The Ultimate Guide for Cricut Maker

The Ultimate Guide for Cricut Maker

Anyone who has been handcrafted for some time knows the magic that Cricut machines can do. From the most complex cutting to the best iron processing, these machines will not disappoint you. You may have many questions when choosing the suitable Cricut machine. There are many machines to choose from on the market, which may cause some confusion for you! Although it is a good thing to have multiple choices, it is not easy to compare Cricut machines and choose the best machine because browsing hundreds of Cricut machine reviews on e-commerce websites is really a difficult job. You want to make the best crafting decision of your life. So, you might be wondering which Cricut machine is the best? Which Cricut machine should I buy? How to use a cricut maker? Don't worry, in fact, there are three main Cricut cutting machines on the market that are the most popular, which are Cricut Maker, Cricut Explore Air 2 and Cricut Joy. In order to make your work easier, in this article, we will mainly introduce the most popular one - Cricut Maker.

cricut.maker

What is a Cricut Maker?

Cricut is an electronic cutting machine brand that allows DIY enthusiasts and manufacturers to create professional-looking projects at home. The Cricut machine can cut, draw, print and cut, score, dent, engrave, perforate and add foil details according to the model. They have the ability to cut wood and thick leather, as well as high-quality paper and fabrics. And they are also very precise. If you stick 2 layers of butterfly tape together, they can cut through the top layer and the bottom is completely intact. All of these can be used on the kitchen table with small equipment.

Cricut Maker is Cricut's top cutting machine, the most powerful Cricut machine for professional DIYer. Compatible with more than 12 tools for cutting, writing, scoring and other professional-level effects, it looks similar to the "Machine" exploration series, but it was redesigned from the bottom up. It has many functions that other Cricut machines do not have. It enables you to create a variety of products from paper crafts to leather projects.

Cricut Maker

Cricut Maker uses a slim Rotary Blade to cut unbonded fabrics (so, you don't need stabilizers like Cricut Explore series products). It can also cut felt very well, so if you want to make felt crafts, then this is your machine.

Cricut Maker also uses a blade to cut thicker materials (maximum 3/32 inches), such as balsa wood and thick leather. It can use the scoring wheel to score various materials (higher than the scoring stylus).

One of the most striking features of Cricut Maker is its extensible tool suite, which will evolve with you as your expertise grows. Cricut Maker's adaptive tool system is built with scalability in mind, which means that the system is built to use tools that Cricut has not yet thought of! They have 12 other tools in the test-so this machine will do more and more as new tools are released, such as engraving tools, embossing tools, wave rotating tools, perforation tools.

The rotating blade of this machine has both rolling function and sliding function, so it can easily cut through any fabric without backing material. There is no doubt that it is the best Cricut machine for any kind of fabric.

It also has hundreds of digital sewing patterns and convenient functions, such as docking stations and USB ports. If this is not enough, you can use this machine to access it via a smartphone or computer.

If you are a serious craftsman who likes to use all kinds of materials, or you are a sewing lover, an avid paper artist, or even a carpenter, then this machine is for you.


How to Use Cricut Maker?

If you don't know how to start with your new Cricut Maker, then you are the right place! Using Cricut Maker to create a project from start to finish is daunting for novices, but once you master the skills, you will find how interesting it is.

How to Use Cricut Maker?

How to use cricut maker? The first thing you need to do is to unbox your Cricut Maker machine and find the location to put it. Since Cricut requires a specific space, choose it wisely. You better have a dedicated location, so you don't have to move it continuously from one room to another.

Remove all packaging materials, and then open them. Don't forget to plug in the power source. The next important step is to connect to the Internet. It is best to establish a wireless connection with your device. Cricut can choose to use a power cord to connect to the device or without it.

After connecting your Cricut to the Internet, you need to update the software. Since Bluetooth is very slow, using a power cord is recommended instead. If you want to use the wireless option, it will take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete the update.

Your Cricut machine is running. The next step is to pair it with your device. The beauty of Cricut lies in the software. You can use it on any device. In addition, you don't need to keep updating. The software engineer performs this operation in the background. Cricut's software is called Cricut Design Space, which is a web-based program. This is why you don't have to worry about the latest. After registering an account and device, you can start.

Now choose the right material for cutting. Cricut Maker can cut more than 100 materials. This is not a trivial matter. Because it has such a powerful cutting ability, you can use harder materials as well as balsa wood and particleboard.

