How to Apply HTV to a Wine Glass...And Is it Dishwasher Safe?!

We get asked quite a bit around here if it's possible to put HTV on glass....for one reason or another (maybe you prefer working with heat transfer vinyl vs vinyl or you just have HTV on hand). 

The answer is YES...and the follow up question is always is HTV on glass dishwasher safe?  Let's get to all of that including some tips on how to make sure your design is wrinkle free! 

Start with cutting and weeding an SVG design in glitter HTV. You'll find that glitter HTV works best for this project because it's thicker than regular HTV (which makes it easier to apply!).

Also, designs that work best aren't exceptionally detailed and thick, bold text works better than very thin letters because there is more adhesive surface space.  

The designs I used come from the Huge Funny Quotes Bundle at So Fontsy. This is a whole bundle of 210 funny designs, and the quotes used in this project seemed perfect for a wine glass. 

A mini iron is the recommended tool for this project, and the Cricut Mini Easy Press is a good one. Plug it in and heat it up to the medium setting.

Then, stick the HTV transfer onto the wine glass. Depending on the wine glass and the design you're using, some may be easier to do than others.

If you have trouble getting the transfer to lay flat against the glass, try cutting into the carrier sheet of the design (through the carrier sheet only). This will give you more flexibility in the carrier sheet to bend it around the glass.

Also, you may want to apply heat tape to keep the design in place as well. You want the HTV to lay as flat and smoothly as possible against the glass. 

Another highly recommended tool for this project are silicone finger heat protectors. They are like thimbles that project your fingers from being burned. You can find this pack of three at the dollar store.

Also note, I inserted a towel into the wine glass to make it easier to see the design on camera, so that step is not necessary for your project.

First, take your mini iron and start at one part of the design, and press and hold the iron in place for 5-10 seconds. Then, move the iron to another location, press and hold again. Repeat these steps until you've pressed over the entire design for 10-15 seconds in each area.

Next, slowly remove the carrier sheet while looking for any areas of the HTV that did not stick to the glass. If you see one, immediately lay the carrier sheet back down and press that area again.  Repeat as necessary.

Then, remove the carrier sheet entirely and set it aside or discard it. Next, run your bare finger over the HTV (when it's cooled) to feel for any spots of the glitter HTV that are lifting. Check every inch of the design, pay close attention to the edges of the design and text.

For areas that are lifting, apply a piece of parchment over it, then press and hold the mini iron in that spot for 5 - 10 seconds. The parchment paper is much thinner than the carrier sheet, so the heat is more easily transferred onto the HTV. 

Remove the parchment paper and using your silicone-heat-protected finger, press that spot of the HTV onto the glass. The area will be hot after removing the iron, but the finger protector keeps you from being burned. 

Pressing the area down with your silicone-heat-protected finger while the HTV is still warm allows you to stick it more securely to the glass as it cools.

Repeat these steps until when you run your bare finger over the entire (cooled) HTV design, you do not feel any spots that lift.

Then the design is applied, and doesn't it look great?!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Can I use regular smooth HTV?

Regular HTV, like Siser Easyweed, did not work as well for this project as glitter HTV. Regular HTV is much thinner than glitter so it's easier to over press (so you'll see the adhesive coming out the sides) and easier to wrinkle during application.

Is the wine glass with HTV dishwasher safe? 

... Nope! I ran in through the dishwasher on the top rack and all the HTV came off. Wah wah...

So, hand wash these glasses only and perhaps use them as purely decorative items more often than every day, functional dishware...or just on special occasions like Halloween!

Grab the designs used on these wine glasses in the Huge Funny Quotes Bundle over at So Fontsy, and start making some funny wine glasses of your own!

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