Upcycle those throw pillows you have laying around to make something totally unique! With just a few basic supplies, simple tools, and a little bit of creativity you can use heat transfer vinyl to transform your old home decor into something completely new.
Using HTV vinyl (heat transfer vinyl) gives you so much freedom when it comes to personalizing items or creating stylish decorations in any room.
Whether this is the start of an upcycling project or not, in this post we will show you how to take an thrift-store find and give it completely new life with some creative HTV vinyl details, with just a few basic steps. Let’s get started!
Materials Needed
- Old Pillow or new Pillow form
- Pillow Fabric Cover
- Design
- Cricut Design Space or other Vinyl Program
- Cricut Maker or Vinyl Cutter
- Parchment paper or Teflon Material
- Cricut Easy Press or other Heat Press Machine
Finding the Design or Pattern
There are many places to find the right design for you. I have Cricut Access and love the variety. This design was found on Etsy. Once you find the right design for your project, you can download it to your Cricut Design Space.
Make sure you have the right color heat transfer vinyl for the design.
Cutting the Heat Transfer Vinyl
Once you have the design in your cricut design space, make sure you resize it to the measurements of your pillow cover.
When you have the dimensions correct, you want to click, “Make It.” DO NOT FORGET TO MIRROR the image since this is heat transfer vinyl. Click Continue. I use the fine point blade on this since there is a lot of lettering. Weed the design.
When cut heat transfer vinyl, it is important to have the shiney side down. After you have cut the HTV vinyl, it is time to take it to the heat press.
Using the Heat Press
I like to put a towel down on the surface that I am going to use the heat press on, so it will soak up and moisure from the process. Some people use and iron, but I have never done this.
I place my material that I am going to apply the design on, on top of the towel. The setting for the heat transfer vinyl say 305 degrees temperature for 30 seconds. At this time, I will prepress the pillow form material to get the excess moisture out of it. Be careful to avoid the zipper.
Grab your heat transfer vinyl design and place it face down. I will then cover with the teflon sheet. Hold the heat press down on medium pressure for 30 seconds. You may need to do this several times is there is excess material that the heat press does not cover completely.
Once you are done with the heat transfer, peel slowly while still warm. Once I have completely peeled the clear carrier sheet off, I will then cover the design once more with the teflon sheet and press down once more just to make sure I have sealed in the design.
Cover the Pillow
Now we can cover the pillow and make it look brand new again. This process will work on other materials too like t shirts and other garmets that are using heat transfer vinyl.
Upcycling is a great way to give old items new life and save money in the process. Have you ever upcycled anything around your home? What are some of your favorite recycling tips? Let us know in the comments below!
Here is a step by step video of this project.