Create a DIY red plaid canvas sign using the Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker. This sign is perfect for layering with other Christmas signs for a festive holiday home.
Welcome to Have Yourself A Very Cricut Christmas: 25 Days of Homemade Holiday Crafts!
Each day in December, I’ll be sharing a new Christmas project that you can make using your Cricut. It’s going to be a blog version of an advent calendar! Come back every day to get a new “gift.”
Today’s gift is a Red Plaid Canvas Sign.
Signs make great decorations because they, in general, are large. They can be placed in the back area of a display and act as a backdrop, or they can take center stage as a statement piece.
Around the holidays, I love to decorate with festive signs. I’ve seen lots of modern plaid designs lately, and I love this look for Christmas. I wanted to create a simple plaid design on a canvas sign that I could use when decorating our home.
You’re going to love this Red Plaid Canvas Sign. Here’s how to make it!
How to Make a Red Plaid Canvas Sign Using The Cricut
This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Materials:
Tools:
- Cricut Machine (You can use a Cricut Explore or a Cricut Maker for this project)
- Standard Grip Cutting Mat
- Cricut Fine-Point Blade (comes with all Cricut Machines)
- Cricut Weeder Tool
- Cricut EasyPress or Iron
- Cricut EasyPress Mat or Ironing Board
How to Cut Out The Project Using The Cricut
First, you will need to download the Red Plaid Canvas Sign SVG file.
Get the Free Red Plaid Canvas Sign SVG File
Start by opening Cricut Design Space and creating a new project.
Upload the SVG File
Then, upload the SVG file by selecting the Upload button and then Upload Image. Next, drag and drop or select the SVG file you want to upload.
After the SVG is uploaded, add the image to your design canvas.
If you need a little more help uploading SVG files, you can learn more in this post.
The SVG file will already be sized properly for this project.
Make It
Now it’s time to make your project!
Click on the Make It button in the upper right of the screen.
The first screen you will see is the Mat Preview Screen. This will show you all of the different mats needed for your project.
For this project, there is only one material being used.
When cutting iron-on vinyl, you will need to mirror the image. This is because iron-on vinyl must be placed shiny side down on the cutting mat. If you want your design to be cut out the correct way, you will need to select the mirror setting.
On the left side of the Mat Preview Screen, select the Mirror toggle switch so that it turns green. This will invert your image design for cutting.
Click on the Continue button in the lower right of the screen.
Connect your Cricut machine. Then, adjust the settings as follows.
Material: Iron-On
Pressure: Default
Tools: Fine-Point Blade
Place the iron-on vinyl shiny side down onto the standard grip cutting mat. The shiny side is actually the iron-on transfer sheet.
Load the standard grip cutting mat with your iron-on vinyl into the machine. Then, press the flashing Go button to begin the cutting process.
How to Assemble The Project
Once all of your pieces are cut out, it’s time to assemble the project.
First, you will need to weed the iron-on vinyl design to remove the extra material. The goal is to leave only the iron-on vinyl for the design image behind.
Use the weeder tool to pick up the vinyl off the iron-on transfer sheet and easily remove it.
After all of the extra iron-on vinyl is removed, you should be left with just the design on the iron-on transfer sheet.
Now your iron-on design is ready for transfer.
The best tool for transferring iron-on vinyl onto your design surface is the EasyPress.
It provides even heat to your entire design which helps it to adhere better. It also comes with a built-in timer and online interactive guide so you know exactly what settings you need for each project.
I like to use the EasyPress mat too so that I have a convenient heat-resistant surface.
If you don’t have these tools, you can also use an iron and an ironing board.
Place the pillow cover on the EasyPress mat and use the online Cricut EasyPress Interactive Quick Reference Guide to determine the settings and instructions that you need for your project.
Here are the settings that I used for this project.
Set the temperature on the EasyPress to the recommended setting. Then, preheat the canvas for 5 seconds. I preheated the front and the back of the canvas.
Place your iron-on vinyl design onto the canvas and center it.
Then, apply heat using the EasyPress and gentle pressure for 30 seconds. Because this project is larger than the EasyPress, you will need to repeat this step for the different sections of the design.
Start in the center of the canvas. This will provide the most even heat to your design because of the slight give in the canvas material on the frame.
Then, move the EasyPress to the other sections around the corners of the design.
Then, flip the canvas over and use the EasyPress to apply heat to the back for 15 seconds. This was a little difficult to do because the EasyPress is almost the same size as the opening on the back of the canvas. But I made it work.
Flip the canvas over again and let the entire design cool.
Even though the interactive guide says to peel off the transfer sheet while it’s still warm, I tried this and did not have the best results with the canvas. My iron-on vinyl got bent and folded. It just didn’t look good.
I’m not going to lie, this was a bit of a difficult process. The iron-on vinyl didn’t really want to adhere to my canvas. So, I found it best to let the design cool down and carefully peel back the vinyl.
Alternatively, you can also create a similar looking sign using a piece of 12” x 12” craft plywood and red vinyl. You will get the same looking finished project without using the EasyPress.
Now your Red Plaid Canvas Sign is ready!
This is such a cute sign for layering with other Christmas signs in your home. I love that it’s just a simple modern pattern.
If you want to make it look a little more finished, you can add some pine wood around the outside of the canvas to create a frame.
I hope you love this Red Plaid Canvas Sign.
If you decide to make this project, I would love to see!
Tag me on Instagram. Use the hashtag #25daysofcricut so that we can all see each other’s projects too!
To see more projects from Have Yourself A Very Cricut Christmas: 25 Days of Homemade Holiday Crafts!, click here!
If you want to follow along and see all of the projects for Have Yourself A Very Cricut Christmas: 25 Days of Homemade Holiday Crafts!, you can bookmark this blog post and visit it each day to see the newest project.
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