How To Make A Reverse Canvas With HTV

There are a few household chores that seem never-ending, and laundry is one of them. No matter how organized I get, the laundry seems to never be “done.” But I guess that’s just part of life, right? One way to make that tedious chore a little more fun is by adding cute decor to your laundry room.  My latest addition to the laundry was a reverse canvas made with HTV. The reverse canvas technique is all the rage these days. I am always surprised to hear people say that they haven’t tried it yet because they don’t know understand how to do it. So we are here to fix that.  First, a reverse canvas is a technique used to transform a basic white canvas into a work of art.  You simply remove the canvas from the front of the frame, and move it to the back, the idea is to highlight the frame instead of having it hidden behind the canvas. You are simply reversing the canvas and the wood— hence the “reverse canvas” name.  So now that you know what a reverse canvas is, it’s time to show you HOW to create your own! This tutorial will walk you through the process step-by-step.  Read below to learn how to make a reverse canvas with HTV that is perfect for your laundry room. Once you have mastered the technique, you can move on to creating artwork for every room in the house. So let’s get started.

Supplies Needed:

–ImPRESSED Vinyl in Black
–Teflon sheet (included in our color pack)
-Cutting Machine (I used a Silhouette Cameo)
-Art Canvas (found at any craft store)
-Home Iron
-Craft Paint
-Screwdriver or Pliers
-Staple Gun
-Hammer

Step One: Prepare and Cut Your Design

Open your software program (I used Silhouette Studio) and import your SVG. For this one, we used one of our laundry SVG’s.

Size the design to fit inside the canvas, then right click and select Flip Horizontally. This mirrors the design since our cutting machine cuts on the backside of the vinyl.

Once the design is mirrored, it’s time to cut. Open the cut settings window and select the material. The Heat Transfer, Smooth settings work well with our heat transfer vinyl.

Place the HTV onto the cutting mat, shiny side down. Then load it into the machine and let it get to work!

Step Two: Weed HTV and Prepare Your Canvas

After the design has been cut, begin peeling off the corner of the vinyl, leaving just the design.

Use a weeding hook or a pair of crafting tweezers to weed out the little insides of the design.

Continue until the whole design has been weeded.

Next, turn your canvas over to see all the staples.

Take a flat head screwdriver or a pair of pliers and pull off all the staples.

Pull each staple off until the canvas is not attached to the wood.

Now we have all the pieces to create our reverse canvas with HTV.

Step Three: Paint Your Frame  

Grab your favorite color of craft paint and paint the wood frame. We used a beautiful robin’s egg color so that the wood really pops. While it is not necessary to paint the frame, it is a fun way to make your reverse canvas even more unique.

Step Four: Apply HTV to Canvas  

While the paint is drying, center your HTV design onto the canvas material.

After your home iron is heated up to cotton settings, place a Teflon sheet over the design and press for 15-20 seconds with firm pressure.

Allow the design to cool at least 1 minute, then gently peel off the clear carrier sheet. If any part of the vinyl design starts to peel up, press for a little longer.

Step Five: Frame Your Canvas  

Now place the frame onto the canvas and trace around the edge of the frame. This will tell you where you need to trim.

Cut along the trace line so that the canvas fits behind the frame. You want to make sure not to over trim, you need to leave some excess so that you can secure the canvas to the frame. We will trim again after we get the canvas secured to the wood.

Next, grab your staple gun and place staples along the edge of the canvas.  You may need to use a hammer to flatten any staples that are sticking out of the wood.

Once your canvas is secured to the wood, you will want to trim the canvas again. This time removing the excess canvas material so that the canvas stops just inside the frame.

Then simply flip it over and admire your new beautiful work of art!

A reverse canvas with HTV project may sound daunting, but it really is a fun project that is perfect for any level crafter.

Creating a reverse canvas with HTV is not only simple but super fun. For more design ideas, check out our entire collection of SVG designs, in the Cut Files section of our site. You will find lots of great designs that are perfect for your next reverse canvas with HTV project.

Happy Crafting!