5 Ways to Use Distressed Designs with Silhouette to Avoid Weeding

You don't need to shy away from distressed designs just because you don't want to weed them.

I have few tricks my sleeve for avoiding weeding distressed and grunge designs and today I'm going to share them with you!
I've shared the heat transfer vinyl self-weeding hack with you - which is my go to for hard to weed HTV designs. It's perfect for distressed designs.


There are also a few other ways to use distressed designs that also avoid cutting and weeding all those tiny parts.

Inkjet printable heat transfer material such as Starcraft for lights is a super fast and no-cut option. When you print a distressed design or font onto inkjet printable material, the distressed areas are left unprinted. When they are applied to the surface - those areas will be left as open distressed areas as well.

Sublimation is a similar option, just with a sublimation printer! With sublimation you literally print the design out using special sublimation paper and sublimation ink.  Only the areas where there is ink - which would NOT be the distressed areas - are transferred onto the surface when you apply heat and pressure.

Distressed designs are far easier to work with when you print them onto printable adhesive vinyl like Oracal 1917.  This is especially true on multi colored designs. If you have a distressed design that you have to cut and then attempt to line up on multiple layers of vinyl there's a good chance it may be off a smidge. But with a print and cut on printable adhesive vinyl there's risk of the distressed areas not lining up since you're printing them as a single layer.

Finally, stickers! When it comes to distressed designs and fonts, stickers work the same way as all the other printable materials mentioned above. Just print the designs on the sticker paper and set the cut line to cut edge.

Now that you know you can use distressed designs and fonts without having to worry about cutting and weeding all those little 'innards', you don't need to shy away from them!  Pick up the Distressed and Grunge Starter Bundle from So Fontsy while it's 90% off for a limited time!!  It includes 71 distressed designs and 5 distressed fonts for $21.99 til January 6, 2020.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

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