Cutting Felt with Cricut; Tips and Tricks
I am felt obsessed! I love working with it. It is easy to sew with and even easier to use for no sew projects. The only part of felt that has driven me bonkers in the past is cutting felt. I don’t love taking scissors and cutting felt. It is hard to get right and make it look nice when you are cutting by hand. So this post will talk about felt cutting tools and how to cut felt the easy way! I have LOTS of tips and tricks for how to cut felt and spoiler alert, it involves your Cricut! Here are my tips and tricks for cutting felt with Cricut. Looking for a super fun felt Cricut project? Check out THESE adorable felt planner bookmarks.
Cutting Felt with Cricut; Tips and Tricks
If you are new to your Cricut I recommend you check out THIS course from Cori at Hey Lets Make Stuff. She is the master of all things Cricut! Then check out THESE must have Cricut supplies. If you are looking to cut fabric and not just felt, then THIS post is for you.
Can cricut cut felt? Will Cricut cut felt?
YES! You can cut felt with the Cricut Explore and the Cricut Maker. There are more options for cutting felt with your Maker but you can most definitely cut felt on most of your Cricut machines. The Cricut Maker is my go to felt cutting machine. Check out THESE felt bookmarks cut with the Cricut Maker.
How to cut felt on Cricut Explore?
To cut felt on the Cricut Explore (or even the Silhouette) you will have to bond the fabric. This means you will have to get some sort of fusible interfacing and attach it to the felt before you place it on the cutting mat.
This Heat N Bond is my go to for bonding felt. Use your Cricut EasyPress to bond the Heat N Bond to the felt. If you are using craft felt (that is thin and pliable) a bonded fabric blade will be plenty. If you are using a thicker felt you may need to use the deep cut blade.
Freezer paper method:
If you don’t want to use Heat N Bond to adhere the felt to something after it has been cut you can use the freezer paper method.
I use THIS freezer paper. There is a shiny side of the freezer paper. This needs to go face down on the felt. Then using an iron press the paper to the felt. This will give the fabric some stability but it is also removable.
Then place the freezer paper side down onto your mat. This will keep your mat clean and you can use a green mat instead of a fabric mat.
How to cut felt with Cricut Maker?
The Cricut Maker is my favorite felt cutting tool. You can cut felt without it being bonded. When you go to cut the felt in the Maker it will default to a deep cut blade. You can change it to a rotary blade (which I almost always do) by clicking switch blades underneath the image of the blade.
**Note- If you have already loaded your mat it will quickly skip over this step so you will have to click Step 2 and then click underneath the blade to change it.
Felt Cutting Tips
*Use your pink fabric mat if you plan to cut the felt directly on the mat. I recommend that you have one specifically for felt. I only cut directly on the mat when I am using a thicker felt (like this bundle from Target.)
*If you are cutting a thicker felt like that shown and mentioned above you may have to switch the pressure to “more.” To do that you will change the pressure under step 1. Click the arrow next to the word default and then scroll down to “more.” This should not be necessary for thinner craft felt.
*For thick felt I also recommend using the brayer to make sure that the felt is firmly attached to the mat. This will keep the felt from moving as the blade cuts. If the felt still moves too much it is probably time for a new mat.
*Before cutting, place transfer tape or contact paper, sticky side up, on the mat first. Then place the felt on top of the sticky side of transfer tape. This will help to keep your cutting mat clean and it will make it much easier to remove the felt from the cutting mat. You can use the blue, pink, or green mat if you are using a barrier.
*Don’t cut anything too intricate. The felt fibers are just not woven tightly enough to stand up to intricate cuts. Larger less detailed cuts will always do better. Be honest with yourself, if you cut an intricate design by hand from felt would it stand up, probably not!
*Use a spatula tool to remove the felt and transfer paper. I prefer to get the paper off with the felt rather than trying to scrape the paper off after the felt has been removed. The blade will cut through both the felt and the transfer paper.
Need some project ideas? Check these out:
Do you have more questions about cutting felt with Cricut? Share them with me in the comments below.
Zia Paige says
Hi, I have a Cricut Expression. What are your recommendations?
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Zia, many of the recommendations above apply. Use a fresh blade, don’t cut anything with that blade but felt. Use a stabilizer like freezer paper or Heat N Bond on the felt. Don’t pick a design that is too intricate because the blade will have a tough time getting all the details right. Do you have any specific questions I can answer?? Thanks for your comment! <3 Alicia
Tara Scrime says
I used my blue mat with contact paper and put my felt on it and cut using the rotary blade with my brand new Maker. I would not recommend this. It cut through all of it and left cut marks on the brand new blue mat! 🙁
I did’t adjust the setting I just put in the rotary blade prior to loading the mat. I used Kunin Premium felt from Joanns which is thicker than the cheaper felt.
