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Hello!I have a Spellbinders Platinum die cutting machine. I'm new and I've only used it to cut paper but was wondering what or if I need something special to cut fabric. There's something on their website called Counter Steel Rule dies. Is that actual 'dies' or is it the thick platform I need. In other words, do I need special dies or a special platform or both? Thanks!
I don’t have the machine you have but I’ve successfully cut lightweight fabric (Shirt weight) and felt with the Big Shot and wafer thin dies (like Nesties or Thinlits) so I don’t see any reason you couldn’t do it with your machine. Steel rule dies would let you cut heavier weight (e.g. denim) so it depends a bit what you want to do.
Here's what happened: the medium size star cut perfect, but the small intricate feather was not as clean cut and will need to be fussy cut. At any rate, it was good to see how well or not it cut through fabric!
Last edited by cherry-pick; 10-19-2020 at 07:24 AM..
Reason: Trying to add photo
Thanks for sharing your results! As a rule of thumb, the simpler the shape, the more likely it is to cut cleanly through the threads. You might be able to persuade something like the feather to cut with a couple of extra passes through the machine or maybe even if shim if it doesn’t make the sandwich feel too tight. The star looks like fun - you could make fabric ornaments for the tree with those!
Another thing that helps with smaller dies and fabric is to iron the fabric onto the shiny side of freezer paper, then run it through with the die. The paper helps stabilize the fabric so it will cut more cleanly. The fabric should be towards the die and the freezer paper towards the plate, if that makes sense...
Backing the fabric with an iron-on stabilizer/interfacing will help with clean edges too.
The steel rule dies are the ones with the thick wood or plastic base. In my Big Shot I use those between two acrylic cutting plates. They can cut several layers of fabric at once, which is nice. Because of how they're constructed, steel rule dies don't have the intricate details that the regular wafer dies can have.
There are also mixed media "deep etch" dies which are designed for quilting and faux leather, etc. Maker's Movement and their sister company Crafter's Edge have those... Crafter's Companion and Tattered Lace also have some... Taylored Expressions has some in her earring line - they are made in the style of the wafer dies but have a deeper cutting edge that can accommodate faux leather, matboard, etc.
If you want to use the shapes for paper crafting, Anna Griffin was selling Terial Magic on HSN to die cut fabric. Its a spray liquid that stablizes fabric, makes it paper-like. I bought it from Amazon and it worked ok.
If you want to use the shapes for paper crafting, Anna Griffin was selling Terial Magic on HSN to die cut fabric. Its a spray liquid that stablizes fabric, makes it paper-like. I bought it from Amazon and it worked ok.
Cutting Fabric With Die Cutting Machine
