If you've been around for an length of time, you know that my passion is for sewing. I create loads of sewing tutorials and projects each year and share them right here on the blog.
But this year, I tried something new and that was using the Cricut Maker to cut out sewing projects and creations.
The Cricut Maker is a great tool for any crafter and is becoming one of my go to tools now as a sewist. The maker can really cut back on the time spent cutting out sewing patterns.
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The Cricut Maker has a special mat designed specifically for cutting out fabrics. It is the pink Cricut FabricGrip Mat. It is a great tool and perfect for any avid Cricut user that loves to create fabric crafts.
If you aren't familiar with all the Cricut mats, make sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Cricut Cutting Mats.
If you aren't familiar with all the Cricut mats, make sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to Cricut Cutting Mats.
There is a upside and a downside to the pink mat and that is that it gets pretty dirty quickly.
If you've ever worked with fabric before, I'm sure you can relate to the mess threads and fibers can make after you've cut up a pattern. Image all those fibers being able to stick to a surface and not come off.
That would be amazing right?! That's the upside to the pink mat. It traps those fibers.
It's also the downside to the pink Cricut FabricGrip mat. Since they are all trapped in one place, the mat starts to loose its stickiness and the fabric won't stay in place after a few runs through the Maker.
You might be asking "How do I clean my pink Cricut FabricGrip Mat?" Let me share the steps that I take to clean my pink mat. It's quicker and easier than you think.
How to Clean a Pink Cricut FabricGrip Mat
Don't use a scraper on the pink mat. Unlike the other Cricut mats, the pink FabricGrip mat is a bit more sensitive to scraping.
The adhesive on the pink mat is specifically for fabric and is not as strong as the other mat adhesives.
That means scraping will actually pull off the adhesive and leave areas that will no longer stick. So put that scraping tool away and move on to Step #2.
Step #2
Also use the Brayer and Tweezers to keep your pink Cricut FabricGrip Mat clean.
The Cricut FabricGrip mat adhesive is more sensitive to oils and dirt, that means you want to keep your hands off the mat as much as possible to help it stay sticky.
Use the Brayer tool to roll the fabric out smoothly and evenly on the mat and the Tweezer tool to pick up the fabric and clean off any small threads or pieces of fabric.
Cricut has a tweezer tool you can purchase that will help you clean off those fibers and get back to cutting.
Simply lift the fabric from the mat using tweezers after each cut. When you are ready to clean your pink mat, use the tweezers to pull off any small strings or thread.
Step #3
Once you've cleaned using tweezers, if you still have a lot of fiber piece left use a strong grip transfer tape like this one to pick up the big stuff.
The strong grip really helps to pull up the small fiber pieces. It may not get them all, but it does work.
If you don't have transfer tape, you can use masking tape or other sticky tapes. It might take a little longer because the grip isn't as strong, but they will still work to pull up those stray fibers.
If you still have tons of fabric fibers left, because like me you cut out like 800 stars over and over for some Holiday Star Bunting decorations, you might need this method.
Try using a baby wipe to clean the pink Cricut FabricGrip Mat. This is not a suggestion from Cricut, this is my suggestion. It is a method that has been shared and can be done with both the green and blue Cricut mats.
After the pink mat became a bit "useless" from the pile of fabric stars I cut out, I decided to try using all natural baby wipe.
This is what I did. Grab a baby wipe and gentle rub the wipe in circles on your mat. Don't press hard, just enough to touch the surface of the mat.
The fibers of the baby wipe will actually help pull up the fabric fibers left on the pink mat. Let the mat air dry. Once it is completely dry, it should still stick.
Take it from someone who actually has done this several times, to several mats, I tried it and my mat looks great.
And as far as I can tell, I have not had any issues with my mat not sticking. But I would advise only using this method if steps 1-3 didn't help clean up the fibers first.
You should now have a nice clean FabricGrip Mat. I've used all these steps now probably 5-6 times on my pink mat and they've come out clean and still sticky.
I'd love to hear the tips and tricks you have for cleaning up your Pink Cricut FabricGrip Mat.
Leave me a comment or shoot me an email and let me know what has worked for you.
Great tips. You can also use a pet hair roller to lift off some of the fibres. Or my favourite trick to reduce any fabric residue is to use a sheet of clear book covering and lay it non sticky side to your mat (it will stick to your mat). peel off the backing sheet and there you have a new sticky surface to place your fabric onto. Once you have cut your design you can peel off the book covering and your mat is as good as new! Make sure you use a brayer when you apply your book covering and check there are no loose edges to pull up and catch in your machine.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip. I'll have to try it.
DeleteThanks for the tip! I used strips of masking tape layered across the mat, then used the brayer to really adhere them. When I pulled up the tape, all those fibers from cutting out hundreds of masks was gone!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the baby wipes tip. I cut an entire alphabet and succulent pieces from acrylic felt today and nothing else worked to remove those pesky fibres but the baby wipe. Awesome tip!
ReplyDeleteYay!! So glad it worked for you
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately your link to the transfer tape didn’t work, so I was unable to see what it was, and the picture on my iPad was a little bit too small to see properly. I’ll look on the CRICUT website to see if I can find it there though. Just thought that you’d want to know that your link is broken. Fabulous tips though. For one that is yet to buy her Maker and is gathering research, the information you’ve provided is invaluable, thanks so much. Cheers from Australia:)
Sorry that the link is broken. You can find it on Amazon as well https://amzn.to/3OUW40W
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