Tamsin says
Same happened to me with the pink mat, craft felt and rotary blade. I read somewhere that the rotary isn’t great on small spaces (for me it was a little u style cut that was on the mat) so I’m wondering if I need the thick cut blade or knife for felt when cutting that shape? I think it would be fine with the rotary if I enlarge the design?
sewwhatalicia says
There is definitely a limit on how small you can cut. Too small and it won’t cut no matter which blade you use. Cricut recommends 3/4″ as the smallest cut the rotary blade will make.
Lola says
I would like to make felt succulent plants, do you think it would be too intricate? Thanks!
sewwhatalicia says
It really depends on what size you decide to make them. The smaller you go the more problems you will have with the intricate details. Also the more detailed you cut the larger it needs to be to get a good clean cut. So my non-answer is you will need to play around with it and see how it does. The good thing is that felt is really inexpensive!!! Please let me know how it goes, I would love to see them when you are done! <3 Alicia
Cindy says
Hi. Sorry if I am getting confused. So you don’t have to bond the felt with the Cricut Maker but you have to with the Cricut Explore? If using the Explore with bonded felt, how is the feel of the felt after cutting? Is it very sticky? Is very stiff? Would it still be possible to handsew pieces of felt together to make ornaments with stuffindlg inside?
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Cindy! Thanks for asking! When you bond the felt using Heat N Bond (the paper interfacing not the spray) it is not sticky. There is a thin layer of interfacing on the side with the Heat N Bond but it is not sticky. It just thickens up the felt giving the machine something to hang on to. You could still hand sew your ornaments but you will need to use a little more pressure to get through both layers. There is a Heat N Bond that is sewable which would make it slightly easier (affiliate link: https://amzn.to/2TOjUyC). Your ornament will be stiffer and hold it’s shape more so depending on the design it could be good or bad. Last I will say that even with the interfacing the straight blade on the Explore will struggle a bit with lots of curves and small intricate details. If you are wanting soft pliable felt with lots of detail once it is cut the Maker is hands down the best option, but if you already have the Explore and are looking for a workaround this method is definitely worth giving a shot!
Brittany Allen says
Hey Alicia, if I want to cut out felt with my cricut explore air 2 and then iron it in to a T-shirt, how would I do that? Do I need to reapply the heat bond or will the first time work when putting it on the mat? Sorry, new to cutting felt! Thank you for the help!
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Brittany. Will you be sewing the felt onto the shirt or do you just want to iron it on? If you are sewing it on I recommend using a lightweight Heat N Bond like this (affiliate https://amzn.to/2Eb2d7c). You will iron this on before you put the felt onto the cutting mat. Then once it is cut you can peel the paper off and iron it onto the shirt and then sew to hold in place. If you won’t be sewing I would go for the Soft Stretch Heat N Bond (affiliate https://amzn.to/2IhqBbf). The process is the same, press the Heat N Bond to the felt then place it on the cutting mat, cut your image, then iron to the shirt. I know you aren’t asking my opinion but I will give it, I always prefer to hold things in place with a stitch. The iron on adhesives are great but I really like the surety of a stitch to make sure the appliqué won’t move!
Brittany Allen says
Thanks Alicia! It’s actually for a one time event for my daughter (100 days of school!) so I probably won’t sew it on! Normally I would but I doubt she wears it again. I appreciate the helpfulness if your comment and original post. I got all of the supplies today and am half way through cutting it all. She’s going to love it!
sewwhatalicia says
Ahh then the Heat N Bond will be perfect!!! I would love to see pictures of the shirt when it is done!!
Mary says
Alicia, I too am confused. Do I need to use transfer tape on the Maker when cutting felt or is it a good idea to use the transfer tape to save the mat. I see that you have a large roll of transfer tape. May I ask what you use?
sewwhatalicia says
You don’t NEED to use the Heat N Bond when you use the Maker. I recommend you use it if you are making appliqués with the felt. You NEED to use it if you are cutting felt with the other machines that aren’t the Maker. The felt does dirty the fabric mat fairly quickly so using the Heat N Bond is a plus if you want to keep your mats clean. Does that clear up any confusion??
Mary says
Got it. Thanks!
Gill Ward says
Hi, I use my Maker to cut all my felt with no problems…. But, I the attempted to cut 3mm felt and it didn’t work out so well. I always use the rotary blade but you think the pressure was too light?
