Can Iron-on Vinyl Stick to Polyester | Craftables Blog

The answer is yes! Our Craftables HTV works great on polyester, cotton and cotton poly blends. Here in this blog post, we'll share some tips on when to choose polyester over cotton and vice versa.

htv stick to polyester

For this post we'll also be teasing one of our newest products- white glitter heat transfer vinyl! It will be coming soon to our shop because we had so many people request it. 

How to iron t-shirt vinyl to polyester- what you'll need:

  • iron-on vinyl sheets and rolls- we used glitter!
  • an iron preheated to 300-315 degrees F
  • a sheet of Teflon paper
  • an ironing board
  • weeding tools
  • any craft cutter like Silhouette or Cricut
  • any polyester project your working on like a t-shirt, pillow case, tote bag or beer koozie

Step 1

Weed your vinyl design and heat iron up to 300-315 degrees farenheit

weeding htv

Step 2

Preheat fabric by applying the iron to the fabric for 5-10 seconds

Step 3

Place your decal on your project and apply heat to your project for ten seconds without a teflon sheet and then for 15 more seconds with a teflon sheet.

valentine koozie

Step 4

Wait a full minute before peeling up your carrier sheet and you're done!

heat transfer white glitter

As you can see, HTV goes on so easily to anything made of polyester! 

So I think many of you have been unsure about using HTV on polyester because polyester is synthetic and seems like it would melt. But if you look around you'll realize most fabrics you use are probably polyester! The melting point of polyester is pretty high (482 degrees Fahrenheit) which means that you're at no risk for melting your polyester fabric using any of our HTV.

htv on polyester

Polyester is a great choice for most projects but there are some disadvantages when it comes to polyester. Below are lists that can help you decide when to choose cotton over polyester and vice versa.

Polyester advantages:

  • inexpensive
  • easy to source
  • strong and flexible fiber
  • wrinkle and shrink resistant
  • dries quickly

Polyester disadvantages:

  • isn't 100% colorfast- dye may rub off or may become modified under high temperatures (I've noticed this especially with red dyed polyester)
  • not as breathable
  • sticky on perspiring skin

Cotton advantages:

  • it is a natural fiber
  • comes in organic varieties and can be more eco-conscious
  • breathable and sanitary
  • hypoallergenic

Cotton disadvantages:

  • can be more expensive
  • prone to shrinking
  • not as long-lasting as polyester
  • holds moisture longer- make sure to always preheat cotton before using HTV to evaporate moisture!

If you are overwhelmed with all of these choices, get the best of both worlds and go for a cotton/poly blend! 

If you have any questions please reach out to us. For more information about other surfaces HTV can stick to, see this post. Happy crafting!

*This post is inspired by the instagram posts of SinglesSwag.

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