Simple Guide to Cricut Materials

The Simple 1 Minute guide to everything you need to know about Cricut Materials

Cricut Smart Materials - The only difference between the Smart Iron-on/vinyl and the Regular Iron-on/vinyl is that they can be run through your machine WITHOUT A MAT. So with regular iron on you are limited to 12x24", whereas you can run the whole length of the Smart materials all the way through your Cricut.

Also they say it only works on Cricut Explore 3, Maker 3, and Joy, but others have had some success on older models, use at your own risk. Also works like any Regular Everyday Iron-on/Vinyl if you want to cut it up and put it on a Mat.

Cricut Infusable Ink - The Infusable Ink is an Iron-on Material at heart, but it works slightly different. With regular Iron-on, the material sits ON TOP of the clothing. With Infusable Ink, the material BECOMES ONE with the clothing. Because this process is basically Sublimation, it Infuses the clothing fibers with the Ink Color/Pattern and becomes permanent. Only recommended for WHITE or LIGHT clothing, and the higher % Polyester you have in your clothing the more vibrant the colors. Works with any Cricut Machine or Mug/Hat Press.

Removable vs. Permanent Vinyl - Most Vinyl you will use will be PERMANENT, but if you ever need to use it, Removable Vinyl works almost the exact same way but it has LESS ADHESIVE and Bonding Properties, making it easily removable from Walls, Cars, etc... Cuts and Transfers the same exact way as Permanent. Useable in All Cricut Machines. Can put Smart Removeable Vinyl on Mats if need be.

All Other Types of Iron-On

Every Day Iron-On - Your average run of the mill Go-To Iron-On that works with most any clothing material or surface. Usually only comes in White or Black.

SportFlex Iron-On - Regular Iron-On that Stretches a little better, and has slightly better Wear and Tear Properties.

Glitter, Foil and Holographic - Cut and Transfer like Regular Iron-On, but has designs/different materials.

Smart Iron-On - We've already covered this up top but you can use Smart Iron-On without a Mat, allowing for longer than 24" designs. Can still use Smart Iron-On like Everyday Iron-On if you need to cut it and place it on a Mat.

One Final Note - You don't need to buy specifically Cricut materials, Most HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl) that you can find online or in craft stores will work just as well as the EveryDay Iron-On.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. I actually run a Drone and Aerial Filming Company called WanderDrone and cricut/crafting is by no means my forte and this will probably be my only blog post about this subject, I just couldn't find any one location or easy answer to all the Cricut Material Differences and uses. I figured after I hunted down all the answers the least I could do is write a silly little simple blog post in the hopes that I could help someone else out (Maybe its you, standing in that Cricut aisle in Hobby Lobby trying to find service so you can google real quick why there's 100 different Cricut materials and not have to read someone's life story about how they got started crafting.)