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Tutorial: Cutting Heat-N-Bond Adhered Fabric with the Cricut

Sew Woodsy: Tutorial: Cutting Heat-N-Bond Adhered Fabric with the Cricut

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Tutorial: Cutting Heat-N-Bond Adhered Fabric with the Cricut

I am a fairly "new" owner of a cricut. I've had mine for less than a year and have already done so much with it! From cutting paper to vinyl, and now fabric! I'll walk you through some steps on how to cut fabric with your cricut using an iron-on adhesive.

1. First practice on paper to make sure that you achieve the size(s) you want before wasting your iron-on adhesive/fabric. You will also want a brand new or very sharp blade, and a brand new mat. I've recently dedicated one of my mat's and blades to cutting fabric only. That way I don't have to go out and buy new materials each time. 


2. Make sure that the chosen fabric to cut is pre-washed and DO NOT use fabric softener. After you have washed your fabric, adhere Heat-n-Bond ultrahold to your fabric. Pre-heat iron to medium heat, NO steam. Cut your fabric and heat-n-bond to fit the size of your cricut mat. Make sure that you give a little extra room on your material to compensate for when you iron on the heat-n-bond. You do not want to get the heat-n-bond on your ironing board!  Place adhesive on back of material to be bonded (paper liner should face up). Place and hold iron on the paper liner for 2 seconds. Repeat until entire surface is bonded. Allow to cool. *You can purchase Heat-n-Bond in the fabric store, or they also sell it in the crafting section at Wal*mart (typically 1 yard for $3). Heat-n-Bond comes in a variety of strengths. I prefer the ultrahold since you know you'll be washing this and will want it to withhold heavy duty usage!


3. Peel the paper backing off the fabric and adhere it to the mat (adhesive side down). If you leave the white liner on the fabric and then adhere it onto your mat it will end up getting messed up when you start cutting (i.e., bunching; not all of the cut will come through). Make sure that the fabric is smooth and is adhered well to the mat.


4. Set your cricut blade on 5, the speed on the lowest and the pressure to max. This will ensure that the cricut will not go too fast and pull the fabric off the mat. Load your mat into the cricut and begin to cut. Once your done cutting... carefully remove your heat-n-bond fabric from the mat with a cricut spatula.


5. Place the material, adhesive side down, on top of your project. Press and hold iron for 8 seconds on each section until the entire piece is bonded. *Make sure that you leave the iron in one place for a few seconds to ensure the cut-out hasn't moved. 


*Make sure to always read the heat-n-bond directions since times may vary depending on what type of fabric is being used. All directions given above are for cotton materials. 


Here is one other example of a t-shirt I transformed by cutting out fabric adhered to heat-n-bond with my cricut, and adding spunk to a shirt that was full of hole's and in the goodwill pile! 

Have fun playing with cutting heat-n-bond adhered fabric on the cricut!



Linked to: Craftgawker, Blue Cricket Designs, Oops, I craft my pants

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19 Comments:

At August 15, 2010 at 1:06 PM , Blogger craftymrs said...

I've been a passionate cricut user for 2 years and still feel like I'm "new". I have never tried cutting fabric. Great tutorial I will come back to this when I get around my phobia of fabric cutting!

 
At August 15, 2010 at 8:45 PM , Blogger Katie said...

OMG! Do not be intimidated by this... so easy! Hope you'll follow the blog!

 
At August 20, 2010 at 9:18 AM , Blogger Steph Jacobson said...

I didn't know you could cut fabric with a Cricut. I still have trouble cutting paper and cardstock with mine. I was so frustrated with my Cricut I packed it back in the box and haven't used it since! Your project is adorable.

 
At August 20, 2010 at 10:43 PM , Blogger Together24 said...

I LOVE doing this!!!! I make shirts for my daughter and personalized onesies for all my friends!!

 
At August 20, 2010 at 11:45 PM , Blogger Trinity Whitley said...

So maybe I don't know enough about the heat bond stuff... will the fabric fray once it's washed? I just worry about the small cuts, like the birds legs in your example.

Subscribing via Google reader now :-)

 
At August 22, 2010 at 12:07 AM , Blogger Ruth said...

Can you do this with felt?

 
At August 25, 2010 at 3:22 PM , Blogger Katie said...

stephjacobson--don't be frustrated. It just takes a lot of practice figuring out what speed and depth you need for various papers. I still mess up on cuts and I've been using mine religiously for a year now!

Trinity Whitley-always wash the fabric first before placing the heat-n-bond on it. I've washed my tshirt a few times and no fraying!

Ruth--not sure about felt... but give it a try and iron it onto something you don't care about.

 
At August 25, 2010 at 9:34 PM , Blogger Pati @ A Crafty Escape said...

Super neat- can't wait to try this out!

 
At August 28, 2010 at 2:39 PM , Blogger Rebekah said...

I love this shirt! What a great idea and a fabulous way to save clothes from the throwaway pile.

Rebekah

 
At August 30, 2010 at 3:35 PM , Blogger BlondieBlueEyes said...

SO SO CUTE!! What a great gift.

 
At November 5, 2010 at 11:42 AM , Blogger Unknown said...

Im haveing a problem with the fabric rolling up when I wash my creations. Any suggestions?

 
At January 1, 2011 at 10:56 AM , Blogger Ashkaitlin said...

Great idea! Love it!

 
At January 17, 2011 at 12:36 PM , Blogger Crystal said...

awesome! my girlfriend and I were just talking this morning about using the cricut to do this and planning to try it out! I'm so glad I came across this.

P.S. thanks for coming to follow me on my blog :)

 
At May 6, 2011 at 8:21 AM , Anonymous Carissa said...

Im haveing a problem with the fabric rolling up when I wash my creations. Any suggestions?

 
At May 6, 2011 at 8:21 AM , Anonymous Katie said...

stephjacobson--don't be frustrated. It just takes a lot of practice figuring out what speed and depth you need for various papers. I still mess up on cuts and I've been using mine religiously for a year now!

Trinity Whitley-always wash the fabric first before placing the heat-n-bond on it. I've washed my tshirt a few times and no fraying!

Ruth--not sure about felt... but give it a try and iron it onto something you don't care about.

 
At May 6, 2011 at 8:21 AM , Anonymous Together24 said...

I LOVE doing this!!!! I make shirts for my daughter and personalized onesies for all my friends!!

 
At May 6, 2011 at 8:21 AM , Anonymous craftymrs said...

I've been a passionate cricut user for 2 years and still feel like I'm "new". I have never tried cutting fabric. Great tutorial I will come back to this when I get around my phobia of fabric cutting!

 
At July 25, 2011 at 11:28 PM , Blogger Amanda @ The Little Giggler said...

OMG!!! I got a cricut for Christmas last year. I didn't know it can cut fabric! I feel like I just got another awesome gift! Thank you for sharing!! I love using appliques, but I always cut a stencil first. You just saved me so much time. THANK YOU!!

 
At July 26, 2011 at 6:42 PM , Anonymous Angie @Gathered and Sown said...

I just jumped back here after seeing your comment on my blog...thanks, by the way ;)

I have been wanting to do fabric in my cricut for the LONGEST time, and now finally have someone to show me how to! I will be bookmarking this tutorial....

 

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