« How to Perfectly Acrylic Cut Felt - Tutorial »
Thursday, January 17, 2013 
Cutting nice smooth shapes out of felt can sometimes prove difficult. Smaller bits are often even more difficult to work with than larger shapes. Either way it can be all around frustrating. I mean felt is cheap and all, but who wants to waste time and money cutting out sub par shapes that get thrown in the garbage bin in the end?
Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore at all. I was once asked "really? All of this to cut out a felt letter?" Why yes - please go back to minding your own business.
To perfectly cut felt you will need:
- Felt
- Sharp scissors
- Freezer Paper
- Iron
- Print outs of letters, shapes, etc. (optional)
- Spray Adhesive
(if using printouts)
I'm going to be cutting out felt hearts. Because I need every heart to be exactly the same, I've printed out the hearts I need on regular printer paper.
Take the print out and spray the backside with spray adhesive. Press firmly onto the non-waxy side of the freezer paper and allow a moment to dry.
If you aren't using print outs you can also draw shapes directly onto the non-waxy side of the freezer paper if you don't want to cut freehand.
Take your freezer paper and cut around your shapes. Place waxy side down onto the backside of your felt. Organize so that you can get the most out of your felt.
Not sure which is the wrong or back side of the felt? It's the side that comes with the price sticker on it.
Preheat your iron until it is pretty hot. I go ahead and set mine all the way to cotton. Take the iron and place down onto the freezer paper cut outs to adhere them to the felt. Double check that the waxy side of the paper is facing down. If it is facing up, it will be stuck to your iron and you're going to have a big ol' mess on your hands.
Please also remember that acrylic is plastic. You'll need to take a lot of care when using the iron around your felt, especially as hot as I've suggested. If you let sit too long your felt will burn or, at the very least, discolor.
When adhered (and cool enough to touch) use your very sharp scissors to cut through the paper and the felt. Don't scrape or drag your scissors as you cut. To get nice, sharp lines you'll need strong, decisive snaps of the scissors as you go. Don't turn the scissors as you cut, turn the felt.
When you have emancipated your shape you're still going to have some rough edges. Take your scissors and very lightly snip around anything that is peeking out behind the paper.
When you are happy with the shape, remove the freezer paper by gently peeling. We adhere to the backside because it can sometimes pull at the felt and make it appear kind of fuzzy...
When cutting out shapes with an inner cut, fold the shape in half and make a small cut with your scissors. Cut to the edge and then begin trimming as usual.
Good news is, you can reuse your shapes. I've had them work well for me up to 4 times apiece!
So get out there and cut some felt! Also check back tomorrow to see these felt shapes put to work!
Reader Comments (10)
Useful! Thanks for sharing the tip!
No problem, Ama :)
Such a simple and useful idea that is perfectly useful right now! I have a ton of felt shapes I want to cut out for a felt board and wasn't sure how to do it best. Thank you!
You are very welcome, Vanessa! Have fun cutting out your shapes!
You can also put freezer paper through the printer and print the design right on to the non-waxy side. I do this all the time for patterns. Thanks for the tutorial, I'm definitely going to do this as I get more and more into felt projects.
That is an excellent point, Rebekah - my printer always jams but I have heard it works for a lot of others. Thanks for mentioning!
ahhhh! great technique - I will try this for sure!
Wonderful, Amadarling!
You just taught me that felt had sides! Great post thanks!
:) I am so glad Maman de Lila!