Make your own personalised Christmas tea towels

Instructions

1. Load your HTV into the cutter with the shiny liner facing down. If you are using scraps as I did, arrange the colours to correspond with your shapes on screen. REMEMBER TO REVERSE YOUR DESIGN! Once cut, peel your mat away from the media to prevent curling.

2. Weed all the layers and check them over to make sure you've removed everything that you need to. It's easier to check from the reverse as any leftover bits will be more noticeable. Anything left on the liner will be permenantly adhered to your towel so make sure you have no stray bits!

3. Layer your colours into the correct order and check that all the shapes are there. Remember, textures, glitters and specialities always need to go on top! If this is not possible then make sure that the vinyl underneath the overlapping area is cut away. It is easy to do this in your Silhouette software using the 'Modify' Panel. Then, using a pressing pillow or another towel underneath to protect your surface from the heat, press your tea towel to remove any moisture or creases.

4. Press the bottom layer of your design with your heat press or a domestic iron. If using an iron, use the cotton setting and make sure the steam function is turned off. Simply press down using firm pressure, then lift and reposition if required, don't slide the iron back and forth as you would if ironing clothes. Check the peel settings for your material, leave to cool if necessary then gently and slowly peel away the liner. If the edges start to lift slightly but you have more layers to go, don't worry as the heat from the following layers will do the trick, if not, press for a few seconds more. HTV needs pressure as well as heat so make sure you press down firmly.

5. Press each layer one by one and peel off the liner each time. Use the teflon sheet or baking paper to protect your fabric and design, . If the press comes into direct contact with the htv you will get a gummy mess! If you have lots of layers reduce the press time slightly so the lower layers don't get over heated.

6. Once your design is complete and all the liner has been removed, replace the teflon sheet or baking paper and give a final 2-3 second press with firm pressure to make sure everything is secure.

7. Step back and admire your work! Leave for 24 hours before using or washing to allow the adhesive time to cure, then sit back whilst someone else sorts the dishes!