How to Put HTV on a Framed Canvas
I am certainly far from perfect. Some of my crafting projects are big fails. But that is how we learn. I take my mistakes and learn from them and in turn, write about them here to help people like you. Learn from my mistakes. My recent crafting fail was putting HTV on a framed canvas.
Now I have applied HTV to a canvas – it’s actually quite easy. However, the canvas was not attached to the frame – you actually remove the canvas, apply the HTV and then reattach the canvas to the frame. This is called a reverse canvas – you can read all about how to do those here.
This project was a little bit different. It was still HTV on canvas, but it was a much bigger canvas – 18×24. These frames are readily available in both white and black at Michaels. Due to the size of the canvas, there is a crossbar in the back, supporting the canvas. Therefore, doing this as a reverse canvas would not be ideal as it is that crossbar that not only supports the frame but also holds up the canvas as well. Yes, you could remove the crossbar, but I would be worried that it would affect the stability and strength of the frame. Plus I would think that the canvas would sag a bit in the middle. Have you had a different experience? Be sure to comment below – I’d love to know.
So I needed to put HTV on a framed canvas. Because the canvas is wrapped around the frame (you don’t see the frame), it is half an inch thick. Due to the thickness, I can’t put it in my heat press. I have a clamshell style heat press and so it would close over it and so it wouldn’t work. So I needed to use an iron to apply.
Before I got my heat press, I applied HTV with an iron. I’ve done it, so how hard could it be? I just needed to fill up that empty gap underneath and it’ll be fine. So I folded up some towels and put it underneath. I did it on my kitchen floor – I thought I would get better pressure this way as I could physically lean over it, but as well – 18×24 wouldn’t fit on my ironing board anyway.
What NOT to do when putting HTV on a Framed Canvas (my crafting fail!)
So I had it all set up, thinking I would have this order done and off to my customer in no time. Sadly, no. The towels underneath were not thick enough – it sagged as I applied the HTV. It wasn’t level, nor hard enough. As a result, some of the letters did not apply straight – they shifted. Actually, a number of letters shifted – I can see the shiny adhesive, beside some of the letters. How frustrating! Not only did I think this should have been an easy job – I had also wasted an entire canvas, not to mention all that HTV (which is not cheap!). Okay – rant over. Time to move on.
How to put HTV on a Framed Canvas – the RIGHT way!
The wrapped canvas frame needs to have something hard or solid underneath to counter the pressure from the iron. The towels I used just did not cut it. So to the rescue – my son’s chemistry textbook (thank goodness he had homework and the textbook was at home!). Any hard book will do, really. Textbooks are handy because they are typically hardcover and thick. Find the biggest one you have – the more surface area, the more you can iron at a time. For me, it was my son’s chemistry textbook.
Also, I needed something better than an iron – something that had more consistent heat and a larger surface area. What I needed was the Cricut Easy Press. Up until now, I never thought I needed one since I had a heat press – but this project was a reason to get one and use it.
So to put HTV on a framed canvas, you will need the following:
- big textbook – get the biggest you can find
- pressing pillow – goes on top of the textbook; not only does it protect the textbook, but it also helps with the heat distribution; an alternative would be a towel
- teflon sheet – to put over your project and to protect the heat surface from any gunk or glue from the HTV
- Cricut Easy Press – it’s certainly doable with an iron (I didn’t have much luck) but I have heard that others are successful, perhaps due to the brand of the iron
Cut and weed your graphic as you would normally – don’t forget to mirror! For this project, I used Siser Easy Weed. Due to the size of this project, I had to cut it and apply it in 4 pieces.
TIP – in order to make sure that the graphic is straight, I use my clear quilting ruler to line it up.
Once the graphic is straight, cover with the teflon sheet and you are ready to press. The Cricut Easy Press comes with a guide for suggested temperatures and times, but I believe that those are intended for Cricut brand HTV. Since I was using Siser HTV, a quick google search resulted in the suggestion of 335 degrees and 15 seconds.
I did this project on my kitchen floor – it was hard on my knees, but I knew I wanted to be able to apply strong pressure and being able to be over the project made that easier. So the textbook was on the floor and I was able to slip the pressing pillow under the frame. Place the project on top of the textbook – so that the pressing pillow is on the textbook.
I love how quickly the Easy Press heated up and that it maintained its temperature. The timer made it easier to know how long to press for. Due to the size of the canvas and the size of the Easy Press, I had to work in sections. I worked left to right, starting from the top. I pressed each section, one at a time. Pay close attention to the sides – anything that is on the wooden frame. I found that I had to press those areas a couple of times.
Carefully lift up the carrier sheet – do it slowly – this way if there’s a part that you missed, you can gently put the carrier sheet back down and repress.
I’m really pleased with how this project turned out. It’s definitely one of the biggest HTV projects I’ve ever done.
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I’m saving this for sure! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Thank you! Glad it helped someone.
Wow! That’s what I call Perseverance and Ingenuity! Good for you and thanks so much for sharing!
Haha – I had to make it work as it was an order and in the end, this is what did it.
I’ve removed the supporting bar from a large canvas (18 x 24) to make a reverse canvas. It turned out great. In order to tighten up the canvas you just spray the back of your finished project with a bit of water and as it dries it tightens up the canvas. It’s been on my wall sincerely February and still looks great
What a great tip! Thanks for sharing.