After everything was done, I had two dozen precisely cut pieces that were easily removed from their sheets. The Rotary Blade can cut all sorts of fabric, including: I also love using the Roary blade to cut delicate materials like tissue paper and crepe paper. It has a white housing. Once I had the files ready, setting everything up was fairly easy. Then, remove the tip. The Deep-Point blade is ideal for intricate cuts in thicker, medium-weight materials. The software to design all of your cuts is a FREE online platform, which I find easy and intuitive to use. Before we get into the specifics of each blade, let me give you an overview of which blades go with which machine. At $399.99, the Maker 3 costs over twice as much as the Joy, and you'll need to buy additional tool heads if you want to do anything more than cut thin material, but the power and flexibility represent endless potential for aspiring artisans with eyes on their own Etsy stores, earning it our Editors' Choice award. Hanger For Cricut Cutting Mats. Insert the new blade into the housing. Many of the tools have replaceable or interchangeable parts as well, letting you easily swap in a new blade if the current one gets dull, or switch from a scoring wheel to a perforating wheel. If there is one thing that comes along with getting a new Cricut machine, its STUFF! Discover the hottest new products with our What's New Wednesday emails. I then noticed that it didnt cover the entire mat, because the material is 11 by 11 inches, and the software defaults to the mat size of 12 by 12 inches. Designed it in tinkercad. In the past, Cricut has sold a line of bonded fabric. Looking for your next craft project? This blog is reader-supported. Admittedly, the only time I have used this machine to cut fabric is for this project: http://blog.namebubbles.com/a-heart-felt-pillow-tutorial/. Guide to Cricut Mats: Different Types and Sizes. Scoring Tip: This tool is used to create score lines. It comes with a set of 3 interchangeable tips fine, medium, and bold so that you can make a variety of line thicknesses. After a lot of experimentation, I had two pictures I could feed into Cricut Design Space and get the cutting and drawing results I wanted. Your email address will not be published. Here are the essentials I reach for every timeno matter the project, no matter the machine! I then made sure there was about a foot of space behind the Maker 3. I resized, sharpened, global selected, painted over edges with a hard brush to remove any blur, and manually filled in gaps on the lines that appeared as I processed the pattern. The Cricut Explore series machines can use 3 different blades. I found a free kirigami pattern online(Opens in a new window) and tried to feed it into Cricut Design Space. What mat should you use with the Scoring Wheels? Finally, I tested the Maker 3s ability to work with very long materials by printing several cut-outs on a single banner of reusable vinyl to use as wall decorations. Replacement Pen holder for a Cricut machine. Think of the Knife Blade like a mini X-Acto for your Cricut Maker. Hope that helps. Each sheet took 30 to 60 minutes to complete, and there were four sheets. If you have trouble with the older blades, you can upgrade to the new gold Premium Fine Point blade in the gold housing.). You add engraved lines to your project be selected the Engrave Linetype in Cricut Design Space. The head has two tool slots with clamping levers. Blade Housing Color: Gold (If you have an older Explore series machine, your Fine-Point blade may have a silver housing and blade. The Bonded Fabric blade is like a little X-Acto blade that cuts through bonded fabric with a pulling, slicing motion. The Engraving Tip is marked with the number 41. This blade is not included with the Explore 3 or Maker 3 machines by default, so youll have to purchase the blades and housing separately. Appearance: silver QuickSwap Tip with a wavy cutting wheel. Legacy Cricut models, like the Create or Expression machines, use a different set of blades. Depending on the thickness of the material you are scoring, use the Scoring Stylus with either the blue LightGrip mat or the green StandardGrip cutting mat. Check here: https://shop.cricut.com/en_us/machines/cricut-explore-air.