Faux Leather Earrings with HTV: 3 Tips

Faux leather earrings are SO popular right now, but sometimes the details are difficult to cut!

One thing you can do is combine faux leather and HTV! Heat Transfer Vinyl is the perfect addition to add some detail - there are so many colors and finishes which give you even more options for customization and creativity. 

Here are a couple of tips that will make cutting HTV and leather earrings with your Silhouette even easier!
First off you need to grab some earring templates. I am using a bunch that are part of the April So Fontsy Bundle.  You get 18 different earring designs plus 10 templates to make earring display cards. And this earring bundle is just one part of the huge April Bundle – it includes over 320 SVGs in all!

You should also know some basics about making earrings and this start to finish tutorial is a perfect refresher. 

Now for a few tips!

Apply HTV BEFORE Cutting Faux Leather

Yes, you CAN apply HTV to the back of faux leather. But why would you want to? 

Well, this is one way to give these earrings a very polished and professional look by covering up the exposed backing of the faux leather.

And it's also a great way to use up your small HTV scraps. 

Cut a piece of faux leather and HTV to the same dimensions and press the entire piece of HTV onto the back of the faux leather. 

Remember to press with the carrier sheet side facing up. Next, remove the carrier sheet and put the faux leather side facing down on your cutting mat. 

Cut out your earring design, though you will probably need to increase the force settings.

I normally cut faux leather with a blade of 10, force of 23, and speed of 1 for 2 passes. I increased the force to as high at 33 for faux leather with Glitter HTV applied to the back.

What you'll get with this technique is a really nice, clean cut all the way around the edge of the earrings. You could then apply a weeded HTV design to the front of the faux leather earring if you want. And then backs of the earrings will look as great as the front (just in case they flip around while you’re wearing them).

Heat Resistant Tape is your Friend!

Of course if you have HTV designs with details you can't cut out the HTV after it's applied to the leather. BUT what you can do is cut the details on the HTV then apply to the leather. 

In Silhouette Studio make a copy of the design right click to ungroup and/or release the compound path.  Delete the detailed area so you only have the main shape of the earring. This is the part you'll cut on faux leather. The full design will be the part you cut on HTV - so don't forget to mirror that piece. 

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Lining up a small HTV design on a small piece of faux leather can get quite tricky. And even when you do get it lined up perfectly, the carrier sheet on the HTV doesn't always lay flat against faux leather. It can curl up, which causes it to shift ever so slightly out of line when you go to press it. 

Heat resistant tape is the answer because it makes sure the HTV won’t move an inch during pressing (HERE are some other uses for it as well!).

Lay a strip of heat resistant tape across the faux leather leaving a little extra on either side. Stick that extra tape that overhangs the faux leather to the sticky side of the HTV carrier sheet. 

Then, heat press and remove the carrier sheet as normal. Remove the heat resistant tape. And don't worry, this tape is safe to use with the high heat and leaves behind no residue. 

Reduce Time and Temperature During Pressing

Faux leather just can’t handle the full heat and time that is recommended for pressing HTV. For example, Siser recommends pressing their Glitter HTV at 320 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 seconds. At that temperature for that long, the faux leather just melts. You end up losing that beautiful pebbly texture in the faux leather because it all just melts together, flattens out, and the faux leather feels more rubbery than leathery.

Lower the temperature on your heat press or iron and reduce pressing time to about 10 seconds. In the picture below, I did 305 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 seconds with Siser Glitter HTV. 

You want to always do a test press with a small piece of HTV and a small scrap of faux leather. Different kinds of faux leather could behave a little differently under the heat.



And there you have it! HTV on faux leather earrings opens up a whole new world of creative possibilities. Remember you can grab all these earring designs (and more!) in the April Bundle on So Fontsy.

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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