Do you have a Cricut machine but aren’t sure how to use it? Maybe you want to have a go at slicing on the machine but don’t know where to start? Perhaps you are curious and want to know more? Whatever your reason might be, we have the answer for you!
When it comes to Cricut machines, we know how easy it is to get confused. There is so much that you can do with these machines, it feels like every day you are learning something new.
There are countless commands and techniques that you can use, you can find yourself overwhelmed just trying to decide on a design.
But when the time comes to make your design, you find yourself unsure what to do. You know that you need to slice, but how do you do that? You’ve never needed to do that before, and try as you might, you just can’t figure out how.
You search and search but just can’t seem to get the answers that you need. Before you know it, you are frustrated, overwhelmed, and your design is nowhere near ready. You wonder if you will ever get the answers that you need, or if you will live a slice-less life.
Well, no more! Today we are here to give you the answers that you need! Keep reading to find out how to slice on Cricut and get ready to create your designs. After today, nothing will stop your creativity!
What Is Slicing On A Cricut?
Before we get into it, let’s have a quick recap for those in the room that need it. Slicing on a Cricut machine is a tool that allows you to split two overlapping texas or images into different parts. You can create new paths from two images, giving you three or more new shapes.
These new shapes will then appear in your Layers panel as an individual layer that can be manipulated. The slice tool will help you cut shapes from another shape, as well as any overlapping shapes, or you can cut text from a shape.
This is fantastic for those that want to create new shapes from existing images or texts or separate any overlapping images.
It’s worth noting that text works slightly differently when you are using the slice tool. Any multilayered text with a hidden layer is fine to use, but if you ungroup any text from a shadow layer, it becomes an image.
It will no longer work with the slice tool unless the text is ungrouped to individual letters. We know that sounds a little confusing, but once you experiment with it, these things will become clearer.
It just takes some practice to get to grips with. Now that we have covered what the slice tool on a Cricut machine does, let’s move on and look at how we can use it!
How To Slice On Cricut?
Let’s get straight into it! Slicing on your Cricut machine can be done in four easy steps. To help you do this, we will walk through the four steps with you.
How you use the tool can vary depending on if you are working on a desktop or app, but don’t worry, we will walk you through the different processes so that you are covered!
Keep reading to use the four steps below to slice on your Cricut machine!
Step 1: Get Your Images
To start, arrange the images that you want to use so that they are overlapping one another. You might need to play around with them a little to ensure that they are overlapping.
Step 2: Select The Images
Next, you will want to select both images. How you will do this depends on if you are using a Windows or Mac device or an iOS or Android app. Let’s take a look at how you do this now.
Mac/Windows – hold the Shift or Ctrl key and click on each layer. A bounding box will appear around both images. All individual layers will be highlighted in the Layer’s panel. Once the two layers are selected, the Slice tool will be active for you to use.
Android/iOS – you can tap the screen and drag a selection box around both layers of the two images. Next, tap the Actions button at the bottom of the screen. Once done, the Slice option will be available for you to use.
If you struggle with this, then there are plenty of online tutorials that you can utilize. These will walk you through the process and you can follow along with the visuals if you wish.
Search for help with your Cricut machine specifying if you are using a desktop or app and you should find a wealth of tutorials that will provide you with plenty of visual aids should you need them.
Step 3 – Slice
Now it’s time to slice! Click the Slice button. You will find this at the bottom of your Layer’s panel on a computer, or the Actions menu on the bottom of the screen if you are using the app. You will see the new images reflected in the Layers panel as sliced images.
At this point, any hidden layers will be removed from the panel. Be sure to check that there is nothing in there you want to keep before slicing and removing these images!
Step4 – Create Your Shapes
To finish you will want to separate the layers to see your new shapes. If you are doing this on a computer then there will be duplicates of the sliced sections, giving you a cutout from each layer. If you are using the Android or iOS app then there will not be duplicates of your sliced sections.
You can then edit or delete the images individually if you wish. Once you have done that, you can add layers or slice other images until you get the design you want.
You might want to overlap hearts and slice them to have smaller clear hearts inside the one large heart. Or you might choose to slice an image to add text to the center, the choice here is yours.
There are plenty of wonderful ideas online for you to take inspiration from if you wish. It’s worth spending some time practicing this to ensure that you get it right when you slice your images.
Don’t forget, the undo button is your best friend! Any mistakes you make can be rectified if needed, so don’t worry too much while you are practicing.
Don’t forget there are also plenty of online tutorials online that you can use if you need any further help. Why not put one on and see how other people are using the Slice feature to create their designs? You will be amazed at what this simple feature allows you to do!
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, four simple steps that will allow you to slice on your Cricut machine. Remember, this advice is for when using Design Space and will work with a desktop or app, so you never need to struggle again!
Don’t forget to check that any hidden layers you want to keep are saved to prevent them from being lost when you slice your images.
The slice tool can seem a little tricky to begin with, but with some practice and patience, you too can create your wonderful designs with ease. Why not try it today?
Hi, my name is Michael Moore, and I have been 3D printing for a number of years now. I have created many cool gadgets over the years, but my current passion is creating one of a kind jewelry pieces. They can be so intricate and beautiful that many people wouldn't believe they are 3D printed.
Through Love and Robots, I hope to share my knowledge with others, and provide advice about everything 3D printer related.
