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Cutting fabric with dies and using fabric on cards...
Do any of you use your dies to cut fabric with? I have some pieces of fabric leftover from making masks, that aren't large enough to quilt with or make anything of a decent size with. I did cut some small hearts out with a die after adhering to double sided adhesive sheet, and it worked pretty well. I just wondered if this would ruin the dies if I did it too often.
Also, do any of you make cards with fabric? I looked it up on youtube, and I have been following down the rabbit hole of videos. I know I saved a ton to watch later. Many of them are older, so they don't have the advantages of using the adhesive sheets that we have now, but some of them look to have some awesome ideas!
I just received a sweet card with a strip of fabric from Gem35, but I'm not sure what she backed it with. Someone, and I'm pretty sure it's ArtzadoniStudio, (Lori) has mentioned using large address labels as backing. If you check her gallery you'll find a good few cards with fabric.
I don't know about whether repeated use would dull the cutting edge, sorry. But the dies that are sold for making little plushies and felt ornaments look the same as regular chemically etched dies, and they by their nature are intended for regular use with felt.
I just did a search in the gallery. Evidently, I am really late to this party, as there were plenty of cards using fabric. I would still love to hear from those that have done it. I have to remember also, that I have stencils and templates I can use also. I just love this hobby; always something interesting to check out.
Thank you so much Cook 22. I will definitely check those out! That sounds like a neat idea to use the large address labels; what a resourceful and creative idea they had! Thank you! So fun learning new things!
I have done it, what I did was I used iron on fusing web sheets ( fabric stores sell it) and you iron it to the back of the fabric, that makes you "fabric paper sheets" and then you die cut it and then you peel off the backing and iron it onto your cardstock.
(my first iron I ever bought I melted broken crayons with and that became a craft room iron lol... so, don't use your good iron that way) but, I also used hmm mostly Sizzix dies. the ones that were before thin dies were made.
Okay I take that back, looks like I used my spellbinders dies on it too. the only thing is if you buy that fuse able web, some can be sewn through after and some is strictly iron on. so you can mess up your sewing machine if you do the non sewing kind of patches and decided you want deco threads on the edges later.
I know a couple of companies sell wool felt basically for cutting with dies. The Stamps of Life sells it and Stephanie has shown it in videos. My Favorite Things also sells it. I do have a roll, but have never cut with it. I think it is on my list to do one day.
__________________ Lisa Featured Stamper #671 Love sending BRAK cards. Dirty Dozen Alumni.CC927 Favorite Virtual Stamp Night April 19 - 20 Come Join in the Fun Here
YES! I love, love, love to cut fabric with my dies.
Steel Rule- Have been cutting for years without using a backing. My dies are still perfect with no damage.
Thin- You can cut without a backing but it depends on the fabric. Backings I use are HeatnBond, Freezer Paper.
To find inspiration look for fabric artists. Quilters are masters with die cutting material . Many of them are card makers and have taught me a lot. That will help you go further down the rabbit hole, lol.
Yes, I do make cards with fabric. I love to make card embellishments with fabric.
My home is a drama tonight so sorry if I am all over the place. The animal gang has Fall fever and are into everything. I have never used adhesive sheets with fabric and dies. I have used my Xyron. I use that after I cut out everything.
Some of the best fabric die cutting inspiration comes from the UK, Russia & South America, especially Argentina & Venezuela.
HTH
__________________
The following 3 users liked this post by lylacfey:
Maybe that is what is wrong with my cats! They have been super wild lately!
I hadn't thought about freezer paper. How do you do that? I have some of the pellon that I could use for that, but thinking I'll use it for sewing projects.
That is so interesting about the inspiration coming out of those countries. I enjoy seeing projects from all over.
I like a lot of the card making projects I see from the U.K., and am jealous that they have more card making and stamping magazines there. There's even include stamps etc...super cool.
I don't have many steel rule dies. I've heard you can do it with a cricut also, but you have to go to the trouble of preparing the fabric in specific ways; sounds too complicated for me.
As far as ruining dies: My first thought about cutting fabric with dies made for paper crafts....We don't use our fabric/sewing scissors on paper because paper dulls the blades, so I think you don't need to worry that cutting fabric with any kind of dies will dull the dies (they don't cut by sharpness anyway, they press through what you're cutting).
I think the idea of using double sided adhesive sheets as backing for your fabrics before die cutting, that would be the easiest way to handle them.
I have only cut felt with dies, no normal fabrics.
The following 2 users liked this post by harvestmoon:
I hadn't thought about freezer paper. How do you do that?
I was going to suggest the freezer paper as well. It would also be a cheaper option. You can also cut things from it and use as a stencil on fabrics. Just iron it shiny side down to the fabric. If using as a stencil, make sure your edges are well ironed. After you’re finished, just peel from the fabric (or whatever you’ve ironed it to - also works on other things including wood!)