Sarah says
Hi I am new to cutting felt and want to use it for a project for school, I need to make a Felt board project and I have the explore air 2. my question is will the heat and bond be able to stick to the felt board like regular felt does? or should i mirror the image and have the heat and bond stick to the outside?
sewwhatalicia says
If I were you I would try using freezer paper. Press the freezer paper to the felt and then with the freezer paper side up try a few cuts. If you put the Heat N Bond on the front of the felt it will have a shiny film over the top and I don’t think you want that. If the freezer paper doesn’t work then you can try a small piece with the Heat N Bond on the back and see if it sticks to the other pieces of felt like you want it to. Hope that helps!
Hannah Helms says
Hey Alicia,
I am needing to cut felt letters that have sticky adhesive back for an art project for kiddos. I need a lot of the letters cut out and don’t have the time or energy to do it by hand. However, the peel off paper on the back of the felt needs to stay attached so that I can transport the letters and the kiddos can peel off the adhesive and attach it. Is there a way to do this with a cricut?
Thanks
Hannah
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Hannah,
You can definitely do this. What I would recommend is that you press some freezer paper to the right side of the felt. Then place the freezer paper down on the mat. You will have to mirror your letters so you cut them backwards since you are cutting from the back to the front. I hope that makes sense. Of course the rotary cutter on the maker is the best thing to cut the felt but I think this technique would also work with the Explore Air 2 and the straight blade. I hope that helps! Thanks for your question! <3 Alicia
Cathy B says
Alicia – first, thank you for the Q & As, I want to make felted flowers and I have a Cricut Explore 2, but I don’t want the Heat N Bond on the back, because you will see it when you roll the felt into a flower. Can you pull Heat N Bond off? Now I wish I had spent the extra money and purchased the Maker….any ideas?
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Cathy,
Try pressing freezer paper to the felt in lieu of Heat N Bond. The freezer paper will stick with heat and then peel off after you have cut the felt. The EA2 will cut felt but you may have some spots that you have to finish with scissors or touch up. I also recommend that you not make the flowers too small, the smaller the cut the less likely you are to have success. I hope this helps! <3 Alicia
Bobbie Bolton says
Good morning. I have the cricut explore air 2. I am trying to cut a pig out of felt for a 4H project for my child’s club. What would you recommend bonding the felt to and how? I do not have the press machine you mentioned above so any other suggestions would be much appreciated!
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Bobbie,
You don’t have to have the EasyPress. You can use your iron to bond the felt. If you want the pig to have a sticky side that can be attached/appliqued to something (ie a shirt or tote) then I recommend you use the Heat N Bond. If you want just felt with nothing attached as your finished project I recommend you use freezer paper to bond the felt and then simply peel the paper away once the pig is cut. I hope that helps! <3 Alicia
Joy says
Thank you so much for all these tips. I have a roll of transfer tape like yours, but I have no idea where I got it from or who made it. Could you tell me where to find it again?
sewwhatalicia says
Hi Joy! The paper transfer tape in this roll can be found at Expressions Vinyl, (affiliate) http://shrsl.com/1r3jp
<3 Alicia
SHAUN Coyne says
I need to cut 3mm or 1/8 wool felt in just plain 2″ circles. What do you recommend?
sewwhatalicia says
Do you have a Maker or an Explore Air 2?
Melissa says
Hello! I purchased the Cricut Explorer Air 2 this past weekend, So I am feeling overwhelmed with everything this machine has to offer. I am trying to make felt bows but every time it gets bunched up. I have used heat and bond and even taped the top of the felt to hold it down. I don’t own a brayer but I try to get it adhered to the mat pretty well. My felt is good quality which I ordered from a company. I need help
sewwhatalicia says
I’d be happy to help. You can shoot me an email or message on my Facebook page.
Kathleen says
Contact paper to protect the mat is genius!! That’s exactly why I had been avoiding using my cricut for felt and I was really wanting to since it’s silly to cut by hand when I have a cricut. Thank you for such a helpful post!
Rachel says
if I want to use my easy press with the freezer paper, what temp should I set it at?
sewwhatalicia says
Start on the cooler side and give it a try. I would start at 300 and see how that worked. If it isn’t enough you could go up in 20 degree increments.
Libby says
Can I ask, what do you mean by “thick” felt? I would love to cut felt 5mm thick at the maximum, but have discovered cricut only goes to 2?
What are your thoughts on this?
Thank you!!
sewwhatalicia says
For a 5mm felt you might be able to try the knife blade on the Maker, it says it can cut 3mm craft foam so it MIGHT be able to work with a 5mm felt. <3 Alicia
Christine says
I love your article. I found it very helpful since I am waiting for my Cricut Air 2 to arrive and want to learn what this machine can do.