We Have Heart Eyes For The Silhouette Cameo 3

Cutting 2 Types of HTV in 1 Pass with the Cameo 3 Dual Carriage

Decorating with Siser® HTV often leaves me like ♥‿♥ The end product always looks so polished and I just can’t wait to show off my new project. With the new Silhouette Cameo 3, I can make my heat transfer vinyl projects quicker using the dual carriage. This feature definitely has me going all heart eyed! With two blades available at one time I’m able to cut two types of HTV that require different cut settings in one pass!

The red circle indicates the placement for the Auto Blade, while the blue circle can be used for other Cameo tools, like a Ratchet Blade. The Auto Blade is not interchangeable between the sides, but it can be removed and replaced with other tools, like the Deep Cut Blade.

Although the Auto Blade gives the impression of being fully automatic, you still have to to tell the software what the blade depth, cut speed, and force will be. The blade will automatically adjust itself to your indicated settings before cutting.

There are a few more very important adjustments to make within Silhouette Studio when cutting two types of HTV with the dual carriage…

Colors not only help you visualize your project, but they become a tool in Silhouette Studio. You can cut either in order of Line Color or Fill Color. Then you can tell the software which side of the dual carriage will cut each color be selecting the red or blue circle in the “Tool” column. After, you will make selections for what type of material you’re cutting, which blade will be cutting, and the cut settings for each. I chose to cut the black line first with the Auto Blade. This tool will be cutting EasyWeed® Stretch so I set the blade depth to 2, Speed: 8, and Thickness (now called “Force”): 4. The red lines were cut second with the Ratchet Blade. This blade will be cutting through Glitter so I set the blade to 4, Speed: 8, Thickness: 10. I don’t have to worry about the Auto Blade changing its depth, but I do have to manually expose the Ratchet Blade to 4.

Cutting by line or fill color and adjusting blade and cut settings

The yellow circle was just for visualization purposes. I didn’t actually cut it. That’s why its box is unchecked in the “Color” column underneath “Cut Order.”

The final step before cutting with the dual carriage is to set up your cutting mat. I cut a piece of black EasyWeed Stretch and red Glitter to 12″ wide and 6″ long before sticking them to the mat. The shiny side with the carrier always goes face down while the dull side is face up. Select “Load” on the Silhouette Cameo 3 touchscreen then “Send to Silhouette” within the software.

The Auto Blade will now “automatically” make its changes and each blade will take its turn cutting their designated material. I don’t have to pause in between materials to switch the HTV on the cutting mat which saves me production time!

Unload the mat when the Silhouette Cameo 3 is finished and weed away the material that isn’t a part of your design.

All that’s left to do is heat apply it! A home iron would work to heat apply this project. Just follow our guidelines for ironing on Siser HTV. If you’re using a heat press you will want to be aware of how proper pressure and application order affect the heat transfer vinyl. Since EasyWeed Stretch is Siser’s thinnest HTV it needs solid, firm pressure to properly adhere. For this reason I decided to do two separate presses to keep the thicker Glitter layer from obstructing a solid seal on the Stretch transfer. However, because Glitter requires a temperature of 320°F for it to fully adhere, and EasyWeed Stretch is typically applied at 305°F, I only pressed the EasyWeed Stretch for a few seconds.

Applying EasyWeed Stretch to a yellow 100% cotton t-shirt.

I’m pressing on a 100% cotton t-shirt. The heat press is set to 320°F with firm pressure.

After peeling Stretch’s carrier, I aligned the red Glitter transfer. Then I covered both transfers with a large heat transfer cover sheet. It’s a good idea to do all your presses with a heat transfer cover sheet, but it is especially important to use one when pressing vinyl that has already been applied and no longer has a carrier sheet attached. If there’s no barrier of protection, the HTV could melt to the upper platen.