Last Christmas I used my sizzix to cut out felt circles to make a couple of Christmas ornaments
I hand sewed together. i've seen Jennifer McGuire do this in a video, I believe she used her die cutting machine to cut out pine needles for Christmas trees she was making. I do think that if you are using a thin fabric, you would need to apply it to an adhesive paper backing in order for it not to fray and be too fragile to work with on paper. But I am not sure if it does anything to your dies, I think paper is something that dulls things faster than fabric, but I could be wrong about that.
~Sandy D.
I have used a spray that makes fabric stiff enough to die cut with
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoptownracer1
Do any of you use your dies to cut fabric with? I have some pieces of fabric leftover from making masks, that aren't large enough to quilt with or make anything of a decent size with. I did cut some small hearts out with a die after adhering to double sided adhesive sheet, and it worked pretty well. I just wondered if this would ruin the dies if I did it too often.
Also, do any of you make cards with fabric? I looked it up on youtube, and I have been following down the rabbit hole of videos. I know I saved a ton to watch later. Many of them are older, so they don't have the advantages of using the adhesive sheets that we have now, but some of them look to have some awesome ideas!
.
I bought this spray at Michaels years ago but I imagine you can still find it on line. Any residue left on the die can just be wiped off.
Die cut with it once the spray has dried. The spray goes on the back of the fabric. It’s a great way to make flowers or other cuts with shiny or textured fabrics.
lylacfey, Are you able to buy refills for your Xyron? In Amazon,It seem like the price had doubled. That was before the pandemic. Now, it's even harder to find Xyron refills. I have checked the Xyron company site and the lack of product, along with the cost, Yikes.
I taught a card class with butterflies this summer and I found some gorgeous butterfly fabric [with shiny gold on the butterflies] that I wanted to use. I used fusible fabric [Pellon is one brand] and ironed it to the fabric to make it stiffer. We then cut out the butterflies with scissors and added antennae later, but the cards turned out beautifully. I've never thought to try cutting fabric with my dies but may now give it a go!
Having a backing on the fabric just opens up a whole new world for me! Even if I cut images out with scissors, it will be awesome that the fabric won't easily fray!
I like Pat's idea. I have some older fabric that would make some really cool paper, and I was also wanting to cut out some cats from a fabric I have, but that would be difficult, as they all have parts that are covered by other cats, but it would make a wonderful paper background!
Loving all the wonderful ideas and the knowledge that you all are sharing! I also love that I have a use for those small pieces of fabric that I ordinarily wouldn't have a use for.
I have seen some beautiful fabric. When you mentioned butterflies, it reminded me of a beautiful glittery fabric with butterflies, that they had at Walmart last year. It had the most gorgeous pink, purple and bright pastel colors!
Plaid Brand Spray stiffener for fabrics called STIFFY
[QUOTE=MollyK333;22119278].
I bought this spray at Michaels years ago but I imagine you can still find it on line. Any residue left on the die can just be wiped off.
Die cut with it once the spray has dried. The spray goes on the back of the fabric. It’s a great way to make flowers or other cuts with shiny or textured fabrics.
The product I used successfully was Plaid brand Spray Stiffener called STIFFY; available at WalMart and other craft stores.
Do any of you use your dies to cut fabric with? I have some pieces of fabric leftover from making masks, that aren't large enough to quilt with or make anything of a decent size with. I did cut some small hearts out with a die after adhering to double sided adhesive sheet, and it worked pretty well. I just wondered if this would ruin the dies if I did it too often.
Also, do any of you make cards with fabric? I looked it up on youtube, and I have been following down the rabbit hole of videos. I know I saved a ton to watch later. Many of them are older, so they don't have the advantages of using the adhesive sheets that we have now, but some of them look to have some awesome ideas!
I've cut felt and fabric with a few of my dies, but have no idea if this will cause the dies to lose cutting ability over time. I have, however, used fabric on cards and tags by just gluing it directly on the card or tag, and cutting the excess off. It's like using patterned paper, but with a bit of texture and interest. I have a LOT of fabric sitting around, since I used to sew and quilt, and am always looking for ways to use the scraps.
Karen
Great minds thinking alike!
i have cut some fabric with my thick steel rule sizzix dies, and it works great.
i have been thinking about using some of my scraps for a snip-it roll. There are many videos on them. Some crafters back them with fabric, and others with tyvek tape. My friend shared a bit of hers with me, and it’s beautiful.
i have also machine sewn fabric and paper to cards as well as machine “embroidered” (with some of the decorative stitches in my machine) on paper. They work great
Maybe that is what is wrong with my cats! They have been super wild lately!
