So you wan't to learn how to make cut heat transfers for your tshirt business?

Today we're talking about Heat Transfer Vinyl, otherwise known as HTV.

HTV is a heat-applied material that can be cut, weeded and fused onto any fabric that can take heat.

Stahls' and the #1 manufacturer of heat transfer vinyl across the globe and offer over 350 colours with 15 different finishes available.

So let's get started making your heat printable designs.

First up, you need artwork for your tshirts.

HTV is cut in layers meaning you need to work with single-colour layers of artwork. It is possible to cut these layers separately and fuse them to make one bigger design, but today we'll stick to discussing single-layer designs.

You don't need fancy software to obtain or create this type of artwork but if you know how to create a vector from scratch on software like Adobe Illustrator, then this would be the best method to do so.

Otherwise, premade vector designs from companies such as Etsy, Vecteezy or Shutterstock (plenty more websites available) can be purchased for a small fee or image websites like Canva often offer free memberships with some artwork available for you to use for personal or business purposes.

HTV cutters also come with software programmes to operate them and they also often have basic creation features within them if you want to make your design from scratch.

This leads us onto cutting your design.

To get your t-shirt business started, you will need a cutter such as the Silhouette Cameo 4 or a Cricut.

This is a great beginner to intermediate cutter that is controlled through Silhouette Studio as mentioned above. You drop your design into Silhouette Studio, load your HTV cut settings into the software and it will cut your design.

As your t-shirt business grows, you may find you need another cutter or perhaps one that performs quicker and quieter. If this happens, you can move on to a professional cutter like a Graphtec CE7000.

Finally, you need something to cut your design into.

You can't heat transfer without heat transfer vinyl after all.

The Stahls' selection of CAD-CUT® heat transfer materials can be applied to all types of fabrics and garments, including cotton, poly/cotton blends, spandex, polyester and even nylon. Perfect for garment and accessory decorating. And with a range of popular finishes like Glitter and Flock and special effects like Holographic and Metallic, there is a type of HTV for every business.

With prices starting from around £4 a meter, stocking yourself with a selection of HTV types is not going to be an expensive job. And with same-day dispatch from Target Transfers, you won't be waiting long for your material to arrive if you decide to order on demand.

The 3 steps for creating your own heat transfer vinyl designs are:

• Obtain your artwork
• Choose your type of HTV
• Cut it!

Simple as that.

For the best way to apply these heat transfers, we recommend using a quality heat press like a Hotronix, where you can control your time, temperature and pressure.