Everything You Need to Know About the Cricut Maker Rotary Blade! Scroll down for the entire review!
Did you recently purchase a Cricut Maker? Learn all the capabilities of the Rotary Blade, the basics for working with fabric, and, of course, my favorite: tips and tricks. Once you get the hang of the rotary blade you will want to use it on every project!
If you are brand new to the Cricut Maker start here first.
What is the Cricut Rotary Blade?
The Cricut Rotary Blade is one of the interchangeable blades that is compatible with the Cricut Maker adaptive tool system. Similar to a hand-held rotary blade, this Cricut blade rolls and glides as it quickly cuts through up to three layers of fabric at a time.
What Makes the Cricut Rotary Blade Unique?
What makes the Rotary Blade unique is its
How Do I Use the Cricut Rotary Blade?
The Cricut Maker comes with a Rotary Blade and housing. The housing is calibrated specifically for your machine.
Open the Adaptive T
What Can the Rotary Blade Cut?
The Rotary Blade can cut a wide variety of materials from delicate crepe paper and silk to heavyweight denim and leather. Use it to cut out apparel or quilting patterns or crafting projects.
Click here to read my Cricut Maker Overview post!
For best results, the Maker blade should be used to cut designs no smaller than one-quarter of an inch wide.
Can the Cricut Rotary Blade Cut Out Sewing Patterns?
Yes! The Rotary blade can be used to cut out quilting and sewing patterns. It can be paired with the Cricut Washable Fabric Pen to not only cut out patterns but draw all pattern markings eliminating two tedious tasks associated with sewing.
View the different fabric projects I've made using my Cricut Maker and sewing patterns below.
Cricut teamed up with Simplicity Patterns and Riley Blake Fabrics to provide you with an amazing resource of sewing and quilting patterns that are compatible with your Cricut Maker.
Below are examples of a few of the sewing projects I've made using my rotary blade.
How Often Should I Change my Cricut Rotary Blade?
If you start to entice that your blade is not cutting through materials completely, it’s time to change the blade.
To do this, you will need to purchase a new Rotary Blade Kit; you will keep the original housing as it’s specially calibrated for your machine.
Is It Faster to Use the Cricut Rotary Blade Than to Cut out Projects by Hand?
This is a question I get asked a lot and the answer varies based on each individual project! If you are cutting out a sewing pattern with a lot of detail and markings, using the rotary blade is definitely faster.
If you need to cut out square pieces for a quilt, it might be faster to do this by hand. I’ve made quite a few projects with my rotary blade and the projects where it saved the most time were the stuffed animals that had multiple intricate pieces as well as marking lines.
Learn how to make a quilt with the Cricut Maker here.
Can I use the Cricut Rotary Blade on any of the Cricut Mats?
The Pink Fabric Mat is specifically designed to be even more durable and able to withstand extra pressure from the rotary blade. The adhesive on the fabric mat is also completely different, so it’s important to use the rotary blade and pink mat together to ensure the best results when cutting out fabric projects!
How Does the Cricut Rotary Blade Differ From the Fabric Blade?
The fabric blade is actually the exact same blade as the fine point blade, it’s just colored pink so it’s used specifically for fabric. Similar to the idea that fabric scissors are only used on fabric to maintain their sharpness.
The fabric blade is only able to cut bonded fabrics. This means fabric must have a stabilizer placed on the back of it making it sturdier so it can be cut. The rotary blade can cut any type of fabric without a backing. This is because the rotary blade glides and rolls along fabric while the fabric blade drags.
Tips for Getting the Best Results when Cutting Fabric
Do not stretch the fabric as you are laying it out on the fabric mat. It should be placed directly on the mat and smoothed out without any distortion.
If you look closely at the fabric you’ll notice the grain line and the threads that go across the fabric and threads that run the length of the fabric. Make sure that the fabric is cut “On Grain” this means that it is cut straight along one thread. This will prevent the fabric from being warped.
You can read all of my tips for cutting out fabric on the Cricut Maker here.
Use a Fabric Brayer to secure the fabric to the mat and fabric tweezers to easily remove fabric from the mat once it has been cut.
How Can I Cut Multiple Layers of Fabric with the Cricut Maker Rotary Blade?
In order to cut multiple layers of fabric (which can speed up the cutting process
Lay the first layer of fabric on the mat and spray the adhesive evenly across the entire length of the fabric. Lay the second layer of fabric on top of the first and repeat the same process with the third layer of fabric. Use a brayer to fully adhere the fabrics together.
I used Thermoweb Spray N Bond Basting Adhesive because it provides a temporary hold.
In Design Space Select Light Cotton, 3 Layers.
This technique works best on lightweight fabrics and is not suitable for heavy weight fabrics such as denim.
Learn even more about the Cricut Maker here.
Find out all of my favorite time and money saving Cricut hacks here.
Save this to Pinterest Here!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.
I have had a difficult time using design space. I don’t find it very user friendly and I have spent hours trying to make one paper card because something always cuts wrong or something goes awry. I originally got my circuit maker to cut fabric for quilting but am too afraid to cut my expensive fabric if I can’t even seem to cut paper correctly. Do you have any tips on this?? Thank you!
I just exchanged my cricut maker because I could not get the rotary blade to cut felt, which is the main reason I bought the cricut. However, I'm having the same problem with the new machine, so it must be something I'm missing. I've done a lot of research and watched many video's, done the cricut support and I can't figure out what I'm doing. When I make my selections for felt (and I tried several types of felt) then try to make anything, the rotary sounds like it's doing it's thing, but when I remove the mat, there is barely an impression of the design. I can usually figure things out, because I'm very determined and tedious, but this has me stumped.
Hello,
We are from Belgium.
We have the same problem with our cricut Maker. Completely the same. We (my wife and I) wonder,if uou found a solution for the problem ?
Thank you.
Ximena & Roger
Debbie;
I am new to Cricut so this may not be the right answer but it worked for me. I cut my felt with the rotary blade but added extra pressure and it seemed to cut fine. I have made animal silouettes like a pig and sheep and it did an excellent job on the fine details ie. pigs curly tail. My first try did not go well I used the knife blade as this was what the system wanted but it only marked the fabric, then I changed to the rotary blade. If this doesn't work for you I might suggest getting the other deep cut blade this might work as well. Good luck.
Where can I find a replacement for the rotary blade and housing that came with the machine? Cricuit does not have any in stock.
Try Amazon they had them in stock yesterday when I was pricing them up.
Hi, just seeing this. I cannot find the rotary blade and housing in stock on Amazon, or anywhere else. Any help? Thanks!
sounds like your pressure isn't set high enough for it to cut thoroughly