Today we’re going to focus on materials that don’t unravel, they don’t fray. So when you cut woven fabric or quilters cotton, slowly you’ll get threads that come off of the end and it gets really rough and fuzzy. We’re not using those today. We want any of the cuts that we make to stay stable, to have an edge that’s not going to fall apart, kind of like leather, but we’re not using leather today. You can totally use leather on your Cricut, but let’s use some materials that are a little bit more approachable. A lot of people get scared with leather. So let’s go with some things that are easy to use and are forgiving.
One of the great things about a Cricut and about making is that you get to choose the materials. You get to choose the colors. You get to really use your creativity. I’m a colorful person. So I don’t want you to feel restricted by Cricut felts and Cricut suede. I want you to know that there’s a lot more materials out there that you could use and obviously a fabric store full of fabric.
So when it comes to the Cricut and sewing, there are some people who choose to use the Cricut to cut out basic shape for like quilts, triangles, and squares, just the basic stuff. But there’s a lot of people who find doing those shapes way easier to cut by hand. So we’re going to use the Cricut for what it does best, intricate cuts that you would never want to try to do by hand.
This video is an overview of sewing materials that can be cut with the Cricut’s fine point blade. This video focuses on materials that do not fray, like felt, faux leather, faux suede, Kraft-tex, felt, and washable paper.
Watch the Video
To make the example project (zippered cutwork pouch or mini wallet) the material you select for outside has to be able to be cut by the Fine Point Blade. The Rotary Blade on the Maker, over cuts just a little bit and those little over cuts end up killing the pattern. So unfortunately the Rotary Blade is not a good match for this pattern, but the Fine Point Blade is. So any material that you want on the outside has to react well to the Fine Point Blade.
The the layer underneath that shows through the cuts doesn’t have to cut well with the Fine Point Blade. If you have a Maker you can cut all sorts of things with that Rotary Blade. There’s no reason you need to use a Fine Point Blade on the under layer. You can even cut the underlayer out by hand. It’s super simple.
Raspberry & Yellow Zippered Bee Pencil Case
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I used Cricut Felt – Pink (from Summer Sky Sampler) for the outside. It was bonded to freezer paper before it was cut. The inside yellow is a really cheap felt that does not cut with a Fine Point Blade, but my Rotary Blade cut it super easily. So I was able to use a less expensive felt for the inside and a more expensive felt on the outside that was willing to be used for the Fine Point Blade.
Materials:
- Cricut Felt – Pink (from Summer Sky Sampler)
- Reynolds Freezer Paper – (Has a coating that bonds to felt)
- Eco-Felt: Felt, Acrylic Fabric
Cricut Settings:
- Cricut Felt: Felt, Bonded – Fine point blade – Bonded to freezer paper – check and re-run if needed.
- Eco-Felt: Felt, Acrylic Fabric – Rotary Blade Only – Bond to freezer paper to save your mat from fuzzies
Kraft & Cork Bee Pouch
The inside fabric of this pouch is this beautiful cork with flecks of gold. It does not work with a Fine Point Blade either, so I used it on the inside and on the outside I used Kraft-Tex.
If you’re not familiar with Kraft-Tex, it’s a washable paper. It’s a leather alternative that’s not made out of polyester. It cuts so beautifully, so crisply. It comes in hand dyed packs & standard colors.
If you want to use the hand dyed, you do need to moisten it slightly and iron it really flat before you cut. But it does cut beautifully on the Cricut fine point blade. The standard colors, which are white, light brown, black, gray, neutral colors do not need to be pressed before cutting
Materials:
Cricut Settings:
- Kraft-tex – Hand Dyed: Shimmer Leather- 1mm – Fine point blade – wet & iron flat before cutting
- Kraft-Tex – Basics: Kraft Board, Fine point blade
- Cork with Gold Flecks: Faux Suede – Rotary Blade (larger designs will cut with a fine point blade)
Washable Paper
Kraft-Tex is not available at Joann Fabrics or Michael’s, but they do have some washable paper if that’s something you’re interested in. I tried all of these materials out and they cut beautifully either at a lightweight paper setting or a Kraft board setting for the thicker stuff.
These materials can be difficult work with because they are stiff and don’t move like fabric. The thicker ones will be especially difficult if you’re a beginner. To work around this, first cut it out while it’s stiff and then squish it, throw it in the washing machine, get it wet, crumple it up, and it will slowly start to look like leather. You can really just abuse this and it will get all these wonderful leather crunches in it and it looks so realistic once it gets worn. Don’t be afraid to throw it in the washing machine. It’s washable paper after all!
Materials:
- Washable Paper – Aqua patterned #359625: Joann or Amazon
- Washable paper tan with white starburst #359623 Joann or Amazon
- American Crafts Washable paper – thick Rose Gold/ copper #359620- Joann or Amazon
- American Crafts Washable paper thick Nickel #359615 – Joann or Amazon
Cricut Settings:
Washable Paper – Aqua patterned – Laser Copy Paper- Fine point blade
Washable paper tan with white starburst- Laser Copy Paper- Fine point blade
Washable paper – thick metallic copper: Kraft Board, Fine point blade
Washable paper thick gray: Kraft Board, Fine point blade
Faux Leather
This is super shiny holographic faux leather and it comes on a ribbon roll. I’ve also seen this look on mermaid scales before, and this cuts so well with the Fine Point Blade. This was found at probably Hobby Lobby, but I know I’ve seen this at other places too.
This is another type of faux leather, which is sold by EverSewn. Unlike the holo faux leather this has a fair amount of stretch to it in one direction. Even on a strong grip mats, even bonded, it still does not cut well with the Fine Point Blade.
Materials:
Holographic Faux Leather – The Ribbon Boutique – Hobby Lobby: SKU: 1833557
Black Faux Leather- Stretch: Discontinued, but many products like it.
Cricut Settings:
Holographic Faux Leather – The Ribbon Boutique – Hobby Lobby- Shimmer Leather-1mm, fine point blade, Shiny side down to mat – Mirror design
Testing Your Materials
So I’m talking about all these new materials and this could be like completely overwhelming and I get it. I went through so much testing, but I did that so that you didn’t have to. But when you’re working with a new material, you should still do a test.
In the bee themed projects zip file there is a bee tester so that you can try out cutting the bee and the hexagon and make sure it works with the settings that you have. The bee in and the hexagon are pretty small, so you’re not going to really waste materials and it’s totally worth doing a quick test to make sure you’re doing everything to make this successful.
So if you’re in love with this bee design on the pouches, I have more bee projects.
Looks like fun and soooo cute.