Cricut Materials that can be used with the Fine-point blade

The materials listed in the section below all work well with the fine-point Cricut blade. Easily adjust the pre-labeled settings on the dial or in Design Space to match what you are using. I will also note the settings below, and we will discuss this further in the unit. 

Iron-on vinyl

Iron-on vinyl is predominantly used on things that are fabric-based in some way, such as t-shirts, totes, cloth napkins, etc. Basically, iron-on vinyl is anything you would adhere to a cloth-like surface. 

For iron-on vinyl, be sure to use the iron-on setting on your Cricut (we will cover settings in more detail later).

Iron-on vinyl (a.k.a heat transfer vinyl or HTV) is an absolute favorite for most Cricut users and works well with a fine-point blade, but what are some of the very best iron-on vinyl to use? 

1. Siser Heat Transfer Vinyl – Easy to weed, and they have been around for a long time! Siser also has glitter vinyl optionspatterned vinyl, floral patterns as well as holographic options! Shop them all here!

2. Cricut Heat Transfer Vinyl – Cricut’s types of vinyl are great because they are made for Cricut and by Cricut. They also offer a wide variety of colors and textures like glitter.  

3. My Vinyl Direct -My Vinyl Direct has a lot more than just HTV, so I will point you back to it more than once. They have plenty of patterns, colors, and textures to shop!

4. Firefly Heat Transfer Vinyl – Firefly is a widely known and trusted brand. Not only does it have great reviews, but they also have a fantastic selection! And if you are looking for great fuzzy flocked vinyl or glitter vinyl, they have you covered! 

5. Fame Heat Transfer Vinyl – This brand is great when hunting for a wide selection of colors. The other benefit of this brand is that it is cheaper than some alternatives if you are on a budget!

Mat to use: Generally, the standard grip mat will work with all vinyl. 

Adhesive Vinyl – Use Vinyl Setting

Adhesive vinyl is a close favorite to the HTV. There are countless uses for adhesive vinyl, such as wall decals, mugs, ornaments, containers, wall art, etc. Here are some of the best brands below for AV!

There are basically two categories of adhesive vinyl – permanent outdoor and removable indoor – with various types within each category. Vinyl will always be clarified as one of those types, and you should use it accordingly to the project for the best results. 

For example, removable adhesive vinyl would work great as a removable wall decal, while permanent vinyl will work better for a wood sign you plan to hang on your front door. 

For adhesive vinyl, you will generally use the vinyl setting on your Cricut. 

1. Oracal Vinyl – This vinyl is my personal top choice when I start an adhesive vinyl project. Oracal is regarded as the industry leader when it comes to crafting vinyl. This vinyl is designed to last years. You can also find rolls of this on Vinyl Direct here in both glossy and matte!

2. Cricut Adhesive Vinyl – Cricut is still a great go-to resource for AV. As a whole, Cricut tends to be more pricey, but sometimes I find a better shade in a color I am searching for with Cricut’s vinyl. 

3. Expressions Vinyl – Expressions Vinyl is another favorite and easy to use. They have a good color selection of glitter as well! 

Glitter 12"x24" Vinyl Sheets

4. Happy Crafters – Honestly, this is just a happy place website – you will find the vinyl of all sorts and many other craft-related supplies!

5. Printable Vinyl – You can print directly onto adhesive vinyl with the print and cut feature.

6. Stencil Vinyl – Stencil vinyl is wonderful for achieving crisp paint lines!

7. Transfer Tape – Transfer tape is essential for placing your vinyl. My favorite is here. 

Mat to use Standard grip work as well for adhesive vinyl. 

Cardstock 

Paper and cardstock are near and dear to me because I love to make paper flowers. In fact, you will be getting access to the practice files in this course and my free resource library!

When crafting with cardstock, set the dial to cardstock or one setting further to your left on the dial for anything above 65-pound cardstock. Or, if you are using Maker, set it to heavy cardstock in Design Space. (We will cover settings in more detail later).

1. Recollections cardstock – Recollections is a brand by Michael’s craft store, but they can also be found online! I use this brand the most for my papercrafts. 

2. Savage Universal paper rolls – I recently discovered how wonderful Savage paper works for paper crafting. Even though it seems a little pricey upfront, it lasts so much longer!