I hadn't thought about freezer paper. How do you do that? I have some of the pellon that I could use for that, but thinking I'll use it for sewing projects.
That is so interesting about the inspiration coming out of those countries. I enjoy seeing projects from all over.
I like a lot of the card making projects I see from the U.K., and am jealous that they have more card making and stamping magazines there. There's even include stamps etc...super cool.
I don't have many steel rule dies. I've heard you can do it with a cricut also, but you have to go to the trouble of preparing the fabric in specific ways; sounds too complicated for me.
It is really easy to use freezer paper on fabric. Reynolds package has the instructions on the box. Iron shiny side down on to the fabric and you are good to go.
Don't be intimidated by the Cricut. For years, since the legacy machines, Cricut crafters have been using fabric. My Brother ScannCut I scan fabric and then cut out images. I love working with fabric using my die cutters. One of the top reasons I got into the die cutting world was to use fabric.
lylacfey, Are you able to buy refills for your Xyron? In Amazon,It seem like the price had doubled. That was before the pandemic. Now, it's even harder to find Xyron refills. I have checked the Xyron company site and the lack of product, along with the cost, Yikes.
To be fair I am a bit of a prepper and I have a ten year supply of Xyron refills. No ladies, I am not joking. I do have that many refills. I got several for the price of one like two maybe three years ago.
Diamond Painting crowd is snatching refills up so that is one of the reasons why it is hard to find them. I know on their groups they have good resources where to find refills.
Dies becoming dull. Paper will dull them. Glitter paper is the worst culprit. Ask me how I know this, lol. I usually batch die cut so when I am done cutting I "sharpen" my dies with our paper punch method. I run my die through the cutter with tin foil and then wax paper. My dies are in good condition.
Now, I know there is controversy about wax paper and die cutting. For maintenance I never had an issue. I don't use wax paper to die cut, just for maintenance.
Hi. So I've been reading all of the comments and have learned a lot myself. For me, I purchased the big Gemini to be able to cut various materials, including cloth. For the backing I have used what I call "Wonder Under" which is still made and basically it's a stiffening piece that I used when I did button holes. I don't sew any more - wasn't too good at it. So with the Wonder Under I also use double sided tape. Oh, the Wonder Under keeps the fabric from fraying; much like the other stuff in the comments. My Gemini does an OK job with the materials, but what really works good is my Bigz dies - amazing. I still have my Cuttlebug for that purpose. I love these dies.
Anyway, you've got a lot of good advice here. I hope you are able to find a solution.
lylacfey, Are you able to buy refills for your Xyron? In Amazon,It seem like the price had doubled. That was before the pandemic. Now, it's even harder to find Xyron refills. I have checked the Xyron company site and the lack of product, along with the cost, Yikes.
Try scrapbookpal.com for Xyron. I usually buy mine from there.
I have not had very good success with the thin dies for cutting bare fabric; backed fabric is a little better and the BigZ metal rule dies are great. The ones I have don't tend to be intricate shapes.
I like using fabric on cards because of the texture element. I did an anniversary card that tried to emulate the girls wedding dress and bouquet. The background was sheer curtaining material fused on with fusible fabric web. It comes in sheets and strips (for hemming). It adhered really well but I ended up with tiny black specks all over the area. I don't know how that happened something with the fusible webbing I think. Anyway, I covered the spots with pearls and butterflies. Behind the heart die cut I used some netting like the veil.
I have not had very good success with the thin dies for cutting bare fabric; backed fabric is a little better and the BigZ metal rule dies are great. The ones I have don't tend to be intricate shapes.
I like using fabric on cards because of the texture element. I did an anniversary card that tried to emulate the girls wedding dress and bouquet. The background was sheer curtaining material fused on with fusible fabric web. It comes in sheets and strips (for hemming). It adhered really well but I ended up with tiny black specks all over the area. I don't know how that happened something with the fusible webbing I think. Anyway, I covered the spots with pearls and butterflies. Behind the heart die cut I used some netting like the veil.
Here are some cards I used sample upholstery fabrics and burlap on. The flowers are cut with BigZ ruler dies. I sometimes use Stickles or dab on glue on the edge to prevent fraying. One card I used an oval frame cut from fabric. The burlap and upholstery fabric glues on with regular glue really well. My favourite is Aleene's Designer Tacky Glue.
Thanks Lydia. I just watched the video. I love the seed packet idea. I don't have a gel print plate.
I have never seen that fabric stiffener. I will check at Michael's and see if they have it. I like that it is a spray. I have some stiffener that I got many years ago that is in a bottle and you have to spread it on or soak the fabric in it...way messy.
Cutting fabric with dies and using fabric on cards...
Plaid Brand Spray stiffener for fabrics called STIFFY
