The Cricut Makerspace Guide

Which machine do you have?

Cricut sells three families of cutting machines, and the family decides which blades, mats and materials you can use. If you aren’t sure which model you have, check the label underneath the machine or the machine list in Design Space. The one detail that changes a lot day to day: the Explore Air 2 and older have a Smart Set dial on top. Every newer model sets the material on screen.

Sources: Cricut, All About Cricut Blades and Machine Tools, Which mats can I use with my Cricut machine?, All About Smart Materials, Which materials can I cut (thickness notes), Cricut Maker 5 compatible tools. Knife Blade and Rotary Blade work in Maker machines only (Cricut).

Materials and settings chart

Each row is a material a makerspace is likely to stock. “Pick in Design Space” is the setting name to search for under Browse All Materials (on a phone or tablet, All Materials). Every row was checked against Cricut’s own published material lists for each machine, and each note links to the Cricut instructions it comes from.

Three rules cover most of it. Vinyl and iron-on go liner side down. Iron-on and Infusible Ink need Mirror turned on. And before a class, cut a 1 in test star on every new roll or brand; settings are a starting point, not a promise. Cricut says the same thing in nearly every material guide.

Exact settings for your machine

Design Space fills in pressure and the number of passes (multi-cut) for you. You only need the numbers below when you edit a custom material or a cut keeps coming out shallow. Pick your machine to see Cricut’s exact setting name, blade, pressure and passes for each material in the chart.

Iron-on and Infusible Ink: pressing

Cutting is the same for both. Pressing is where they differ, and where most failed projects come from. Cricut’s position is plain: time, temperature and pressure depend on the material, the blank and the press, so look each project up in the Cricut Heat Guide (or the Cricut Heat app for EasyPress 3 and the Hat Press). Print the guide’s result for the materials you stock and keep it with the press.

Design Space quick reference

Design Space is Cricut’s free app for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. You need a free Cricut account, and machines are set up through it. Patrons using shared makerspace computers should sign in with the makerspace account, not their own.

System requirements (checked October 1, 2026)

All need broadband (about 2-3 Mbps down, 1-2 Mbps up). Source: System Requirements – Design Space. Cricut changes these as operating systems age, so check before buying a computer for the station.

Uploading your own file? Our step-by-step guide to uploading an SVG to Design Space walks through it, and what an SVG file is explains why cut files come as SVG.

First project: a 3 in vinyl star decal

This is the orientation project we’d hand a new patron: one shape, one color, nothing to weed inside, and it ends with something to stick on a notebook. It takes about 15 minutes and uses a scrap.

1. Upload the star. In Design Space choose New Project, then Upload, then select practice-star.svg. Add it to the Canvas. It opens at 3.12 × 3 in; leave it.
2. Click Make. Check the mat preview shows one star. Leave Mirror off: this is adhesive vinyl, not iron-on.
3. Pick the material. Search for the vinyl setting for your machine (see the chart). Explore Air 2: turn the dial to Vinyl, or to Custom and choose the setting by name.
4. Load the vinyl. Colored side up, liner side down, in the top-left corner of the mat grid. Smooth it flat with the scraper.
5. Cut. Load the mat, press Go, and keep hands clear until it finishes. Unload.
6. Weed. Peel the vinyl around the star off the liner, starting at a corner. The star stays behind. More help in how to weed vinyl.
7. Transfer. Lay transfer tape over the star, rub it with the scraper, peel the liner away, place the star, rub again, and peel the tape back at a low angle. Step by step: how to use transfer tape.

The makerspace test-cut pack

Eight cut files from our library, chosen for checking a machine, a blade or a new material before a class, plus a README with the order to use them in. Each file comes as SVG for Design Space, DXF for other cutting software, and PNG. Each one was checked by our software at its download size for pieces too thin or too small to cut and weed. Those are software checks (how we make and check files), so still cut a test on your own machine.

