Primitive Mountain Quilts and Crafts

A crafters journey through retirement in her own personal paradise.

  • Home
  • Sewing
  • Etsy Items
    • Primitive Decor
    • Yard and Garden
    • Fall
    • Christmas
  • Contact Us
    • Privacy and Disclosure Policy
  • Blog
  • DIY
  • Primitives
  • Gardening
  • Tour the Grounds

January 17, 2019 by Sue Ellen

The Truth About Cutting Fabric With Cricut Maker

Share43
Share
Pin4K
4K Shares

Last Updated: December 18, 2019

after reverse canvas

Click Here for free pattern

Using the Cricut Maker for Fabric

Finally the new has worn off a little and yesterday, I finally got around to cutting fabric. I choose bowl koosie’s from Cricut design space, took the cover off of my 24” mat (Christmas present from my daughter) and took the plunge!
Fabric cut on mat

Prepping and Cutting Fabric

This post probably contains affiliated links. My full disclosure policy is boring, but you can find it HERE.

I torn 12” strips of fabric and pressed them. The first time I cut it at 24” and ended up with more excess than I wanted. The second time I didn’t cut the strip, just trimmed it when the machine was finished cutting.
It cut wonderfully! But…. the mess left on the mat bugged me. So off to my wonderful Facebook groups I went and asked what to do about cleaning the mat for fabric. I have read that felt and batting would ruin a mat and I needed to cut batting for my project.

Cleaning The Mat

Warning! Cricut does not recommend cleaning the mat because you could damage “the fragile layer”
That being said, here are what the ladies also mentioned how they clean the mats:

-Baby wipes with no lotion and wipe the mat

-Dawn dish soap, water and a soft brush, rinse well and let dry

-Roll painters tape into a ball, dad up as much lint as you can then finish with a lint roller

-Totally Awesome, dollar store cleaner, spray the mat, wipe it off then air dry thoroughly

Several ladies warned not to use the scraper too much when cleaning due to the damage it can cause.

Not gonna lie, I covered the 24” mat lint and all for now. I’m going to do as one lady suggested, use the tweezers to big pieces off, leave the rest and keep on cutting!
–
mat after cutting fabric
I took the lint roller to the square mat and it took up most of it, but left some in places. I have 2 new square ones so I’m opening one to dedicate solely to batting and felt. I’m taking my Cover Magic from the dollar tree ( I think) anyway, cheap, clear contact paper and covering the entire mat so that when I remove the cover sheet, the sticky side is up. This can be cleaned with the lint roller and baby wipes and used again too.
lint roller on matlint on mat

Like this post_ I'd love to send you emails to keep you up to date on all the fun stuff I have going on. Sign up here (1)

contact paper on matpeel contact paper off mat

See all the Free Projects in Cricut Design Space

Let’s Try Cutting Batting

I’m a grateful to have many craft supplies and tools. See them in the post Behind the Scenes Glimpse of My Creative Spaces. Took my quilting ruler and cut a strip of batting 12” wide. Placed the top edge across the top of the mat and flattened the piece leaving the excess trailing off the bottom of the mat. I loaded it into the machine and it cut perfectly! The batting came off the contact paper easily. I attached the batting again and kept on cutting with very little waste. I was able to cut 12 pieces before the contact paper gave out. The mat was still like new when I removed it. Totally the way to go to protect the mat! The next contact paper I found could be cleaned and used again. Win, win!
cutting batting with a ruler and rotary blade
batting longer than mat
batting cut
lint from batting on mat

View our most popular products at Cricut.com

Finishing the Project

Since I had such good luck with the batting mat, I put contact paper on my 12” mat for fabric. Even though it was fairly easy to clean it with the lint roller, it was a little time-consuming. I’ll just put the cover over the contact paper and use it till it needs changed. I bought lotion free baby wipes and tried them, but stopped even though it was taking every bit up super nice. Surely didn’t want to chance ruining my mat. It dried and was perfectly fine in the end.
Dirty matClean mat
 Going forward, using the contact paper, I feel is the best way to protect your fabric mats.
Finished up the bowl koosies by following the easy instructions in Design Space. Now on to the next project…..
I’m addicted!
bottom side bowl koosieBowl in koosie
Have you cut fabric on your maker yet? Tell us about your experiences in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!
Check out some of my items over at my Etsy Shop.
Follow me on Pinterest
after reverse canvas
Don’t Forget Your Free Pattern
Check out some of my other post!
Baby It's Cold Outside sign in a greenery wagon

Getting to Know My New Cricut Maker

quilt ruler holder

Quilt Ruler Holder

QR code and Soundwave Demo

Personalized QR Code and Sound Wave Frame

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share43
Share
Pin4K
4K Shares
❮❮ Previous Post
Next Post ❯ ❯

Comments

  1. Belinda says

    July 26, 2020 at 4:48 PM

    Hi would contact paper with fabric work on an explore ?

    Reply
    • Sue Ellen says

      September 9, 2020 at 8:14 AM

      I do not have an Explorer, but I think it should do ok. The maker cuts fabric in addition to what the Explorer does.

      Reply
  2. NormaJean says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:51 PM

    Could you explain how you place the contact paper on the mat. Sticky side up or down? Thanks. I am thinking sticky side up, but just want to be sure.

    Reply
    • Sue Ellen says

      March 3, 2020 at 5:07 AM

      Place the paper with the sticky side up. Peel the cover sheet off and use the sticky side as the mat. Good luck!

      Reply
      • Pat says

        May 14, 2020 at 9:17 PM

        just to clarify – you are using the contact paper as the mat? Sticky side up

        Reply
        • Sue Ellen says

          May 19, 2020 at 8:53 AM

          yes

          Reply
  3. Deanna says

    January 13, 2020 at 7:59 PM

    Great idea about the contact paper, I have so much lint left on after cutting, it’s ridiculous. Now I tried to make the animal pouches from Cricut design space. It was taking so long to cut four pieces by the time you place the fabric etc. I finally just cut out the pattern pieces with freezer paper and then cut them out myself. It was a lot quicker and the lines are simple. I think the Cricut would work for intricate cuts but for something simple, I’ll just do it myself.

    Reply
    • Sue Ellen says

      January 14, 2020 at 12:20 PM

      That’s pretty much what I have decided too. Recently, I have been cutting appliques and it is wonderful for that. Thanks for your comment!

      Reply
  4. Reniece Knox says

    January 20, 2019 at 10:22 AM

    Great tips!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Do you love Primitive decorations and whimsical yard art? How about flower and vegetable gardening? Would you like to learn a new craft or buy something ready-made? Well, you’ve come to the right place! I wish you a warm hello and welcome you to come learn about us! Read More…

Newsletter and Resource Library

Don't miss out! Sign up for my newsletter and visit my resource library here.

Archives

  • November 2021
  • September 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Etsy

Pretty Chic Theme By: Pretty Darn Cute Design