How to Cut Fabric With the Cricut

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Things You'll Need

  • Natural non-stretch fabric

  • Washing machine

  • Dryer

  • Clothes iron

  • No-sew adhesive such as Heat ‘n Bond Ultrabond

  • Scissors

  • Cricut cartridge

  • New Cricut blade

  • New Cricut cutting mat

  • Masking tape

Image Credit: Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images

The Cricut, a personal die cutting machine by Provo Craft, is a handy tool for anyone who likes to craft. This machine is most often used by paper crafters to embellish homemade cards and scrapbook pages, but it isn't limited to cutting paper. Use your Cricut machine to cut fabric that can then embellish infant onsies, tote bags, shirts or other fabric items. You can even use the Cricut to cut fabric appliqués to dress up quilt squares.

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Step 1

Wash and dry fabric like you would normally wash and dry an item of clothing made of the same fabric with the exception of fabric softener. Do not use any fabric softener on the fabric.

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Step 2

Iron out any wrinkles in your fabric.

Step 3

Follow the instructions on the adhesive packaging to adhere the webbing to the wrong side of the fabric. Do not use a steam setting on your iron. Usually you will use a low setting on your iron. Lay your fabric on top of the side of the adhesive backing that doesn't have paper on it. Place your iron on top of the fabric and hold it in place for two seconds. Then, move the iron to a new location on the fabric that slightly overlaps where the iron just was and hold it there for two seconds. Repeat this process until the whole surface of the fabric has been pressed.

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Step 4

Cut a piece of fabric that will fit on your Cricut mat.

Step 5

Put cartridge in Cricut machine and the corresponding keypad overlay on the keypad. Turn the machine on.

Step 6

Place the piece of fabric on your new Cricut mat with the right side of the fabric facing down, lining the bottom left corner of your fabric up with the bottom left corner of your mat. Smooth the fabric onto your mat with your hands.

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Step 7

Place strips of masking tape on the edges of the fabric to further adhere your fabric to mat.

Step 8

Load the fabric into your machine by placing the mat at the opening of the machine and pressing the "Load Paper" button.

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Step 9

Set your blade depth to "6," your pressure to "max" and your speed according to the design you want to cut. Set your speed lower for more detailed designs and higher for simpler designs.

Step 10

Move the blade of your Cricut to the top right corner of your fabric, just inside the edge of the masking tape, using the directional buttons that are located around the "Cut" button.

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Step 11

Select the design that you want to cut using the keypad on your Cricut. Select the size of the design with your size dial. Press "Cut" when you are ready to cut the design.

Step 12

Press "Unload Paper" when the machine is done cutting. Now you have your fabric cutouts.

Tip

Use a brand new blade and mat when cutting fabric. Because the fabric is more difficult for the blade to cut and paper dulls the blade, you want a new blade the first time you cut fabric; then store that blade as your fabric cutting blade after that. A new mat is necessary so that the mat is as sticky as possible to hold the fabric in place while the machine is cutting.

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