An unavoidable part of the process of doing a project with vinyl and a vinyl cutter is WEEDING. If you are a beginner with your Cameo or Expression vinyl cutters, you might be like “How do I weed vinyl?” or even “Do I have to weed my vinyl?” Answers to all your vinyl weeding questions below!
Weeding is the process of removing all the extra vinyl from around the image you have cut before applying it to the finished project. A vinyl cutter cuts along the lines of the design, but it doesn’t remove the extra vinyl. You need to do that as well as removing the little holes inside any designs or letters.
Whether you are using heat transfer vinyl or adhesive vinyl, the process of weeding is pretty much the same. Here are some tricks I have picked up that make weeding so much easier.
Prep your crafting area and have all the supplies (above) you need at arms reach. And don’t forget about the light! It’s all about the light. 🙂 You also want to have very clean hands and skip the lotion…oils from your hands can mess with the vinyl adhesives. Another reason to use the tools instead of your hands when possible.
Start by removing the dots inside any letters and small internal areas of designs FIRST. If you remove these small, internal pieces first, you’ll have fewer problems with your design sliding since it is braced by the outer part of the vinyl.
Extra bits of vinyl sticking to the finished design. You will inevitably find a little dot of vinyl stuck somewhere it shouldn’t be – perhaps punctuation that didn’t adhere or the center or dot of another letter… This happens to me several times over the course of a typical vinyl weeding session. Take care of misplaced vinyl bits BEFORE you apply the vinyl design to the finished project. simply use your tweezers to remove the extra vinyl while holding the piece you want to keep in place with your other hand.
Pulling and Stretching/Design very difficult to weed. Also try to avoid pulling or stretching the vinyl to get it to come away from the outer piece. I promise at some point you will do this (we all have!) and you will be bummed that you have changed the shape of the piece. I’ve just stuck my misshapen pieces of anyway, trying to get them back into shape as best I could.
If you are having a VERY hard time weeding, with excessive stretching and pulling of the vinyl, you may need to check your settings on your vinyl cutting machine and re-cut. Did you choose the correct material in your Silhouette or Cricut settings? The culprit could also be a dull or dirty blade. The occasional piece that needs an extra tug is normal, but if you are having that trouble with every piece…that’s NOT normal. Re-cut and start over! Check out this wonderful post on extending the life of your vinyl cutting blade from Leslie, The Seasoned Homemaker.
I can’t see the cuts! Make sure you are using bright enough light. If you are and you still can’t see the cuts clearly, check your settings and your blade. If the machine wasn’t able to cut all the way through consistently, you will need to fix the problem and cut out your design again.
The letter slid off…what do I do now? Don’t panic! This can happen especially with small letters and designs. If one of your letters or designs has gone sliding around, simply use the point of your hook to nudge it into place. If the letter has completely slid off, use your hook to gently grab it on the adhesive side or use your tweezers. Put it back in it’s place like it never happened. 🙂 Here are more great tips on weeding small designs and letters.
Now that you are a total weeding expert, let’s move on to the next lesson…how to use transfer tape and apply your vinyl to the finished piece!