Makerspace test-cut pack: 8 filesFree

File	Size	Material	Layers	Check
Test cut — star in circle (1 in)	1.12 × 1.12 in	Vinyl	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked
Test cut — star in square (1 in)	1.12 × 1.12 in	Vinyl	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked
Practice star	3.12 × 3 in	Vinyl	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked
Practice heart	3.12 × 2.88 in	Vinyl	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked
Weeding practice — four levels	9 × 7.5 in	Vinyl	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked
Good Vibes Only — first shirt	9.12 × 6.62 in	HTV (iron-on)	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked
Love heart — 2-layer HTV practice	5.12 × 4.75 in	HTV (iron-on)	2 layers	✓ Cut-checked
Font test sheet 1	10 × 10.25 in	Vinyl	1 layer	✓ Cut-checked

⬇ Download ZIP (528 KB)

SVGDXFPNG

Free for personal use and for up to 500 handmade items you sell. Please link to this page instead of sharing the file. License

Download single files

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Calibrating a new material in five minutes

1. Cut the 1 in test star on a scrap with the setting you plan to use.
2. Weed it. Clean edges and an unmarked liner mean the setting is right.
3. A corner still attached: choose More pressure and cut again. Liner scored deeply or cut through: choose Less.
4. Write the material, brand and setting that worked in your station log.
5. Cut the weeding practice sheet to see how small a detail that material holds.

For lettering, our size ladder is a teaching file that deliberately includes text below the cutting limit, so you can see where small letters fail on your material:

Size ladder: find your smallest clean textFree

File	Size	Material	Layers	Check
Size ladder — Archivo Black	9 × 6 in	Vinyl	1 layer	Test file, not checked
Size ladder — Abril Fatface	7 × 6 in	Vinyl	1 layer	Test file, not checked
Size ladder — Pacifico	5.62 × 5.88 in	Vinyl	1 layer	Test file, not checked

⬇ Download ZIP (307 KB)

SVGDXFPNG

Free for personal use and for up to 500 handmade items you sell. Please link to this page instead of sharing the file. License

Troubleshooting

Most problems trace back to four things: the material setting, the blade, the mat, or Mirror. Work down the list in order. Fixes follow Cricut’s own troubleshooting steps where Cricut has published them (cutting pressure issues, machine troubleshooting).

Running the station

Mats

Mats are consumables. Every mat loses its stickiness with use, and felt and other fuzzy materials wear it out faster. Pick scraps off after each cut and put the clear cover sheet back on. Keep one mat per grip color in rotation and label them. When material slides even after smoothing, replace the mat (Cricut).

Blades

Blades and cutting tools are sharp, and Cricut marks them adult use only. Have staff change them. When cuts start dragging or leaving tabs, clean the tip first, then replace the blade. The Knife Blade and Rotary Blade fit Maker machines only; the deep-point blade needs its own black housing (Cricut).

Supplies to keep stocked

• Permanent and removable vinyl, Everyday Iron-On in black and white
• Transfer tape (standard grip; strong grip only for textured vinyl, per Cricut)
• 65 lb and 80 lb cardstock
• Spare Light, Standard and Strong Grip mats
• Weeding hooks, scrapers, tweezers, scissors, a small trimmer
• A spare Fine-Point blade or cutting tool
• Butcher paper and heat-resistant tape if you press Infusible Ink

Patron orientation

Print the station card and tape it next to the machine with the settings chart. It covers the cut order, clean-up, safety and the three most common fixes.

Program ideas

Projects that work well in a one- or two-hour session, with the material each one needs:

Cricut help links that moved

Cricut reorganizes its help center often, and many makerspace and library guides still point at pages that are gone. Every “old link” below returned a 404 or no longer resolves when we checked on October 1, 2026. If your guide uses one, here’s the current Cricut page that covers the same thing.

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Use and cite this guide

Sources

All Cricut help center pages, checked October 1, 2026: materials list, mats, blades and tools, choosing material settings, cut pressure, Smart Materials, system requirements, Canvas guide, Operation, Combine, Slice and Weld, Attach, Mirror, Everyday Iron-On, Specialty Iron-On, Infusible Ink, Infusible Ink FAQ, cardstock, glitter cardstock, vinyl, transfer tape, Knife Blade, chipboard, basswood, leather, craft foam, window cling, sticker paper, kraft board, poster board, vellum, stencil, FabricGrip mat, cutting pressure issues, machine troubleshooting, Maker 5 tools, Heat Guide.