Congratulations if you have become the owner of a new Cricut Maker or Maker 3. We bet you are excited and can't wait to start with craft-making. But you must also wonder what else you should buy with your Cricut Maker or Maker 3. In the market, you will find various options that you can use with your new Cricut machine; some are essential, while some are optional. So that you don't get confused between these two categories, we have compiled a list of essential and optional Cricut Maker accessories. So without any further delay, let's begin.
Absolute Must-Have Accessories
These are essential must-have Cricut Maker accessories without which you can't get the best out of your Cricut machine. You must be wondering what's so special about these accessories. All these tools play a vital role in craft making, and as a beginner, you need to have all these tools. So, without further delay, let's begin with our first tool.
Essential Tool Set
When you purchase a Cricut bundle, you'll receive a toolset. The number of tool sets depends on your bundle, the more, the merrier. The toolset includes a paper trimmer, a pair of scissors, reverse tweezers, a spatula, a weeding tool, and the scoring tool. Before loading them onto the cutting mat, the paper trimmer cuts down vinyl or paper. Although you can use scissors to trim your materials, the paper trimmer is more convenient.
Knife Blade
Knife Blade is designed to work with Cricut Maker and is not part of the bundle. One of the coolest features of the Cricut is its ability to cut dense materials such as thick leather and wood. But for that, you will require a Cricut Knife Blade for that, so you must purchase it separately. The Knife Blade is perfect for cutting 2mm thick chipboard and Balsa wood.
True Control System
The True Control System gives you better control while cutting and weeding various materials, including paper, cardstock, vinyl, iron-on, thin plastics, fabric, and more The knife is sharper than anything and has a tip lock system for greater control. The TrueControl tips include a piercing tool, hook weeder, and knife. It boasts a protective cap, cushioned grip, and anti-roll feature.
XL Scraper
While working on vinyl projects with regular-sized scrapers, you have to go over and over the vinyl to get it to stick to the transfer tape or the surface of the medium. The process may seem simple, but it takes too much of your precious time. The XL Scraper can help you save a lot of time. Because it's wider, you can put more pressure while covering more surface area. The larger surface area means less time and toil when working with larger vinyl designs. It is also helpful in quickly removing the scraps and debris from the cutting mat.
Extra Mat
There are four different types of cutting mats: standard grip, light grip, strong grip, and fabric grip. Usually, you get 1 light grip and 1 fabric mat with your Cricut Maker. When you first start, you might think that you will use one mat for everything, and it does the trick. If you only plan to work on vinyl projects, you can use the same mat for everything. But if you plan to work on different projects involving different materials, we suggest you have at least one mat for each project because you never know when you need one.
Optional Tools for Cricut Machines
These tools are optional, but you will require them soon if you go to your Cricut Maker often. These tools are handy in certain situations, and having these tools around is not a bad idea. To some, it may seem overkill, but trust us, once you go through the features of these tools, you will know how useful they are. So let's take a closer look at these tools one by one.
Brayer
The Brayer is a must-have tool for using the Fabric Grip Mat. The XL Scraper works great with vinyl and paper, but the little Brayer is the best option for thicker leather, chipboard, fabric, and felt materials. It applies even pressure and is much easier to use than the scraper. It ensures that your materials are well adhered to and avoids many cutting mistakes.
Self-Healing Mat
The self-healing mat is the perfect companion to your true control knife, although its mechanics are hard to understand. They protect your counter from the little knife when trying to make a quick cut. The self-healing mat also has all the functional cutting marks to make it perfect and the proper size.
Weeding Tool Set & Bright Pad
If you are going to work on a lot of vinyl projects, then this handy tool set is a must-have. The tool set includes all the tools you need to get hard-to-reach and tight spaces when cutting vinyl. The bright Pad is like a lightweight light table. Turn on the device and place the vinyl over it; all the cut lines will light up so you can weed without putting much strain on your eyes.
Additional Cricut Accessories
Cricut Maker is a versatile machine that can not only cut various materials but can perform other operations as well, and they make crafting more fun. To help make things easier for crafters, Cricut offers various accessories to unlock the full potential of the Cricut machine truly. These accessories cannot work as a stand-alone device; they are designed to work with a Cricut machine.
Cricut Easy Press 2 & Easy Press Mat
Cricut Easy Press 2 is an additional accessory you will need when working with iron-on or infusible ink, and you need a way to apply heat to your material. Besides Cricut Maker, it can also be used with Cricut Explore. Easy Press heats up to the perfect temperature throughout the entire surface. It ensures that your iron-on is adhered to with fewer passes. Easy Press Mat reflects the heat from the easy Press back up into the material so that the iron-on or vinyl design adheres properly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the must-have blades for Cricut Maker?
There are different blades; you can pick the Blade depending on the type of material you are cutting and the operation you want to perform. Here is a list of lade that is compatible with Cricut Maker.
- Fine Point Blade
- Knife Blade
- Premium Fine Point Blade
- Deep Point Blade
- Perforation Blade
- Wavy Blade
What's the use of a Premium Fine Point blade?
The Premium Fine Pont Blade comes pre-installed in the Cricut Maker and can be used to cut paper and vinyl. These blades are long-lasting and can be used with Cricut Explore and Cricut Maker. But the blades that are specifically designed for Cricut Explore will not give you good cuts with the Cricut Maker machines.
What makes Cricut Easy Press 2 better than iron?
With iron, you have to guess the right temperature, producing uneven heat, making it hard to get iron to adhere. But with Easy Press, you get a temperature control and countdown timer. Also, the heat is evenly distributed throughout the surface of the material.
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SOURCE: Must-Have Cricut Maker Accessories for Beginners