This piece of equipment requires official training, sign up for training here.

Before 1st Use:

• Download Cricut Design Space

  • There is a great iPad app if you have one

• Create a Cricut Account

• In Makerspace: Connect to the Cricut via Bluetooth

  • If someone else is connected they will need to disconnect and restart the Cricut machine

Steps:

1. Come up with an idea, start simple!

2. Open Cricut Design Space and click “+New Project”, this will take you to the Canvas

3. Get your idea together, either:

   • Design directly in the Cricut Design Space

   • Find a picture online and import it into Design Space

     • pictures with clean lines and a lot of whitespace work best, maybe start with a silhouette 

     • Note: only attempt “Print and Cut” if you’ve already done several vinyl projects

   • Draw your own image and import it into Cricut Design Space

4. Prepare materials:

   • Vinyl:

     • Resize design, max size is half an inch smaller that what you’ll be cutting out of

     • Choose a vinyl color, look in scraps box first

       • You may also work with paper

       • It is one color per vinyl layer

     • Cut vinyl down to size

   • Graphic Sticker:

     • Make sure “Operation” is “Print and Cut”

     • Arrange stickers, making sure they will fit on the page (you’ll get a warning otherwise)

     • Select all the stickers for a page, right click, and select “Attach”

   • Paper:

     • Choose paper color, look at scraps first

     • Cut paper down to size

5. Find the right Cricut board for your project (green for vinyl, blue for paper & sticker paper)

6. Turn on the Cricut machine, if it isn’t already on

7. Hit “Make” in the top right corner of the Cricut Design Space, save when it asks if you want to save

8. Settings:

   • Vinyl & Paper: Click “On Mat” then “Confirm” when it asks how you want to load your material.

     • If working with HTV toggle the “mirror” option to make it reflect horizontally

   • Graphic Sticker:

     • Hit “Continue” and “Send to Printer”

     • Click “Next”

     • Make use “Use System Dialog” is toggled and select a printer

     • When system dialog comes up save it as a PDF

     • Send PDF to your phone

     • Print PDF on the color printer

9. Position pieces of design where you want them on the grid lines in the virtual board

   • Vinyl: colored side up

   • HTV: dull (non shiny) side up

10. Position pieces of material on the Cricut board, will line up with design in virtual board

11. Click the “Continue” button

12. Wait to connect to the Cricut Maker 3 via Bluetooth

13. Choose a material from the material list

    • If doing vinyl will need to adjust the pressure to “More”

    • for Graphic stickers select “Light Cardstock” for a kiss cut (recommended)

14. Click the “Continue” button

15. Position the board under the tabs on the Cricut machine so that the board touches the rollers

16. Press the flashing arrow button on the machine and wait for the testing process to finish

17. Press the flashing Cricut logo button on the machine and wait for cut to finish

18. Press the flashing arrow button on the machine to unload the board

19. Remove material carefully from the board, slightly bending the board at the edges often helps

    • When removing the vinyl and sticker paper remove the entire piece you put on, including the backing

    • When removing paper you will need to remove everything from the board, a piece at a time

20. Post processing

    • Vinyl

      • Weed the vinyl, remove everything that isn’t your design using a weeder (little pick tool)

      • HTV: Use heat press to affix design to fabric

      • Permanent Vinyl

        • Single layer: 

          1. cut transfer tape to correct size

          2. peel and place transfer tape over design

          3. use plastic scraper to scrape over transfer tape

        • If placing multiple layers on top of each other

          1. cut transfer tape to correct size

          2. peel and place transfer tape over design

          3. use plastic scraper to scrape over transfer tape

          4. turn over and peel the backing off of the transfer tape

          5. place layer you just peeled off on top of the layer beneath it

          6. remove transfer tape and repeat for each layer of the sticker

             1. Note: leave transfer tape on for the final layer