Next choose a material and master it. For example, you can cut vinyl and paper first, and then check the fabric cutting. Choose a simple project to start using Cricut Design Space. Cricut provides a series of great Design Spaces for the beginner tutorials here to help you get started right away! You can even start exploring Cricut Design Space before getting a new Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore. The amazing Cricut community and creative resources will inspire you here. Open a ready-made project and play with some moving things, try some interesting colors and fonts.

It is the easiest to learn apply heat transfer vinyl on the market today. Since the learning curve is small, you can easily complete the project. But Cricut heat transfer vinyl is expensive, there are many affordable but have the same quality vinyl like HTVRONT vinyl.

Let's keep it simple. Choose a shape or write some text and get this Cricut humming. You have selected the design and materials to be used, and now you are in the cutting process. Before starting it, we need to do a few things.

Choose the right tool for the job. If you want to draw, you need to insert a pen tool, if you want to cut, you need to add a cutting blade. As a beginner of Cricut Maker, you don't need all the spare parts to start your first project. However, Cricut has designed some great tools to make everything so simple. Weeders, spatulas, scrapers and tweezers are very useful in many ways, such as lifting vinyl and complex paper designs, using transfer belts, cleaning debris on the mat, and more!

Here, we need to choose the correct settings. Once completed, the next step is to insert the cushion. Cricut has many cushions for different purposes.

Remove the cushion cover and keep it nearby, because it is best to cover it after finishing the work. If you don't do this, it will accumulate dust and debris, and it will quickly lose its stickiness.

If you find that the mat is no longer sticky, there are two solutions. You can clean it to see if it has regained its stickiness, otherwise, you can use an adhesive spray. Now, my recommendation is to use an adhesive spray after every 4-5 washes.

In this way, you can prepare the sticky pad, and then add the materials you want to use. Suppose you are using vinyl. Add vinyl to the mat, then use the Cricut squeegee tool to squeeze out the air bubbles. This is important because if you don't do this, you may ruin your design.

Load the cushion into the machine. The Cricut smart cutting machine is really impressive: it guides you through every step from selecting the material to loading the pad to using the correct blade! There are flashing buttons to help you guide the whole process. Simplicity have always existed.

When finished, you click the start button. What I forgot to mention is that Cricut Maker supports 2x speed. The specific design can be completed in half the time. This applies to simple shapes. If your design is complex, it is best to stick to an average speed.

Before Cricut actually starts the job, it checks whether you have the correct tool in the slot. When using the cutting blade, make sure to set the depth to the desired depth. Now you can sit down and let Cricut Maker do the work. After the job is complete, remove the mat and remove the vinyl. You need to remove excess material. This step is called weeding. After this is done, you can apply the vinyl on the surface you want, such as t-shirts and other fabrics.

How to use a cricut maker? Let's repeat it, here are your steps:


  • 1. Unboxing machine
  • 2. Connect to the Internet and update the software
  • 3. Connect the Cricut Maker to the device that will be used
  • 4. Register on the Design Space
  • 5. Choose the specific design
  • 6. Load the mat into the Cricut Maker
  • 7. Starting cutting 8. Remove the mat
  • 9. Weeding excess material
  • 10. Apply it to the desired surface

  • After that, you will need a heat press machine to transfer the design to objective surface. Here are some guides you may want to take a look:

    Full Guide to Cricut EasyPress Series: How to Pick for Your Need?

     

    What Can You Make with Cricut?

    They can be used to make clothing, cards, home decorations, models, scrapbook decorations, stickers, banners, tags, toys, gifts and more. From classic vinyl decals to complex sewing patterns, below are 15 Cricut Maker projects you can do. If you need more ideas, visit our Cricut project page to get 100+ real-life projects and tutorials.

    Vinyl decals
    The first hobby is cutting vinyl decals and stickers. It can cut through any vinyl material easily and quickly-all you have to do is create the design in Cricut Design Space, instruct the machine to start cutting, then weed and transfer the design to the surface of your choice.

    Fabric tailoring
    One of the main selling points of Maker is the new Rotary Blade. Thanks to the unique sliding and rolling action-plus the huge 4kg force behind the Cricut Maker-this means that the machine can cut almost any fabric. And it is also equipped with a fabric cutting mat, so you can cut hundreds of fabrics without using any base fabric.

