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How to Cut Crepe Paper With the Cricut Maker

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A collage of images showing how to cut crepe paper with a cricut cutting machine. Rolls of crepe paper, crepe paper flowers, a Cricut cutting machine, and crepe paper flower petals. Image text in the center of the image reads "5 tips you need to know when Cutting Crepe Paper with your maker."

When Cricut came out with the Maker machine and announced it could cut crepe paper, I was incredibly excited. As you know, I love to design paper flowers and knowing I could now make crepe paper flowers with the help of a cutting machine just sweetened the deal. This, among many others, is the reason I choose to purchase a Cricut Maker machine.

When I first cut my crepe paper with my Maker it did not turn out well. In fact, I lost a lot of paper due to mistakes. After figuring out the best tricks and techniques, I can confidently use my Maker to cut any crepe paper.

5 Tips for Cutting Crepe Paper with a Cricut Machine

Today I am going to give you the rundown of how to use crepe paper with Cricut Makerthere are some super important steps you will need to take to be successful!

1. Use the Rotary Blade or Wavy Edge Tool

A picture of colorful crepe paper above a Cricut cutting machine. 2 ways to cut crepe paper with your Cricut Maker.

The first key to successfully cutting crepe paper with your Maker machine is to use either the Rotary Blade or the Wavy Edge Tool, which is part of the new QuickSwap tools.

The Rotary blade comes with the Maker machine and it is the go-to tool to make cutting crepe paper possible because of its rolling “pizza cutter” style blade.

In July 2019, Cricut also released the Wavy Edge tool, which is basically the Rotary Blade but with a wavy edge impression. This tool also works for cutting crepe paper.

Both these two tools are the ONLY ones that cut crepe paper, and yes, they are exclusive to the Maker machine (so sorry, Explore lovelies!).

I have a YouTube video that explains how to change your Quickswap here.

How to Cut Crepe Paper with the Cricut Maker: 5 tips and tricks you need to know. Abbi holds a pink crepe paper petal with the graphic "wavy edge tool" over the cut craft.

2. Use the Fabric Mat

It might seem natural to reach for the Standard Green Mat to place your crepe paper on, but after testing, I discovered the Fabric Mat to work best!

Crepe paper is also a little temperamental because of the ridges (especially heavy-weight paper) – if your paper isn’t staying down, make sure to opt for a FRESH fabric mat.

3. Burnish Your Crepe Paper

Two pictures show a rainbow of rolled crepe paper above a Cricut machine that is cutting out pink crepe paper petals. The graphic reads "How To Cut Crepe Paper With The Cricut Maker: Tips and Tricks You Need To Know!"

This trick will really seal the deal for you. Pun intended! 🙂

First, make sure when you lay your crepe paper on your mat that the ridges are running parallel, vertically to the height of your design (for instance, a petal as shown in the above image).

This will allow you to stretch your crepe paper in the correct direction once the design is cut out.

After you have placed the paper correctly, relative to your design, you also may need to burnish your crepe paper.

Burnish is a fancy term for rub. Using your Cricut scraper tool, gently burnish your crepe paper, rubbing in the same direction as the grain of the paper. This will ensure it is pressed firmly to the paper. Don’t worry, because we opted for the fabric mat, it won’t tear when lifted!

Seven crepe paper pink petals lay next to an orange crepe paper flower on a light green tablecloth with a mandala pattern. How to cut crepe paper with your Cricut Maker.

4. Set Pressure to “More”

When I loaded my Rotary blade and cut my crepe paper for the first time, I noticed that the paper did not cut all the way through – even with the setting on crepe paper in the custom settings.

I decided to use the drop-down on the cut screen to move the pressure up to “more.” The next time I cut, it went all the way through! So if this happens to you, then this is the trick to fix it!

A screenshot of Design Space showing the steps to set your Cricut Maker material to crepe paper.

I believe the reason for this is because I was using a thicker 180-gram crepe paper. This leads me to my next point…

5. Use High-Quality Crepe Paper with Your Cricut Maker

This is one of those times where quality really does make a HUGE difference. Try to invest only in quality crepe paper. If you are cutting thicker crepe paper, like the 180-gram I mentioned, you will need to turn up the pressure. If you go with a more traditional paperweight, you can leave the pressure at default.

Maybe you are saying, Abbi, what brand of crepe paper should I use?! I’ve gotcha covered, buttercup!

Here are a couple of my favorite brands of crepe paper:

BONUS TIP: If you notice your heavier-weight crepe paper lifts a little when cutting, it can be a good idea to stand by and watch as your machine cuts in the event that you need to pause the cut and pick up any loose petals that may lift after they have been cut.

So there you have it! Now you know the best tips and tricks to cutting crepe paper successfully with your Cricut Maker machine!

Click for more Cricut help and craft ideas!

More Crafty Goodness to Love!

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Let me share with you the 3 biggest mistakes Cricut crafters make and my proven steps to not only master your Cricut but also transform yourself into a craft designer!

If that sounds like it’s for you be sure to join me here in my FREE masterclass!

Abbi Kirsten stands with her Cricut machine in her colorful craft room. Her space is organized and full of supplies and giant orange paper flowers.

About Abbi Kirsten

My mission is to inspire you to nurture the creative magic inside your soul – bringing you fun, easy-to-learn DIY projects and quality template designs. I share a variety of projects, such as printables, SVG cut files, and craft tutorials, but specifically love paper crafting and paper flowers. Interested in paper flowers?! I’ve created dozens of signature designs for you to enjoy – starting with my best seller, The Art of Giant Paper Flowers, the Giant Flower Library, and my shop, Catching Colorflies, with endless paper designs and flower templates.

Want to join my Facebook community to share your crafts and learn from the best? Click here to request access to my group, Elite Crafters and Cricut Lovers.

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8 Comments

  1. Thanks for the tips! Does it cut extra thick crepe paper well? Thinking about using this for my rose class, would really save on time!
    Thank you!
    Lisa

    1. Yes, I have used thick crepe paper with success too!

  2. Kimberly Ball says:

    I bought $80 worth of crepe paper from Cartifin and it is BEAUTIFUL. However, I tried to cut it last night on my 12X12 purple mat with my rotary blade and it just wasn’t working correctly, It was cutting but lifting afterwards such that the cut was being ruined from moving in and out of the machine and with the blade moving left and right. I had the grain going vertically but did not “burnish” it. Hopefully, that works. I’m SOOOO EXCITED to get started with this. I’ve been making the regular paper flowers and I wanted to move into something more real looking.

  3. Thank Abbi, I was sure it was the rotary blade, I’m almost ready to get started. Also have you seen the dogwood flower. There’s a story that goes with it. I would love an svg for it.

  4. Lori Powell says:

    I think I am ready for my first cut. I am assuming 12×12 cut of crepe paper on the pink fabric mat. Thank you for the instructions.

  5. Does it matter if you burnish with the scraper tool or the brayer? Do both work equally well?

    1. For burnishing, I recommend the scraper tool. 🙂