Felt cutting is a major part of all felt sewing craft projects. It’s also one of the most challenging and tedious aspects of felt crafting.
I want to share with you, my tips, tricks and hacks to felt cutting. I’ll show you how to cut wool felt to cut down on the time spent on your project while creating the most perfectly cut felt shapes. Let’s Go!
Back To Basic: Pattern Tracing!
The most basic way to cut felt would be with pattern tracing. Simply print your pattern out onto a thick paper such as a 65 lb. cardstock. Trim the pattern piece from the paper, carefully and directly on the line. Hold the pattern piece into place onto the felt and trace the shape with a sewing chalk or disappearing ink.
After Tracing the pattern onto the felt, trim the shape from the felt. Disappearing ink or washable tracing medium can be removed by the recommended directions of the product. Otherwise you may want to be careful to cut just inside the lines, or flip your piece over so that the lines don’t show on the finished shape.
Another quick pattern tracing hack: print your pattern on a laser printer (this only works with laser printer!). Trim the pattern just outside of the pattern lines the flip the pattern face down onto the felt. Iron the pattern paper for just a few seconds which will transfer the pattern onto your felt. Do be aware that this does also flatten the fibers of your felt quite a lot. Trim the shape from the felt just inside of the pattern lines.
Felt Cutting Hack: Tape The Pattern To The Felt
My favorite way to cut felt by hand is with tape. Not only are the materials super inexpensive, but this method gives you so much accuracy and precision! For me this is the next best method from machine cutting.
Trim the pattern from the printed paper just outside of the lines. No need to make it pretty! You just need to get the shape from the paper with a bit of extra space around the lines.
Using some wide clear packing tape, attach the pattern piece to the felt, covering it completely. This may take a few pieces slightly overlapped.
I like to use Duck brand clear packing tape. It is easily found at most department stores like Walmart or Target. The best part is that it only costs a little over a dollar per roll.
Once the pattern piece is completely affixed to the felt, simply cut along the lines through all layers of tape, paper and felt.
Fast And Easy Machine Cut Felt
By far the quickest and easiest way to go about felt cutting is to use a personal cutting machine. I like to use the Cricut Maker for my hobby projects. It’s a perfect hands off way to get the absolutely most perfectly cut wool felt shapes. Almost every DelilahIris felt sewing pattern comes with a file to upload to any felt cutting machine. Don’t miss my quick tutorial for cutting felt on a Cricut Maker, along with tips on how to reuse your cutting mats over and over.