    Sewing pattern
    Another major advantage of Maker is the absolutely huge sewing pattern library, which you can use after purchasing the machine. This definitely contains hundreds of patterns, including some patterns from Simplicity and Riley Blake Designs, which means you can easily choose the pattern you want, and the Maker will cut it out for you. You no longer need manual cut mode yourself (and no more human errors)!

    Homemade card
    Papersmiths are not excluded from the maker. Thanks to the powerful functions and accuracy of the machine, paper cutting and card cutting will be easier and faster than ever. Your self-made cards have just reached a level.

    T-shirt transfer
    Of course, Circut Maker will be a good helper for cutting your heat transfer vinyl, allowing you to transfer the design to the fabric. All you need to do is to design the transfer in Design Space, apply heat transfer vinyl on the fabric (if you like shiny things, you can even use glitter HTV), tell the machine to start cutting, and then transfer the transfer to T-shirt.

    Jewelry making
    If you want to get involved in jewelry making while handicraft cutting, you should definitely try to combine the two at some point. The power of Cricut Maker means that you can cut thicker materials that are more suitable for complex jewelry patterns than before. Although you are unlikely to cut gold, silver or diamonds there in the short term, you can definitely buy a pair of beautiful leather earrings.

    Wedding invitation
    We all know how "small" expenses such as invitations and STDs can increase the huge cost of a wedding. Cricut Maker is perfect for issuing exquisite invitations-you can cut out intricate paper designs.

    Coloring book
    Do you know those "fun coloring" books that are all the rage now? Well, if you are not willing to waste cash on cash, why not use Cricut Maker to create your own cash?

    All you need is paper, card and anti-cracking design. Then, just order the manufacturer to use the Fine-Point pen tool to create your own, completely unique coloring book.

    Coaster
    We can't wait to use the coasters created by the brand new Maker. In terms of materials, the whole world is your oyster-from leather to quilt, to metal sheet, and everything in between. There are also some great coaster patterns in the sewing library, you can also check it out.

    Fabric key ring
    There are also some simple designs for fabric keychains that caught our attention in the sewing pattern library. Again, the maker can do it easily-just cut out the pattern and sew it together.

    Headband and hair accessories
    Now that Cricut has released a machine that can cut through thick skins, we already have some brilliant ideas, with steampunk-style complex hair accessories and even headbands.

    Cut out Christmas tree
    We know that everyone wants to have a real Christmas tree during the holiday season. But just in case your living room doesn't have space for tall trees, or, my goodness, you are allergic to pine trees and you may want to create your own tree.

    Cake topper
    Do you remember Cricut introduced the "cake" paper cutter? It is used to create shapes made of gum, gum paste, etc. Cricut Maker is not a special cake machine like Cake, but we think it is just a machine for creating small and complex paper crafts, we can use it to decorate cakes.

    Refrigerator magnet
    Just like the Cricut Explore machine, manufacturers can also cut magnetic materials. Good news for magnet collectors and people who like to show off their refrigerators.

    Gift tag
    Gift tags are another annoying expense that can increase rapidly over time, especially during the holiday season. But with Cricut, you no longer need to buy those cheesy tags-just make them yourself! Just add card stock.


    How to Make Shirts with Cricut?

    Have you ever thought of using heat transfer vinyl and Cricut Maker to make custom T-shirts? For beginners, this is also a good choice, because it is very simple! You can customize special T-shirts for family members to wear at a family party, or surprise your child on his or her birthday. This must be a special gift! How to make shirts with Cricut is a complete guide to customizing a T-shirt and any other processes involving heat transfer vinyl. For the project tutorial, there is a step-by-step process of applying HTV to T-shirts from beginning to end.

     How to Make Shirts with Cricut?

    How to Make Stickers with Cricut?

    Stickers can be used to decorate rooms, for commercial purposes, as signs to promote business, services or brands in vehicles, sandwich boards or in stores. Usually, crafters use stickers for cups. Stickers are not only great for labeling supplies that you send your child to school, but also for all items provided by teachers or schools that may not be taken home. You can also involve children in designing and making their own stickers. After completing the operation, they will be very excited! Detailed guide on how to make stickers with Cricut machines such as Cricut Maker or Cricut Explore Air 2 can be found to make the most beautiful stickers.

    How to Make Stickers with Cricut?

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