Archive for the ‘Fabric Cutting’ Category

I started with this pretty fabric that I got on sale at  Joann’s.  I cut it to the size that I needed and then laid the pretty side down against a towel.

My friend makes quilts and she said she uses heat n bond on fabric all the time.  She said it was in the fabric department at Wal-Mart.  Thinking that it was in the fabric section I looked all over for it.  It turns out it is in the sewing section on the shelf.  My friend picked this roll up for me and it was only $9.00 on clearance.

I cut down a piece to be just smaller then the fabric and ironed it on per the directions.

I placed the fabric design side up on my cricut mat.

I used a butterfly from the Storybook cartridge and cut it with my regular blade, max speed, max pressure MULTI CUT 2. I have a new blade, you may need to do a  multi cut 3 if you are using an older blade or thicker material.  It cut the butterfly PERFECT!!!  No fraying our anything.  This is not only perfect for T-Shirts but anything like quilts or baby blankets wold be awesome as well.

After I pealed off the heat bond paper backing it leaves a shiny surface that is the glue that adheres the design to the fabric.  I am using my Iphone for pictures since my husband has my digital camera, I am not sure if you can really see it but here is a picture of the back.

I did not want to spend a lot of money on T-shirts incase the fabric painting on another post, or this heat n bond experiment did not turn out.  I picked up a cheap pack of 3t t-shirts to fit my daughter.  I ironed the design on per the heat n bond directions.  It turned out very nice. I wish that I would have used a higher quality t-shirts.  The next time Joann’s has them on sale for 5 for 10.00 I will be there because it turned out perfect!

I found this video on YouTube so I thought that I would give it a try.

I decided to just start with something semi easy.  The Tinkerbell from the Tinkerbell cartridge.  I followed the directions in the video except I used blade depth of 4 Instead of 5 because with a new blade, the 5 depth kept tearing.  I did not want to spend a lot of money on t-shirts in case this project did not turn out.  And this design had several little pieces so I used the tip of my iron real quick on it to tack them down as I was piecing it together so they did not keep moving on me.  Then ironed the whole thing as the video suggested.  I ended up just buying a 5 pack of cheap t-shirts that have a light ribbing in them.  I don’t recommend them for fabric painting because in a few places the fabric paint did not settle in the groove of the ribbing and it slightly pealed when I went to remove the freezer paper but other then that it is awesome.   I a going to get some higher quality t-shirts next time they go on sale at Joann’s.  They have a 5 for 10.00 sale every so often.

Here I put my fabric paint on a left over piece of the freezer paper.

Here is a picture after I applied the fabric paint.

This is the finished design.  I think that it turned out well.  It does need to be a higher quality shirt  because the bottom pealed up a little bit but other then that, my daughter can wear this with no problems.

I have a few pieces of fabric that I got from Joanns.  My first attempt at cutting fabric with the cricut  is documented here.  I have seen a few videos on YouTube regarding cutting fabric with the cricut.   I know that it is possible, I just was not sure that I could figure it out.  On another wonderful trip to Joann’s and a pocket full of coupons I decided to try a few more types of fusible interfacing.  Just one search at Joann.com for fusible interfacing and your eyes will go gaga.  I decided to try the Pellon Clear Fuse 800 this time around.  So far this is my number one.  I think it turned out perfect.  The fabric stuck wonderfully to the mat and there was hardly any fraying around the edges.

I tried again to use the same white interfacing that I tried the first time around on the saying below.  It worked better this time since I used a new blade but it still had fraying around the ends of the cut out.

I  also tested some type of vinyl that attaches to the fabric that worked poorly.  The fabric tore and did not cut properly and the vinyl started coming off on one side of the cut.  The other interfacing products came with detailed instructions and the vinyl did not so I am not even sure if I did it correctly.  For now, I am in love with Pellon Clear fuse 800.  It fuses to any weight fabric, has no grain and can be attached in any direction and most importantly is machine washable and can be dry cleaned.

If you decide to give the Pellon Clear fuse 800 a try I have a few tips.  First, iron your fabric so it is flat.  Make sure you don’t have any Pellon sticking out around your fabric.  It will melt if you touch it with your iron (please don’t ask how I know :0) After you have attached and ironed the Pellon, leave it cool in the same spot with out moving it.  I moved mine before it cooled and it wrinkled the fabric so I had to iron it again.  I hope this helps anyone looking to cut fabric on the cricut.

If you would like to see my other post regarding cutting fabric on your cricut, please click here.

This was my first attempt at cutting fabric with my expression machine.  I got some fusable craft interfacing and fabric from Joanns.  I think that I should have replaced my blade.  I did it on pressure six and multi cut.  The skull is from the Indie Art cartridge.