We have tested hundreds of materials with Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker machines to help take the guesswork out of your dream projects. Choosing a material setting for your cuts is easy!
Tip: Always do a test cut with a small piece of your material before cutting your project to ensure your chosen setting cuts well on your material.
The Smart Set dial on Cricut Explore Air 2 (and older) is a material selection dial that offers pre-defined settings to get the best results on paper, vinyl, iron-on, cardstock, fabric, poster board, and more. The Smart Set dial eliminates the need to make manual pressure, depth, and speed adjustments. All you need to do is turn the dial to your material type and press the Go button!
Note: Cricut Explore 3 lets you control cut settings directly in Design Space with out the need for the Smart Set dial.
The Smart Set dial has seven pre-loaded material settings as well as a Custom option. Visit this article for information about creating and using Custom settings. Use the half-step settings between the material markings to increase or decrease the pressure.
Note: The half-step settings between Fabric and Custom (circled in the image above) perform a 2x multi-cut, which means the machine will cut twice in the same spot.
Tip: To enable Fast Mode with Cricut Explore Air 2, use the dial settings highlighted in green in the image above (Vinyl to Cardstock+).
Choosing a material setting
When a Cricut Explore 3 or Cricut Maker machine is connected to your computer or mobile device, the material settings appear as a series of tiles. If you see your material there, simply click or tap on the tile to select the setting.
What if I don't see my material listed there?
No worries! Select Browse All Materials to access the vast list of material settings.
Note: Cricut materials will be marked with the Cricut "C" logo.
What if I don't know what kind of fabric I have?
No problem! We have created some generic materials settings to help you find the right setting for your material.
Important: Always do a test cut on your material before proceeding with your project.
- In the cut interaction, you'll notice some of the default materials settings that say "Light Fabrics (like Silk)," "Medium Fabrics (like Cotton)," "Heavy Fabrics (like Denim)." Choose the setting that most closely matches your material and perform a test cut.
- When your test cut is complete, check to see if the cut goes all the way through your material without cutting too deeply into the mat. If it's perfect, great! If it's close but needs a little more or a little less pressure, you can select More or Less from the pressure drop-down menu underneath your selected setting.
- Perform another test cut. Based on those results, either proceed with your project or select a lighter or heavier fabric setting.
What if I don't see my material listed there?
No worries! Tap All Materials to access the vast list of material settings.
Swipe to scroll through the list or enter a search term in the search field. As you type the list will refresh with results. Swipe up/down to scroll through the list of search results, then tap on a material to select it.
Note: Cricut materials will be marked with the Cricut "C" logo.
What if I don't know what kind of fabric I have?
No problem! We have created some generic materials settings to help you find the right setting for your material.
Important: Always do a test cut on your material before proceeding with your project.
- In the cut interaction, you'll notice some of the default materials settings that say "Light Fabrics (like Silk)," "Medium Fabrics (like Cotton)," "Heavy Fabrics (like Denim)." Choose the setting that most closely matches your material and perform a test cut.
- When your test cut is complete, check to see if the cut goes all the way through your material without cutting too deeply into the mat. If it's perfect, great! If it's close but needs a little more or a little less pressure, you can select "More" or "Less" from the pressure drop-down menu underneath your selected setting.
- Perform another test cut. Based on those results, either proceed with your project or select a lighter or heavier fabric setting.
Tip: To know more about "Custom" material settings, visit this help article.