How to read the chart

The right setup depends on which blade you are using.

The rotary blade cuts fabric, felt, and our crepe papers cleanly, and it lives only on the Cricut Maker. The fine-point blade handles cardstock, vinyl, and specialty papers, and it works on both the Cricut Explore and the Maker. The tables below are grouped that way, so find your blade first, then your material.

Get the printable chart

Want it right beside your machine? Download the printable version, hang it by your Cricut, and never guess a setting again. You can find the download button in the right column.

A few things worth knowing

These settings can shift a little from machine to machine, and with blade wear and Design Space updates. So the golden rule is simple: always test cut a small piece before you commit a full mat of material. It takes a moment and saves the good stuff.

A couple more habits that help:

Match your mat to your material, a lighter grip for delicate papers, a firmer grip for cardstock and felt, so nothing tears on the peel. And when your cuts start coming out ragged, it is usually the blade asking to be replaced, not the setting.

A chart tells you the setting. Watching a video shows you the rest.

Settings are only half of it. The other half lives in the small things a chart cannot hold. How the material should feel when you press it to the mat. What a clean cut sounds like as the blade moves. When to run a second pass instead of reaching for a heavier setting.

So we filmed it.

Our Cricut Foundation Series walks through the cutting techniques behind everything we make. Cardstock, frosted paper, crepe paper, wool blend felt, vinyl, iron-on, and Print Then Cut. Sixteen short videos with Meagan, free for every crafter. A free account saves your place, so you can come back whenever you need a refresher.

Here is a taste. Meagan on the blades and tools we reach for, and when. Keep the chart beside you while you watch.

Now the fun part

Settings dialed in, blade fresh, mat gripping the way it should. What you make next is the whole point.

Wander through our cutting machine crafts for cardstock flowers, felt projects, layered art and dimensional paper pieces, all designed to cut beautifully on the machine you already own. And if you are new to our files, our SVG guide walks you from download to first cut.

Happy crafting, ~ Lia

Your Cricut, start to finish

Three things you'll want to know when you sit down at your machine.

See what your machine can make

More than fifty projects beyond vinyl, from cardstock flowers to felt to crepe paper.

See the projects →

Know how to use SVG files

Download, unzip, upload, attach, cut. The whole path, current to Design Space.

Read the guide →