3. Paper and More – Paper and more are a trusted resource I have used, and I love their unique colors. 

4. Cards and Pockets – This site has been with me for years, and for a good reason. The color options are unparalleled to most. 

5. 12 x 12 Cardstock Shop – This online shop has so many beautiful colors and textures of paper to use with your Cricut machine. There is plenty to choose from smooth to textured, glitter, and more.

Mat to use for cardstock paper: Standard grip

Additional Fine-Point Blade Materials

Let’s also cover other materials that work with the fine-point blade and also the standard grip mat:

Thin chipboard or Kraft board – good for wreaths or large letter or number cutouts. Set dial to custom and select chipboard. 

Thin poster board – use for projects with backgrounds or large cutouts. The dial should be set to the poster board.

Stencil Sheets – Create your own custom stencils with your Cricut! I generally have used the cardstock setting for stencil material, but if you buy a different brand that is thicker than 6 mil, you may go up on the pressure. 

Sticker paper or tattoo paper – If you use the print and cut feature, consider doing it on sticker or tattoo paper for a fun project. I like to cut my own planner stickersUse the cardstock setting for these as well with the fine-point blade. I also love the Luxoton brand sticker paper.

Vellum – Vellum is just another type of paper that is usually delicate and translucent. It works great for any variety of papercrafts. For vellum, make sure to set the dial to paper or vinyl. 

Cellophane – Now and then, I find a project I am creating needs a flexible and clear-like material – cellophane works great for that, and your Cricut can cut it! Cellophane will need to be cut at the lightest setting, usually paper or the one dot before it. 

Acetate – Acetate is great because it is thicker than cellophane and works well for a “clear window” in a craft. In the course, we create a Shaker Cake Topper that uses acetate to see confetti move!

Again, we will cover settings in more detail later, and you will be able to refer back to this when that point comes. 

Deep-cut blade – What Can I Cut? 

For each of the materials below, you will want to set your dial or machine to custom and search the name of the material to set the proper cut pressure. If you are using Maker, you will be doing this in Design Space already. 

Chipboard – If you need thicker chipboard than what the fine-point blade can handle, then put your deep-cut blade to work!

Rubber – Want to make your own stamps? You totally can with this great rubber and the deep-cut blade. 

Wood veneer embellishments – You might be able to use a fine-point blade with the wood veneer if it is thin enough, but you probably will want the deep blade in most cases. 

Magnets – Creating your own magnets can be really fun—a fabulous teacher appreciation gift, in fact. 

Faux Leather – Leather is all the rage right now, especially those snazzy leather earrings!

Craft foam – Foam is especially wonderful for kids’ crafts. Pre-cut a bunch of fun shapes and have your kids enjoy some crafty fun time! I love this project here!

Matboard – Matboard is essentially cardboard but nicer. So any project you want to use cardboard for can work with the deep-cut blade!

Felt sheets – Love felt flowers or crafts? Then let your Cricut do the work for you! You can also do stiffened felt sheets!

Glitter cardstock – I love my glitter cardstock for all sorts of projects. I have cut it with the fine-point blade, but the deep works better, especially with the chunky glitter paper. Craft stores often have some, or use the link I provided!

Settings: For the materials in this section, you will probably select custom for many of them and then specify in Design Space which one you are using on the cut screen. Design Space has a setting for most of these options anyway (we will cover settings in more detail later). Mats: For things like felt and leather, the fabric mat will be best. If you are cutting chipboard, glitter cardstock, wood veneer, or mat board, a standard mat will generally work fine. Rubber or magnets may require a strong grip mat. 

Fabric Blade – What Can I Cut? 

The fabric blade is pretty specific to fabric, and you will generally keep the fabric set in place on the dial or select specific types in Design Space. You can cut fabric with the deep and fine point blades; however, to preserve the purpose of the other blades, I recommend trying to stick to the fabric blade as often as possible. 

Here are a few of my favorite fabric places to shop.

Spoonflower – If you want A LOT of fabric to pick from or custom design your own fabric in a few short clicks, then Spoonflower is the way to go!

