Cut Leather with the Cricut Explore and Maker

DIY leather crafts, decor, and fashion are super trendy. I’ll show you how to cut leather with the Cricut Explore and Maker to make working with this tough material a little easier!

This post is in partnership with JOANN. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Hey, Let’s Make Stuff!

I’ve covered cutting so many different materials on the Cricut, but have avoided leather since it can be such a…feisty material. But no longer! Today we’re tackling how to cut leather on the Cricut Explore AND the Cricut Maker using leather from my favorite craft store, JOANN!

How to Cut Leather on the Cricut

We’re going to be cutting four kinds of leather using the Cricut today:

• Cricut Faux Leather
• Cricut Genuine Leather
• Realeather Soft Leather
• Tandy Tooling Leather

We’ll be making these cute leather earrings.

Download the Free Leather Earrings File under SVGs C186

This file can be found in my Free Craft Resource Library. The file number is: C186.

Want access to this free file? Join my FREE resource library! All you need is the password to get in, which you can get by filling out the form below!

Cutting Faux Leather with the Cricut

Let’s start with the easiest leather to cut using your Cricut—Cricut’s faux leather. It gives you the benefits of leather without the extra cost, and it’s great for vegan projects. I have found it cuts absolutely beautifully, provided you use a StrongGrip mat and your design isn’t too intricate.

Cricut faux leather can be cut using the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Maker, using the Fine Point Blade which comes with the machine.

Supplies

• Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker 3
• Fine Point Blade (comes with the machine)
• Purple StrongGrip Mat
• Cricut Faux Leather

Instructions

Cutting Cricut faux leather is easy on your Explore or Maker. Select “Faux Leather (Paper Thin)” as your material.

Place your faux leather face down (this will keep the white star wheels from imprinting on the nice side of your faux leather) on a purple StrongGrip mat. If you’re using an older mat, use a brayer or your hands to really adhere your leather to the mat. Insert your mat into the machine and push the blinking “C” to cut. 

Your material should cut nicely. If not, you can try a new mat or blade, or flip your faux leather over so the nice side is facing up. If you do flip your faux leather, make sure to slide the white star wheels on your machine over to the right so they don’t imprint your leather.

Cutting Genuine Leather with the Cricut

Cricut also offers sheets of genuine leather that are thin enough to be cut on an Explore or Maker with a Deep Cut blade. I hadn’t used their genuine leather until recently, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it cut with that Deep Cut blade. It’s now my go-to leather.

Cricut genuine leather can be cut using the Cricut Explore or the Cricut Maker, using the Deep Cut Blade, which is sold separately.

Supplies

• Cricut Explore or Maker 3
• Deep Cut Blade (sold separately)
• Purple StrongGrip Mat
• Cricut Genuine Leather
• Brayer (optional)

Instructions

Cutting Cricut genuine leather should also be pretty easy on both your Explore or Maker. You might have more trouble, though, if you have a more intricate cut.

Select “Genuine Leather” as your material. Make sure your Deep Cut blade is inserted into your Cricut. The Deep Cut blade is sold separately and comes in a black housing.

Place your genuine leather face down on a purple StrongGrip mat. If you’re using an older mat, use a brayer or your hands to really adhere your leather to the mat. Genuine leather is more pliable than faux leather, so you really want good adhesion on your mat so it doesn’t shift around.

Insert your mat into the machine and push the blinking “C” to cut. Your leather should cut nicely. If not, try a new mat or blade. I haven’t found that flipping this leather over works—it really cuts more nicely face down.

Cutting Soft Leather with the Cricut

Realeather, carried by JOANN, has several different types of leather you might try cutting with your Cricut. I’m using as soft leather, mostly because it came in this gorgeous turquoise color, and you know this girl can’t say no to turquoise!

Realeather soft leather is softer than Cricut’s genuine leather. Some might refer to it more as a garment leather. Realeather soft leather can best be cut using the Cricut Maker, using the Rotary Blade, which comes with the Maker.

Supplies

• Cricut Maker 3
• Rotary Blade (comes with the Maker)
• Purple StrongGrip Mat
• Realeather Soft Leather
• Brayer (optional)

Instructions

I’ve tried cutting soft leather several ways. The most successful I’ve been is using my Rotary Blade on my Cricut Maker. I was able to do it using my Deep Cut blade, but I found that because of the pliable nature of the leather, it dragged more than I would have hoped and the cut wasn’t as crisp. The Rotary Blade comes with the Cricut Maker, and the Deep Cut blade is sold separately.

There is no leather you can select that will allow you to cut with your Rotary Blade. Instead, select Heavy Fabrics (Like Denim) as your material. This will prompt you to use your Rotary Blade.

Place your leather face down on a purple StrongGrip mat. If you’re using an older mat, use a brayer or your hands to really adhere your leather to the mat. Using the leather face up didn’t work at all for me—the back of this leather didn’t adhere to the mat very well at all.

Insert your mat into the machine and push the blinking “C” to cut. Then, before ejecting your mat, press the blinking “C” to cut a second time. Then check your cut—if it didn’t cut all the way, through, press the “C” a third time. I find that twice is enough for straight cuts, but a third pass is often needed for curves.

Cutting Tooling Leather with the Cricut

Tandy tooling leather is a stiff leather that is often used for things like wallets, luggage tags, and belts. Because it is so thick, you will need to use the Cricut Maker with the Knife Blade. You can learn more about cutting materials with the Knife Blade. I highly recommend reading that post. There’s a lot you need to know before using your Knife Blade. I go into some of it below, but it’s a tricky blade that can damage your materials, blade, and machine if not used properly.

Again, make sure you read my Knife Blade post before you start.

Supplies

• Cricut Maker 3
• Knife Blade (sold separately)
• Purple StrongGrip Mat
• Masking Tape
• Tandy Tooling Leather

Instructions

Start by using a brayer or your hands to press the nice side of your leather into a purple StrongGrip mat (note that the maximum width for Knife Blade materials is 11″—cut down your leather if necessary). Then secure on all four sides with masking tape. This will help keep your leather from shifting while cutting.

Then move the white star wheels over to the right—the material is too thick to have the star wheels running across it.

Select Tooling Leather in the Materials selection. If you have a leather gauge, you can use it to see how many “ounces” your leather is for your material setting. You can select 2-3 oz., 4-5 oz., or 6-7oz. If you are unsure, 4-5 oz. is a good place to start.

Then insert your mat into the machine and push the blinking “C” to cut. The Knife Blade will make several passes to cut your earrings—note that the cut times with the Knife Blade are much longer than the Fine Point and Deep Cut blades.

Once your project is cut, use a weeding tool or tweezers to double check that your earrings are cut all the way through. If not, you can do more passes to ensure it cuts all the way through. I’ve been known to do up to five additional passes on leather—it really does depend on the individual piece of leather and the shape you are trying to cut.

Assembling Your Earrings

To assemble your earrings, you’ll need the following supplies (these apply to all four types of leather):

• Piercing Tool
• Pliers
• Hook Earring Findings

Start by using the piercing tool (or strong needle) to poke a hole in the top center of each earring. Use the pliers to open the ring at the bottom of the earring finding and slip the earring onto the hook. Use the pliers to close the ring and you’re done!

From start to finish, I can make a pair of earrings in less than 10 minutes!

Make sure to head to JOANN and check out their selection of faux and genuine leathers so you can create your own jewelry easily, using your Cricut! Also check out my round up of DIY Leather Projects: Crafts, Home Decor, Fashion.