Nov
Make 12 Inch Borders and Longer Die Cuts With Quickutz Silhouette and Craft Robo
I really don’t know why the mat for the Silhouette and other Graphtec machines ( Craft Robo, Wishblade) don’t come with a bigger mat. The mats for Silhouette and replacement mats are 9×13 inch and there is no reason why you can’t cut longer files.
How to cut Cut Longer Files in Craft Robo and Silhouette
You need a bit of “extra” on the end of your mat so it can feed in the machine so about the longest you can make a cut file on your cutting machine is 9/10 inches with the standard size mat.
How To Make 12 Inch Borders and Cut Files on Craft Robo and Quickutz Silhouette
I am a big border person. I love to use them in my scrapbooks., maybe because of my Creative Memories background- it is a hard habit to break. I was really stumped as to why I couldn’t make with my machine and realized it was a simple-ish fix. I just needed a longer mat.
I have made my own mats a few times ( you can read my post on How to make Your Own Craft Robo, Silhouette and Cricut Machines) and I personally like them more than the original mat that came with my Silhouette. One issue I did have was finding something that I could use for a lingger mat to make borders for my scrapbook pages..
If you can find the right length of plastic- go for it- just follow directions on the Make Your Own Mat for Cricut Mahines, Silhouette and Craft Robo post I mentioned.
I found the easiest thing to do- especially if you don’t have the adhesive or a Xyron 900 is to just cut down a large Cricut mat. This is probably the least expensive option.
What you need:
Cricut 12-Inch By 24-Inch Mat pack of two cost about 17.00.
Painters tape
Scissors
WD-40 or similar ( Goo Gone, any kind of adhesive remover, and I think an acetone based nail polish remover would work as well.)
I was VERY happy with how these turned out.
Step One:
Cut down your mat. The Cricut mats come in a pack of two. You can cut one 10×17 size mat and then or however long you want. You can make longer if you like.
Cut your mat down. Use the measurements that are printed on the mat as your guide. I used scissors with n problems, I was going to sue craft knife but then had to worry about my cutting mat- seemed like overkill.
Remove Excess Adhesive From Mat
Use your painters tape and tape down the two side of your mat. ( Actually if you really only have to do this along one side). You need to leave about a 1/2 inch strip of mat exposed. You are going to remove the adhesive along the sides- this is so rollers can feed that mat in and out of your machine.
( Note I used duct tape in this- which can strip some some of the adhesive off- use painters tape OR if you use Duct / masking tape and remove some of the stickiness put pulling it on and off some fabric)
Don’T spray the WD-40 right on the mat it will get on parts where you want adhesive. I used a little bit on a cotton ball. The adhesive came right off very easily.
When I took tape off of used a bit of soapy water on cotton ball to get rid of oily residue.
You are done! test out your mat. When you are in your software ( most likely Robo Master) and making a 12 inch die cut or border set user size to width of mat and length 15 inches. Remember you need at least 2 extra inches on your mat so it can feed. So if you want to cut 14 inches you need at least a 16 inch mat, etc.
Go ahead and cut!
Note: Make sure you have enough room at the BACK of your cutter and it doesn’t hit a wall
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Where did you get the darling art for your Christmas cut-outs?
November 15th, 2008 at 11:20 pmLove all of your info for the silhouette, It’s a new machine to me & I appreciate any tips.
TFS,
Justina
You said you only removed adhesive from one side of the mat? Which side is this? I bought the cricut mats to cut down becuase I can’t get mats around here but I haven’t done it yet (a little nervous to cut in).
December 13th, 2008 at 8:48 pmBy one side I should have said edge.
Hello, the mats for Cricut aren’t too thick for Silhouette? I’m wanting to buy the Cricut mats because they are readily available to buy at the stores, but I’m afraid to try…
Thanks,
July 29th, 2009 at 11:20 pmThe Cricut mast are great. I prefer them to any other to be honest. I use with both my Silhouette and KNK element. Go for it!
Thank you ever so much, I have been trying to do this for ages! Now I’m going to make some nice scrappin’ borders as well! woohoooo!
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:03 amCan the craft robo read the edge of your paper and determine from where it needs to cut to?
I want to use the cricut mats because they are thicker but my worry are the line relevant in the mats or does this not matter?
October 10th, 2009 at 3:37 pmThis is the best tip I’ve found to date! I did, however, do my own thing. I used my SD mat and configured the edges to be “nonsticky”. I also trimmed some of the leading edge (I like to do alot of print and cut!) Thank you, thank you, thank for this wonderful bit of wisdom!
December 27th, 2009 at 8:46 pmSLICK!!!! Thank you soooo much for this great tip! Now if QK will get a thick media blade…
February 4th, 2010 at 8:55 pmThanks for the great tips im new to the sillhouette and am having truoble with the paper size and would love to do longer borders. thaks again
March 13th, 2010 at 3:19 pmThanks for your advice. But how do you stretch the red square, so that the Sil will cut further than the standard length? I have already changed my documentsize, but the red square stays put. Help me, please, has anybody have an answer??
July 26th, 2010 at 10:10 amThe red line should re-size with your document. You can re-size up to 39 inches(you would use this with vinyl) The red box is the cutting area and will remain an inch or so shorter than the main area. Try changing the document size to 39 inches and see if the red area grows too. HTH.
September 3rd, 2010 at 6:33 pmWhat is the longest you could cut your mat I was thinking of using one of those non stick pie rolling plastic sheets they are about 30 in long and 26 in wide so you could cut it down? Do you think that would work. Please respond to my email. Thanks for all the great tips.
September 9th, 2010 at 12:00 amhi! i’ve been looking everywhere for tips on resurfacing my silhouette mat, and i used the zig 2-way pen. i let it sit for HOURS – not just the recommended 30 minutes or so – and put the covers back on my mats before bedtime (which again was hours after i applied the glue). i went to use them a few weeks later and effectively glued several sheets of cardstock to my mats – both of them – and not just the first time, but i would peel them off and try to put another piece on where the glue was still exposed and still try to cut, and even that would stick so firmly that i’d lose the paper. this is definitely repositionable – any ideas?
March 7th, 2011 at 1:38 pm(i’ve also tried the ‘temporary bond’ instructions using scotch spray adhesive and that isn’t leaving enough stick. i can’t find a good ‘middle!’)
Do you post updates to twitter?
January 5th, 2012 at 3:10 amyes- I update twitter with each new post