Spring Towel - Polka Dotted Blue Jay

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I love being able to make my kitchen towels match the holidays or seasons and I made a new spring towel this past weekend. When I saw this design in the Expressions Vinyl Mystery Box I knew it would be perfect on some floral kitchen towels I had in my vinyl blank stash.

My spring towel is a part of a fun roundup of spring and garden crafts with some other crafty friends. I have all the links and even a fun giveaway at the bottom of this post. Enter to win a Starbucks gift card to enjoy some coffee (or lemon poundcake) while you do some crafting.

Estimated Time: 20 Minutes

Skill Level: Intermediate

Supplies Needed:

Silhouette CAMEO®
Silhouette Cutting Mat
Weeding Hook
Silhouette Studio – use the Business Edition for easy importing and use of SVG files
Heat Transfer Vinyl – Purple
Spring Hand Towel
Iron or heat press
Live Life in Full Bloom – Free Cut File from the Expressions Vinyl Mystery Box (February 2022)

Step One: Creating a Spring Towel:

Open Silhouette Studio®.

Select the Page Setup Window and adjust your cutting mat size to 12×12 (or the sized mat you are using).

First, you need to download your design.

Next, open your design in Silhouette Studio. Click File>Open>Select your file.

Measure your towel and re-size your design to the correct space on your 12×12 template – be sure to click and drag to select the whole design to keep everything lined up.

You will need to flip your design, so it appears backward for Heat Transfer Vinyl – this is called “mirroring” your design. Highlight your whole design, right-click, and select “flip horizontally” to mirror it.

Select “Send” to prepare to cut.

Follow the prompts in the Software for Heat Transfer Vinyl (or the type you are using for your project) and double-check to make sure your design has been selected to cut.

Load your heat transfer vinyl into your Cameo 4 with the color side face down on the mat.

Click “Send”

When your machine has finished cutting, press the down-arrow to remove the cutting mat from the machine.

Step Two: Preparing Your Spring Towel Design:

Remove your sheet of Heat Transfer Vinyl from the cutting mat – go slow so it doesn’t curl up or tear.

Use your fingers or a weeding tool to remove the excess vinyl from each color. Be sure to leave your design on the clear carrier sheet.

Step Three: Creating Your Spring Towel:

Pre-heat your towel – use your iron or heat press to warm up the fabric for a better transfer.

Place your design on your fabric right side up (this is the reason you mirror your design for cutting).

Heat the design for the recommended time for the HTV you’re using. Use steady pressure.

Peel back the clear carrier sheet. Some Heat Transfer Vinyl requires a hot or cold peel – always follow the recommended peel for your heat transfer vinyl. Tip: pull from a corner and not the side to make sure each part of the design transfers completely to your fabric.