Joann Fabrics – Many of you have probably heard of Joann’s Fabrics. They have been around a long time, and some of you may have a store nearby. If you don’t, you can shop online!

Fabric Direct – If you want a big website full of fabric and wholesale prices, then be sure to check out fabric direct. I have purchased velvet from them and have been pleased with the quality!

Mat to use: Fabric grip mat

Knife Blade (Cricut Maker only) – What Can I Cut? 

With the knife blade (Cricut Maker only), you can cut many similar Cricut materials as with the deep blade, BUT the difference is that it can cut 2-3x thicker materials than the Explore can handle! In fact, the knife blade can cut material up to 2.4 mm thick! More importantly, it does it with a more accurate and clean precision cut than the deep-cut blade with Explore. 

The knife blade also works differently because of the number of passes it goes through a cut line. Think of it like an Exacto knife, starting with shallow cuts and then deepening as it passes over again and again. 

Note: the knife blade is not one you want to use when you are rush to complete a project. This blade takes time. 

Thick balsa wood or basswood – this material is excellent for cutting out wood frames, ornaments, or even building small objects like a birdhouse! In most cases, you can go up to 3 millimeters thick. 

Thick leather – The knife blade has been praised for how clean it cuts thicker leather materials. So if you want to make those snazzy trending leather earrings or maybe a clutch purse, then this is exciting! By the way, check out this gold and silver leather!

Thick chipboard – If you want a thicker chipboard material, the knife blade can take care of that.

Thick craft foam – Up your thickness with the knife blade by using heavier craft foams!

Mat to use: A fresh standard grip mat will work for materials thinner than 1 mm, but usually, the knife blade is used on thicker materials, so I recommend the strong grip mat. If you’re using something like 3 mm balsa wood, you may also need to use some painter’s tape around the edges to ensure it doesn’t slide mid-cut. 

Settings: For the craft foam, wood, chipboard, and leather, there are settings you can select with you click on “view all materials” in Design Space. We will cover this in more detail later. 

Rotary Blade (Cricut Maker only) – What Can I Cut? 

Washi Sheets – Washi Sheets are awesome specialty papers. Usually, they have fun textures or prints on them. They work beautifully for cards! 

Crepe paper – Can you say easy crepe paper flowers?! Cutting crepe paper has long been desired, and now it is possible with the Maker and rotary blade!

Cork – Cork can be delicate to cut, so the rotary blade is ideal!

Tissue paper – Cut tissue paper with too! Make sure to choose a higher-quality paper like the one linked here. 

Delicate fabrics – More delicate Fabrics, like tulleorganza, and lace, are a good fit for the rotary blade. 

Mat to use: You can use a fabric grip mat for light fabrics and cork, but use a standard or light grip mat for crepe and light for tissue paper.

Settings: Delicate fabrics should be set to the fabric selection setting, while the tissue, crepe, and washi paper should be placed on their named setting within custom settings. 

Okay, I know that was A LOT of info in this post. Don’t feel like you have to grasp it all right now. The purpose of this is to get you thinking about what is possible to craft with a Cricut and where to find the best materials. 

In your course, you will find a printable chart for materials, blades, and settings. While there may be occasional variances, this chart is a good resource to refer to when you are getting started. It is always important that when working with new material, you do a test cut first!

Additional Crafting Supplies You May Want

Tacky glue – This glue is great for craft projects in general. It dries clear, and the bottle goes a long way. 

Tombow liquid glue – I love this glue because the tip is super finite and allows me to get small dots of glue on intricate cuts.

Hot glue gun – Hot glue is my go-to choice if I am not working with an intricate project!

Tombow tape runner – Runner tape can be beneficial for papercrafts. 

Wood dowel –  I like to use wood dowels to curl paper with. 

Bone paper curler – This is also an alternative to curling paper. 

Paper Blooms shaping mat and toolset – A product of my own creation, perfect for cupping flower petals or embossing. 

Painter’s tape – This tape comes in handy for wood or leather projects. 

Elastic ribbon – Elastic ribbon works well for hair accessory crafts. 

Heat and bond – If you cannot use non-bonded fabrics with your machine, you may need heat and bond to be applied before cutting things like felt, denim, and standard fabrics.