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwj7q6BRDcxfG4pNTQ2NoBEiQAzUpuW0Wp2jXnido8DOjjoGE57tA8ALqBFz1CG1cH6V9ex2AaAlJ-8P8HAQ. You can score and cut without stopping to change out your tools. While there are many other things I own and love (e.g., Cricut Mug Press, Cricut Roll Holder, Cricut Foil Transfer Tool, Cricut Brightpad), what Ive detailed out here are my must-have Cricut supplies. No matter what you decide to connect to the Maker 3, the Cricut Design Space software walks you through the steps. The Bonded-Fabric blade can cut, you guess it, bonded fabric. The numerous available pens include metallic and fabric-safe options. However, Cricut also runs promotions and bundles ALL the time, so you should be able to find a deal that includes some other goodies (like pens or the deep-cut blade). What blades are compatible with my machine? https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/cricut-maker-3, Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. 1996-2022 Ziff Davis. Now scroll down to your machine to see what other specific accessories I recommend most! Multiple mats are available for different materials and with different grip strengths, and measure 12 inches wide and 12 or 24 inches long. The Knife blade is ideal for cuts of moderate detail in the thickest, heavy-weight materials. Pin this post: Save this tutorial to your Pinterest boards so that you can come back to it later. Let me show you around. In most cases, that means youll be engraving on the purple StrongGrip mat. Own a Cricut Explore Air 2 or Cricut Explore 3? I'd like to receive the free email course. I am sending you this message from The Netherlands. A small, two-compartment accessory tray sits to the left of the lid, accessible when its open or closed, and provides a useful space to hold pens or machine tips. The Maker 3 looks a bit like a wide-format printer, stretching out 22 inches across with more modest 5.5-inch height and 6.5-inch depth measurements. You can cut ANY brand of materials with any of the Cricut machines! But if youre new to Cricut, figuring out all the different blades and tools can be overwhelming. Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox. Its a 12mm carbide blade that slices through dense materials up to 3/32 in (2.4mm) thick. Some popular stabilizers that you can use to make bonded fabric include Heat n Bond and Wonder Under. I then resized the pictures to match, and set the cut pattern to cut and the fold pattern to draw. The Cricut Joy blade can cut a range of basic materials. Replacement Knob for Cricut Explorer Air 2. A second metal bar sits in front of the machine heads bar, and features toothed wheels for feeding different materials into the Maker 3. Tell me in the comments below! Finallyand this is the most important step if you want to arrange multiple objects on your materialI selected all of the elements and Attached them together. But it leaves a thicker, deeper line thats more decorative than functional. What mat should I use with the Rotary Blade? Fit in Cricut round box at the bottom, Cricut Box for I made for my wifes many tools.
Ive been PCMags home entertainment expert for over 10 years, covering both TVs and everything you might want to connect to them. Now that you have the overview, lets talk about each of the blades and tools in more detail. The Cricut Explore Series machines are compatible with three blades: the Fine-Point Blade, the Deep-Point blade, and the Bonded-Fabric Blade. Cant wait for it to arrive!! The Cricut Joy is a small, portable machine thats perfect for beginning crafters and quick projects. Since the blades do dull over time, you may be wondering if you can sharpen the blades. It wasnt difficult to adjust the size, but if youre not paying attention you could easily waste some material on a wrong-sized cut. Its made from German carbide steel. ), these are the must-haves I recommend investing in right awaybecause you really will use them! When the first sheet was finished, the software prompted me to repeat the process for the second, third, and fourth. I loaded a marker and a fine-point blade into the machine head, put some cardstock on a LightGrip mat, and started the cut. This is my fault, not the machines; if the software says it will take some time, give it some time. Still, all the necessary power and functionality is there to put together anything you might want to. Here are my must-have picks for any Cricut Joy owner! The nice thing about them is that they usually have bundles with tools and some special cartridges. Save more! You can use the foil tool on a variety of base materials, including paper, cardstock, and thin faux leather. What mat should you use with the Foil Transfer Tool? Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping, Vox, Apartment Therapy, Lifehacker, and more. Which blade should I use to cut this material? The device includes a USB-AtoUSB-B cable, and pairing over Bluetooth is as simple as plugging the cable in. Last year we tested the Cricut Joy, an interesting little craft machine that can draw and cut any pattern you want on card stock, paper, or vinyl. The individual shapes were cute precisely, and I could use them as wall decals and place them by hand with no problem. If they arent attached, the software will attempt to arrange each element separately for individual cuts or drawn lines. Such welcome new information!! ), there are tools and supplies I reach to over and over again for the projects I show here on the blog. What mat should you use with the Deep-Point Blade? Its not part of the QucikSwap system discussed below. The fine-point blade cut the vinyl precisely and carefully in minutes; it was done by the time I finished washing my hands (to remove some residual glue from the birdhouse). The end of the handle is light purple. Cricut Scoring Wheel and Double Scoring Wheel, Smart Materials, like Smart Vinyl and Smart Iron-On. Heat Guns, Glue Guns, Refills + Accessories, Specialty Finishes - Glitter, Foil, Metallic, Holographic, Specialty - Watercolour, Blending, Synthetic, Mylar, Knives + Blades, Cutters, Trimmers + Replacement Blades, Rulers, Scissors, Staplers, Punches + Punch Boards, Quilting, Sewing, Needlecraft, Knitting + Crochet, Hot Foil Stamping + Heat Transfer Machines + Accessories, Hot Foils, Reactive Foils, Toner sheets, Flock & Transfer Sheets, Acrylic Paint, Pouring Paint + Ready-to-Pour, Calligraphy, Brush Lettering, Journaling + Fineliner Pens, Planners, Traveler's Notebooks + Accessories, Adhesives + Scissors + Stickers/Fun Stuff, Felt, Foam, Pom-Poms, Feathers, Wiggle Eyes, Adhesives, Dyes, Paints, Conditioners + Tools, Cricut Cutting Mat Strong Grip 12inch X12inch, Cricut Cutting Mats 2 Pack - 6Inch X 12 Inch. If youre looking to get into more Cricut projects like t-shirts, tote bags, or other fabric and home decor items, I highly recommend adding these to your Cricut stash! Think of those pop-up paper greeting cards with elaborate designs. HP Instant Ink vs. HP Plus vs. HP Smart: Which Ink Program Saves You the Most? Once you have everything lined up, just click the Continue button and the software walks you through each stage of the project. When prompted, I loaded a pen and the standard blade into the machines tool clamps, then inserted the mat and pressed the Load button. The cuts were too fine to see, and I had to test-peel a tiny corner of the banner to make sure the material had actually been cut. What mat should you use with the Scoring Stylus? 2022 The Homes I Have Made Design by Purr. If you really want to explore the Maker 3s versatility, Cricut also sells packs of aluminum sheets, felt, leather, and wood, among many other materials. Whats the difference between the Deep-Point blade and the Knife blade? Under the lid, a small control panel sits to the right of the main cavity, with Power, Pause, Start, and Load/Unload buttons. What mat should you use with the Debossing Tip? Please note, I am posting these for those who would like to customize their custom Cricut accessory designs as I have done for my wife. PLEASE COMMENT WITH ANY FIXES OR SUGGESTIONS! The iron-on stabilizer makes the fabric a little stiffer and easier to cut. Depending on the material youre using, you can use the Debossing Tip with the blue LightGrip mat, the green StandardGrip mat, or even the purple StrongGrip mat. I made the tool holder and the cup designed by khow92, but I also wanted a way to store the replacement fine tip blades and the tips for the foil transfer tool. Its only compatible with the Maker machines, but I definitely recommend using the Rotary Blade to cut fabric if you have the option. It can also use one tool, which is the Cricut Joy Foil Transfer tool. It had, so I cut the section that was done and left the rest of the roll for use later, and took the banner home. Appearance: silver QuickSwap Tip with a single, notched wheel. The Deep-Point Blade is a stronger blade designed to cut thicker, heavier materials. The Scoring Wheel and the Double Scoring Wheel are two tools that you can use to create crisp, sharp fold lines on a variety of Materials. Use the cutting mat that is appropriate for your chosen material. PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. Im an ISF-certified TV calibrator and a THX-certified home theater professional, and Im here to help you understand 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and even 8K (and to reassure you that you dont need to worry about 8K at all for at least a few more years). Rolled materials, such as iron-ons and vinyl, can be fed directly into the Maker 3 (make