectly.
After cutting the fabric, peel away the uncut portions. Next, cut and weed the Glitter HTV using the Siser Weeder to pick out the all the unneeded pieces.
If you sell ready made fabric appliques, then you can stop here and start packing things up for shipping. However, if you want to apply the applique, then you’ll use your weeding tool to pierce the clear carrier and peel it off leaving the adhesive behind.
The fabric applique is now ready to be ironed on! But, see how the the fabric is curling without the carrier to stabilize it? 
You could fix this with some heat safe tape, OR you can use my nifty trick. Take the fabric piece and place it on Glitter’s sticky carrier. Now not only is the fabric not curled, but the 2 layers are aligned so I only need to press once!
Before positioning the iron on, set your iron to “Cotton” and pre-press the onesie to remove any wrinkles or lingering moisture. Now place the shiny side of the carrier up on the garment. You should be looking at the front of your Glitter and fabric now. Cover the pieces with parchment paper and press in sections for 15-20 seconds until the whole applique has been applied.
Give the carrier a few moments to cool before peeling it away. When ironing on HTV it’s important that the edges are securely heat applied. In this case it’s especially important since the Glitter outlines seal the cut edges of the fabric to keep it from fraying. Typical appliques usually require machine sewing around the edges, but not EasyWeed Adhesive fabric appliques! To ensure your edges are sealed, re-cover the applied layers and press the edges again for 5-10 seconds.
Super cute results! Don’t you agree? I LOVE how easy this was, and I hope it’s inspired you to play with fabric applique and EasyWeed Adhesive!
Think EasyWeed Adhesive is cool enough already? This out of the box use for it is amazing!
Can I use the regular Silhouette blade or do I need to use the fabric blade?
Great question, Ruth! The blades are actually the same, but the fabric blade is blue for easy identification. So really you could use either one. However, if you use your ratchet blade to cut a lot of paper or cardstock, then I’d recommend using the fabric blade.
How well does this method hold up through washings? Looks so easy! Thank you for the great idea!!
Hi Sandy! This onesie went through 8 washes before peeling up a bit. The great thing about it though is you can always recover the area and press it with your iron or heat press to re-seal the adhesive.
Does the art work need to be created specifically for this project I am under the impression it has to be created in inkscape first
Anne, the outline will need to be created custom, but you could use any artwork for the fabric portion. It does not have to be created in inkscape first. You can create an outline with offsets in Silhouette Studio, like I did for this project.
Thank you for this tutorial! I’m making shirts for my family’s reunion and love being able to use fabric.
Have you had any trouble with the fabric fraying when using the adhesive?
Hi Rachel, the fabric will fray if it’s not sealed with stitching or another layer of HTV.
What temp settings would you use for a heat press?
Hi Amanda! To bond the EasyWeed® Adhesive to the cotton fabric, you can use the recommended 275°F for 5-10 seconds. To apply the applique and Glitter HTV together, you can leave the temperature the same and press for 15-20 seconds.
Hi, I’ve been using the adhesive to create felt appliqués but having difficulty peeling the carrier. Should I peel hot vs. cold? As well, pressing the appliqués onto baseball caps and the edges sometimes lift off the hat. How do I make sure this doesn’t happen? Using temp recommendation at 12 secs.
Hi Ashlee! We recommend peeling the carrier hot or cold, but hot will have less resistance. You may need to use a Siser® EasyWeeder to separate the carrier after pressing if you have a hard time getting your finger/nail underneath the carrier. It is advised to either seal the edges of the applique with an HTV outline or stitch around the edge to prevent lifting.