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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!
Prepping and Cutting Fabric
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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!
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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.
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!
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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.
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…..
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 other post!
Getting to Know My New Cricut Maker
Quilt Ruler Holder
Personalized QR Code and Sound Wave Frame
Hi would contact paper with fabric work on an explore ?
I do not have an Explorer, but I think it should do ok. The maker cuts fabric in addition to what the Explorer does.
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.
Place the paper with the sticky side up. Peel the cover sheet off and use the sticky side as the mat. Good luck!
just to clarify – you are using the contact paper as the mat? Sticky side up
yes
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.
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!
Great tips!