This week I've been playing and experimenting with an electric cutting machine called the Cricut Maker and it's been so fun! I've done just a couple of small projects on it so far but already I have a long list of things to try. Today I wanted to share a little of what I know about it, and what it can do!
First of all, the packaging is beautiful! I love that as soon as you open the box you're greeted with the supplies and instructions stepping you through your first project. I felt like someone was sitting right next to me holding my hand through the whole process- and I was so grateful!
One big bonus for me with this machine was that no extra cutting dies are needed - everything is digital.
Within just a few minutes I had the Cricut Maker connected by USB to my desktop computer and the Cricut Design Space software was up and running. You can also connect it to a phone or tablet by bluetooth - now THAT will be handy!
By the time I finished that first project, I felt confident enough to try anything! I browsed through the other free project ideas and thought I'd try making this fabric ball.
I could use the instructions right from my screen, or print it out to be able to refer to it that way. It told me exactly what I needed - including what Cricut supplies I'd use.
With the Cricut Maker you get access to a whole library of hundreds of patterns from companies like Riley Blake and Simplicity. Some are free and some may cost a few dollars. So many projects to choose from- or you can create your own!
For the ball I only needed three fabrics, 9" x 12". I placed the first fabric right side down onto the FabricGrip cutting mat. It's just slightly sticky so that the fabric doesn't shift - but it's still easy to remove once the cutting is done, and doesn't leave any residue on the fabric.
The machine uses a small rotary cutter blade that does a fantastic job cutting the fabric. That innovative tool is the reason why the Cricut Maker can cut regular cotton fabric without needing a stabilizer or interfacing (such as Heat n Bond). You can also cut different weights of fabric such as denim and silk.
This photo below is from the Cricut Design Space. You can see on the left side that I needed to cut three mats. In the center screen it shows me the different fabrics I can choose from. Depending on what I choose, the machine will automatically adjust the height and pressure of the blade!
For this project, the Cricut first marked blue lines with the washable fabric marking pen, and then (without me doing anything!) it went back over the same fabric and cut the pieces using the rotary cutter.
You can see in the image above that there are spots for two different tools - on the right is the small rotary cutter and on the left is a washable fabric marking pen. Both of these tools can be swapped out for other ones - such as a variety of pens, a knife blade and a scoring stylus - all depending on the project!
Once the cutting is complete, simply peel up the fabric and it comes right off the mat. That was the funnest part for me- and to be honest, it felt a little magical.
It took only maybe 4-5 minutes for the machine to cut all of the pieces out, and once they were cut it was time for sewing!
Now this is where the blue marked lines come in really handy! I pinned my pieces together and then just stitched right on the blue lines. I knew exactly where to start and stop stitching, and that helped the ends of the ball turn out beautifully!
Within about 90 minutes I had a finished ball!
To be honest, I never would have attempted a project like this before because it would have been a challenge to accurately cut the curved pieces needed. Plus if the seam allowance is off at all then the points won't match up so nicely at the top and bottom of the ball. I just imagined it to be one big frustrating mess. Using the Cricut Maker to cut and mark everything though, removed the frustrations.
My kids are drooling over this machine and have already made a list of projects they want to make with it - most involving balsa wood, cardstock and vinyl. It will be fun to put the Cricut Maker to the test on something other than my usual quilting cotton fabrics.
You can read more information about the Cricut Maker here, and find inspiration here on the Cricut Blog to see what else you can do with a Cricut Maker!
I'm already working on my next project... and here's a sneak peek!
Happy sewing!
--Andy
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