How to Layer on Cricut Vinyl

This is a tutorial for how to layer iron-on vinyl with the Cricut. I will also show how to separate layers in Cricut Design Space with this unicorn SVG template example.

Unicorns are all the rage these days. My daughter goes back and forth between unicorns and mermaids on which is her favorite on a daily basis.

I’ve made so many unicorn items for her including this most recent set of unicorn hair bows.

I have to say, they are pretty cute. If people didn’t think I was crazy, I’d totally wear them too…maybe just around the house.

If you’re interested in more unicorn projects, check out all of my free Cricut Unicorn SVG designs.

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Recommended Iron on Vinyl or HTV

Iron-on Vinyl – I just bought an assorted set of vinyl from Amazon that had the best rating.

Iron or Heat Press – I used an iron but apparently this is the best seller Heat Press on Amazon.

Materials for Faux Leather Unicorn Hair Bows

Leather or Faux Leather – For unicorn bows, I’d highly recommend faux leather. It just comes in all these cute colors that you can’t get with real leather. Not all faux leather is created equal. For cutting machine crafts, try to pick the stiffer faux leather so that it doesn’t snag as easily with the blade. Here are some of my favorite brands:

Cricut Faux Leather Sampler: while they are the most expensive, they are the easiest to cut with just a fine point blade.
Full assorted set from Amazon
Metallic and Pastel assorted set from Amazon
Metallic Pastels set from Amazon

Cutting Machine – I use a Cricut. Check out my recommendations for Cricut machines and accessories for beginners for more info.

Templates – This mix and at unicorn face set and unicorn bow SVG are available for free in my resource library.

How to layer in Cricut design space

Not just any templates works well for layering with Cricut cutting crafts. This unicorn template can be used in many different ways for many different projects. For one, you can just flatten everything and create a print and cut project. You can even do a print and cut vinyl projects and do the whole thing in one go.

However, in this tutorial, we’re going to go over a more standard method for layering with Cricut crafts. First, let’s go over some of the graphic editing pieces before we cover more of how to physically layer vinyl.

Upload the SVG template

Use the Upload icon on the Cricut Design Space Canvas to upload your design.

How to group and ungroup in Cricut Design Space

Many times, the SVG design will be prepared in a way so that it is ready to be layered even though it might not look like it.

Here, the horn and the ears cutouts are just overlapping the base cutout. Simply just click on the graphic and “ungroup” in the right panel.

What to do if the SVG is an outline?

Sometimes, the graphic will have an outline surrounding the interior cutouts.

If you want to cut a base shape without the cutouts, simply select the outline base and use the contour function to hide the cutouts.

What is the image doesn’t ungroup?

Sometimes an SVG file is save in a particular way Cricut Design Space misinterprets. In these rare occasions, you will need to recreate the same shape with Cricut Design Space shapes so it know what to do with it.

In this case, draw a box around the piece you want to alter.

After slicing the outline piece with the square, select the square cutout with your cursor and use the Contour function to hide all the cutouts.

How to Layer Iron On Vinyl

So for the graphics part of the tutorial, I demonstrated how to think about the layers from a templates perspective using my unicorn bow example. Here, I’m going to switch to another Unicorn SVG (that’s also free in my resource library) for an iron on project.

Step 1: Cut all the HTV pieces. (Pre-peel the vinyl in the corner from the transfer sheet if you have to. I hate it when it they say smooth side up/down. I’m always like both sides are smooth!!)

Step 2: Iron on the first layer. I usually do cotton setting for 15 seconds and then warm peel.

Step 3: Place the second layer of vinyl on top. Then cover the exposed vinyl with scrap transfer sheets. Make sure to put the scrap transfer sheet on after the second layer of vinyl.