sure you get the material intended for that machine, and not the narrower rolls for other Cricut machines) without a Machine Mat, as can certain flat sheets classified as Smart Materials. Cricut has not released any scoring tools for the Cricut Joy. If you sew or quilt, the rotary blade will look familiar to you. I just ironed on some pellon (I think) stabilizer and cut. In Design Space: When you select a Base Material for a project design that includes a Foil Linetype, youll notice that only the compatible materials are enabled. Do I need to use the materials ( vinyl, cardstock, sticker paper) from the Cricut brand or can I use materials I find at my local craft store? If you cant find bonded fabric in stores, its easy to make your own from regular fabric. Remixed from Cricut Sharpie Guide by Jeff Thompson Increased guide end thickness to 6mm to work with a Cricut Maker. I love navy blue, a good peel-and-stick wallpaper, my Cricut machine, and really hot coffee; and I genuinely believe that. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Megan, have you tried cutting fabric with this tool and if so, did you have to stabilize it in any way? Ever wondered which blades, housings, and machine tools are compatible with your Cricut machine? It seems like the perfect project for the Maker 3. The rear slot can eject already cut or drawn material out the back of the machine. Depending on the base material you choose, youll use either the blue LightGrip mat or the green StandardGrip cutting mat when using the Foil Transfer Tool. I like to use a palette knife for lifting and weeding. In general, the materials that need cut with the Deep-Point blade work best with the purple StrongGrip mat. THANKS! There are also nine different geometric shapes, a text tool, and some functions like Weld and Slice that let you play with overlapping shapes to different effects. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time. If so, this blog post is for you. If youre looking to get a Cricut (or start using the one you have! This attaches to the rail and first level of the cart. I decided to fix that. I would recommend the deep cut blade. This is the blade I use to cut almost all of my cardstock and vinyl projects. I ran into a wall of my own skill rather than any of the machines capabilities when I was testing it. Each of the QuickSwap tips can be used with a single QuickSwap Housing snap them in and out as needed. Sondy. The Scoring Stylus is perfect for scoring paper and cardstock. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Depending on the material you are scoring, youll use the Scoring Wheels on the blue LightGrip mat or the green StandardGrip mat. Works well with other pens when not using an adapter. It can also accept much wider material, with a 12-inch feeding slot compared with the Joys 5.5-inch feeder. For example, you can cut cardstock with the Fine-Point blade on the blue LightGrip mat and cut vinyl with the Fine-Point Blade on the green StandardGrip mat. In this article, Ill explain the different types of Cricut blades and tell you the right blade to use for each kind of material. The Deep-Point is made of harder, more durable steel with a steeper blade angle (60-degree angle vs. a 45-degree angle on the Fine-Point blade.). Youll know you need to replace the blade when your cuts are not as clean or crisp as they used to be. The pattern was a PDF file with instructions for cutting and folding by hand, so I had to convert it to an image file with just the pattern on it. While the machine can very quickly move over any material with a blade, chipboard requires around 24 passes to fully get through. You can change regular cut lines into Wavy lines by selecting the Wavy linetype in Cricut Design Space. If you want to use your own cardstock, fabric, paper, or anything else not from Cricut, you need to put it on a grippy Machine Mat that holds it in place while it's fed into the machine. The Cricut Makers QuickSwap system lets you switch between scoring, debossing, and engraving functions by swapping out tooltips. Easy access for the large and small mats. Appearance: silver QuickSwap Tip with a small ball tip. How long do they last? For example, youll use the Wavy Blade with cardstock on the blue LightGrip mat, vinyl on the green StandardGrip mat, or fabric on the pink FabricGrip mat. You can engrave a variety of materials, including: In Design Space: When you select a Base Material for a project design that includes an Engrave Linetype, youll notice some material settings are not enabled so you cant accidentally select an incompatible base material.
Sitemap 28