Tool List for Cricut Maker

Our MakerSpace got an almost new Cricut Maker machine. But it came without the tools or mats, so we had to figure out how to provision it. Since the Cricut brand machines are new to us, we wanted to start with all original Cricut Equipment.

Basic Starter Kit:

We didn't fully understand all the different options, so we opted for Cricut's official Starter Bundle basic toolkit. (affiliate) It seemed like it had all the required tools and materials and we seemed to even save some money over buying each tool individually. 

The bundle includes a Fine Point tool and blade, a Deep Cut tool and blade, a Bonded Fabric tool and blade, plus a 3x mat selection and marking pens. Add some transfer-tape and you can start working with a huge variety of materials right away.

Cutting Mat 3x Variety Pack (affiliate)

Transfer Tape 2-pk (affiliate)

Fine Point Tool w/Blade plus some Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Deep Cut Tool w/Blade plus some  Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Bonded Fabric Tool plus some Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Scoring Stylus (affiliate)

Combo Embosser/Engraver Tool (affiliate)

Deluxe:

To really take advantage of the Maker's capabilities, you will need the specialty tools that only work with the Maker line of machines.

Knife Blade Tool w/Blade plus some Replacement Blades (affiliate)

Rotary Fabric Tool (affiliate) /Replacement Blades

Scoring Wheels (Metal) (affiliate)

Perforating Wheel (affiliate)

Foil Transfer Tool (3x) (affiliate)

CUTTING MATS

12x12 mats are the standard size, but you can also get 12x24. (affiliate)

Mats come in a variety of "stickiness" strengths. 

• Light Grip stickiness mats are good for vinyl, press-on, foiling and paper up to card stock. 
• Standard Grip stickiness is good for thicker paper, thin plastic or other mid-weight materials.
• Strong Grip mats are good for engraving acrylic or metal, thicker cloths and leather
• Fabric Grip mats are designed to hold fabric and withstand the increased cutting pressure
• 2x2 Card mats allow you to cut the front of four cards at once while folded.

TOOLS YOU PUT INTO the MACHINE

Cricut has a list of the tools and what to cut with them. Cricut tools can be divided into two broad categories; tools that cut and tools that deform or mark the material.

Blades that Cut

The basic cutting blades are the Fine Tip and the Deep Point blades (affiliate). The deep point blades cut thicker materials. 

If you need to cut something even thicker, the Knife Blade (affiliate) is what you need.

There are also several blades for fabric, (affiliate) one for Bonded Fabric and another blade that rotates around curves. There is also a perforating blade and a curvy line blade.

Notice that the "cutting tool" simply holds the blade, so you can replace the blades (affiliate) while keeping the same tool. Cricut tools are often color-coded, so you can tell a fine-point cutter from an embosser just by the color of the tool. That's a good reason to buy the original Cricut tools. After the initial tool purchase, most cutting tools allow you to replace the blades only, considerably cheaper than buying the entire tool.

Tools that Make Marks

You can get Engraving tools (affiliate) to create scratch-marks on metal, acrylic, leather or wood. 

Scoring tools (affiliate) come in a variety of styles for different materials. Two types are the basic Stylus and the Rotating Metal Wheel. They create an indented crease that makes it easier 

Note, some crafters use other tools as a scoring tool, and some people also use the basic scoring stylus as an embosser or foil transfer tool. Which to use depends on how deep of a score mark you want to leave in what type of material.

Embossing (affiliate) tools are designed primarily to push and deform thin sheets of metal. The shape of the tool head determines what type of mark is made. Some tools come with an interchangeable head. Some people use other tools to emboss.

You can get a   Foil Transfer (affiliate) embossers. These are designed to apply pressure but not leave a mark on the materials.

You can put Pens (affiliate) into the machine and draw images. There are specialty pens like a washable marker for drawing sewing patterns.

PATTERNS and DESIGNS

A great resource for cutting files in SVG format 

They have thousands of SVG cutting files on all subjects.

Their 3d cutting files can be assembled into objects. Some are meant to be rolled or folded, some get layered, and some have slices that fit together to create a larger object.

They also have a huge selection of fonts suitable for any occasion.

CONSUMABLES

Transfer Sheets (affiliate)

Sheets of double-sided tape

Rolls of double-sided tape.

Rolls of painter or other tape

Spray Adhesive

Vinyl in a variety of colors, finishes and FX. 

Vinyl (printable)

Vinyl (iron-on, heat transfer)

Iron-on (printable)

Metal Foil (Adhesive) 

Infusible Inks for ironing onto many surfaces.

Printable sticky paper, 

Tattoos

Stencil material.

Stencil (adhesive)

Foam

Foam (adhesive)

Leather (affiliate)

Paper

Chipboard [structural, painted, emboss/deboss backer]

Kraftboard 

Wood (balsa/basswood)

Wood Veneer 

Metal (Aluminum)

Metal (Color Coated)

Metal (brass / copper)

Acrylic

Felt

Cork

Cork (adhesive backing)

Fabric

Fabric (printable)

Fabric Backing

Starch or fixative

HAND TOOLS

A variety of hand tools for weeding, scraping and pressing.(affiliate)

Some sort of cutting machine to manually cut paper down to size.

OTHER CRAFT-CUTTING MACHINES

There are several other models of craft-cutters from Cricut. Silhouette and Brother, among others, also offer good quality machines with similar capabilities and tools. The cuttable materials are compatible across brands, but the blades embossers and other machine-specific tools are not cross-compatible. You will need to purchase the tools that work with your specific machine.

The Cricut Explore is another option (affiliate) for a good craft cutter. 

Silhouette has similar machines (affiliate) and tools for both model lines,

Brother has a line of cutting machines (affiliate) that include a built-in scanner to make aligning prints easier.

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