Calling all Cricuters! I’ve got 8 Simple Cricut hacks to make you a better and more efficient Cricuter! Whether you’re just starting out with a Cricut, or you’ve made more crafts than you can count, everyone can learn something new from these great tips and tricks.
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1. Keep Your Mats Clean!
There’s nothing worse than being down to your last cut of the day on your last piece of vinyl and having the whole thing move because your mat just isn’t sticky enough! The first of these Cricut Hacks is a simple one: A clean mat will make sure that your material stays in place while cutting it. Start gently with your flat scraper to remove large debris, and after that there are a couple very popular methods people use to clean their mats:
Baby Wipes!
Yes, that’s right! Baby Wipes are great for cleaning your mats because they’re soft and damp enough to clean your mat without harming the mat or its stickiness. Just make sure the wipes you buy are bleach and alcohol free or it will damage the stickiness of the mat.
Lint Rollers!
Lint rollers are great tools for cleaning your mats. They can grab stuff you cant get off with baby wipes or with your scraper. Roll it over the surface slowly to remove tough stuck on bits of whatever. Also, some of the stickiness from the roller can be transferred to your mat just by using it!
Sometimes, though, there’s really no better feeling than peeling a big piece of vinyl off of a brand new, fresh mat. I like to buy a new mat every so often because nothing works better than a brand new mat.
2. Make Your Mat Sticky Again!
Next up on our list of Cricut Hacks, Now you cleaned your mat, but it’s still old and not that sticky! Well, you can easily solve that problem by using an adhesive spray like Krylon Easytack.
First, tape off the edges of your mat with painters tape so they don’t get sticky. A Mat that’s sticky in the wrong places can damage your machine. All you have to do is make sure you clean your mat well, then remove any remaining stickiness with rubbing alcohol or Goo Gone and scrape off any residue left.
Once it’s all clean, spray the surface evenly to coat it with the adhesive spray. Follow the instructions on the label for the best results.
Finally, wait 15-20 minutes for your spray to cure. Now you have a wonderfully sticky mat again!
Sometimes, though, there’s really no better feeling than peeling a big piece of vinyl off of a brand new, fresh mat. I like to buy a new mat every so often because nothing works better than a brand new mat. They’re also very reasonably priced, with 3 packs sometimes going on sale for less than $10.
3. Get The Right Tools
Number 3 on our list of Cricut Hacks is a real time saver. I can’t tell you how much time I spent fumbling around with good enough weeding tools when I could have made a small investment in myself and had the right tool for every job within easy reach. Buy some good tools to really increase your productivity and start making money.
I really like the Cricut Essential Tool Set. It comes with 7 pieces and includes all the tools you need to slice, snip, score, weed, burnish, and trim a wide variety of materials. Perfect for vinyl, paper, iron-on projects and more. It also comes with a really handy vinyl cutter to quickly cut your vinyl to size off of the roll
4. Keep Your Blade Sharp!
There’s one feeling that’s even worse than when your material moves on you: when you’ve been waiting forever for your Cricut to cut an intricate design with delicate features, you go to weed and the material didn’t actually get cut through! Avoid this buy changing your Cricut Blade whenever it starts to get tougher to weed your designs. If you’re in a quick pinch, though, you can use this Cricut Hack and poke your blade into a ball of aluminum foil a few times to sharpen it up. It definitely won’t make it just as good as new, but it might buy you another day if you need something done now.
5. Buy A Good Heat Press!
This may not be a true Cricut Hack, but it is still very important if you want to make quality products, Don’t keep using that tiny iron to try to make T Shirts and Clothing. A good heat press makes your designs last longer and look nicer. If you use an iron, your designs probably wont hold up to the wash well.
If you plan on using your Cricut for business use, you’ll definitely want to invest in a heat press. Heat presses are best for a lot of reasons.
Accurate Temperature
Heat presses are better than irons because you can precisely set the temperature. This is important because HTV must be applied at an exact temperature (305° F / 150° C for Siser Easyweed HTV). Irons let you set the temperature based on fabric type (cotton, linen, wool, etc.) but they don’t give you a numerical reading. It’s a great idea to buy a digital laser infrared thermometer gun to ensure your heat press is heating correctly.
Even Heat Distribution
You need to have even heat distribution when applying your HTV. You don’t want one part of your machine to be really hot, and another part to have cold spots. One of the most common problems with cheaper heat presses is that they don’t have even heat distribution.
Even Pressure
It’s important to have the correct pressure, (light, medium, or heavy) for your substrate and material. You need to know pressure will be evenly applied evenly and at the right strength. Pushing down with a hand iron will not give you the same pressure that you will get with a heat press. Irons are much smaller than heat presses, so you’ll have to press the garment several times to cover the design. You’ll likely end up with uneven lines in the vinyl from this, too. HTV applied with an iron would not hold up in the wash as well either compared to if it were applied with a heat press.
Digital Timer
HTV needs to be applied for a specific duration of time (10-15 seconds for Siser Easyweed HTV). You don’t want to be fumbling around with a phone timer or trying to count in your head.
Having incorrect temperature, heat distribution, pressure, or time will cause the HTV to peel off your garment.
Clamshell or Swing Away Heat Press?
There are two main types of heat presses: Clamshell or Swing Away.
Clamshell Heat Presses are machines that open and close like a clam. The top platen raises approximately 45 degrees and lowers until you make contact with the bottom platen at which point you snap the press closed. I don’t like this style because you are more likely to get accidentally burned.
Swing Away Heat Presses are designed so that the upper platen swings away from the lower platen, rather than hinging up and down like a clamshell. It’s easier to adjust your garments with the burning hot platen moved out of the way.
Heat presses come in many different sizes. If you are planning on making shirts, you’ll want to get a heat press of at least 15 by 15 inches.
Having incorrect temperature, heat distribution, pressure, or time will cause the HTV to peel off your garment.
6. Buy VLR Vinyl Remover in Case You Mess Up
Did you get everything in your project lined up perfectly and looking great, only to notice that you spelled a name wrong? Or maybe your customer messed up a date or time or any number of small details. Well, no need to throw that blank away! For This Cricut Hack, Get some VLR Vinyl Remover to fix your problem in no time. It can Remove Siser, Thermoflex, Chemica, Prime, and Other Heat Transfer Vinyls from fabrics easily.
7. Use Press ‘n’ Seal Wrap For Transfer Tape In A Pinch!
One awesome trick for when you’re down to your last piece of transfer tape is to use something you might already have laying around… Glad Press ‘n Seal Wrap! It’s not as good as the real thing, but this Cricut Hack works when you have no other options.
8. Use Freezer Paper To Cut Stencils
I hope you found some useful information out of these tips and tricks! Keep checking back for more updates from Cricuter.com!
