10 Of The Best Fabric Cutting Machines

Rotary fabric cutters, drill cutters, hand scissors, and die cutters: you’ll always want the best cutting tools on hand! Cutting fabric may sound simple, but it can be extremely difficult if you’re trying to get a straight cut. Imagine working on a sewing project that requires ‘perfectly cut out’ swatches of fabric. You wouldn’t just settle for hand scissors, right? Exactly!

As a seamstress, you should always put your best foot forward. Why? Because it’s important that you create and produce your best work. Therefore, you’d probably want to invest in a more complex and savvy cutting machine. In other words, you’d need something accurate and precise. I’ve been sewing for six years–I know, that’s a long time.

Over the course of those years, I’ve successfully progressed from amateur to professional fabric cutting–all with the help of outstanding machinery. If cutting fabric is a hassle for you, then no worries. That’s what we’re here for! Are you having trouble finding and getting your hands on a good fabric cutter? Well, lucky you–you’re in the right place!

Is a Fabric Cutter Really Necessary? Should I Buy an Expensive One?

If you asked yourself this, then the answer is most likely ‘yes’–depending on the complexity and difficulty of your sewing project of course. Especially if you do a lot of quilting projects, or if you do a lot of craft work that involves cutting various types of materials, in addition to your regular sewing.

Let’s be clear for a second. Amazing fabric cutters may cost you a pretty penny; however, consider asking yourself the following questions: Will this fabric cutter benefit my project for the good? And will the result of my project impress others? If you answered ‘yes’ to both questions, then absolutely–every coin counts!

The Advantages of Owning a Good Fabric Cutter

Believe it or not, you get significant advantages when you own a fabric cutter. First of all, a fabric cutter gives you perfect cuts of fabric. Once you start using one of them, you can say goodbye to sloppy and unprofessional-looking pieces of cloth. Did you know that fabric cutters don’t just cut fabric?

Many of them come with special features such as embossing (a raised design on a piece of fabric or paper), digital scanning, touch screens, dies (cuts low-strengthened materials), strip cutting, built-in rotary blades/sharpeners, printing, and the list goes on. The sky is the limit with good fabric cutting devices. You’re offered so many neat features in just one machine!

Fabric cutters also work extremely fast. Some of them work a little quicker than others, but the positive benefit is this: you won’t have to use your hands a lot. The fabric cutter literally takes on all the hard work. I don’t know about you, but it’s a bit uncomfortable when my hands cramp. Thanks to my fabric cutter, this is the least of my worries!

10 Outstanding Fabric Cutting Machines

1. Cricut Maker

The Cricut Maker is a very popular machine. It also comes with well-sharpened rotary blades. Seamstresses normally utilize this tool for more complicated designs. I would recommend this fabric cutter for a detailed quilt or costume. In addition to that, I have great news for you. Some markets are selling the Cricut Maker at affordable prices! Maybe you won’t have to spend hundreds on this machine after all.

Pros:

• Perfect for vinyl cutting
• Great for fabric printing
• It comes with a well-sharpened, full-fledged rotary blade and other blades (knife blade, fine point blade, deep point blade, and a bonded fabric blade)
• Increased cutting speed up to 2X’s faster
• Can handle heavy-duty and light-weight fabrics (denim, canvas, silk, etc.)
• Comes with unique pens (great for calligraphy and scoring)
• Adaptive tool system
• Excellent cutting power and leverage
• It lets you know if you’re using the correct blade or not

Cons:

• Has a limited cutting space
• A limited designing software
• The knife blade does exactly come with the original package. You’ll have to order it separately.

2. Cricut Explore Air 2

The Cricut Explore Air 2 is another jaw-dropping fabric cutter. As an added benefit in places with poor internet access, it can be used online and offline. It’s great for home and studio use. Above all, it comes with a quicker cutting speed (up to 2x’s faster)!

Pros:

• High-quality components
• Very Affordable
• Beginner-friendly and easy to use
• Cuts hundreds of materials (heavy-weight and light-weight)
• Suitable for small businesses

Cons:

• Doesn’t cut as many materials as the Cricut Maker
• The design software is very slow
• Only ten inches wide (may be difficult to cut larger swatches of fabric)

3. AccuQuilt Go! Big

The name of this fabric cutter speaks for itself–because it’s accurate and phenomenal for quilting. With the AccuQuilt Go! Big, you can either go huge or go home! The choice is yours. The AccuQuilt Go! Big is made with love. And it comes with a 1-year warranty.

Secondly, you don’t have to cut one piece of fabric at a time with this one. Would you like to know why? It cuts not two, not three, but six fabrics all at once–you can’t beat that! This fabric cutter is a precious gem, so you might want to take good care of it.

Lastly, the AccuQuilt Go Big also folds and is great for transportation. Here’s one thing that I know for sure: investing in this fabric cutter is totally worth it!

Pros:

• Has a folding compartment (great for storage and transporting)
• Great quality construction
• Very good company support
• More than enough dies
• ¼ seam allowance for geometrical shapes

Cons:

• You’ll need a mat replacement
• Incompatible dies (the AccuQuilt Go! Big cutter only recognizes dies of their own)

4. Hercules AS100-K

If you’re looking for a powerhouse-like fabric cutter, then the Hercules AS100-K would be a perfect fit for you! If you’re displeased with this product, then it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. That’s pretty awesome, don’t you think?

The Hercules AS100-K comes with a large rotary blade (great for cutting thicker layers of fabric). It even comes with a built-in sharpener! Now, you don’t have to purchase a separate blade sharpener. Isn’t that neat?

Pros:

• Powerful, agile, and light
• Cuts a variety of fabrics
• Feature-packed
• It comes with a built-in sharpening stone
• Easy gliding cutting foot
• 2” multiple-layer cutter

Cons:

• It’s hard to cut artificial fabrics

5. Hercules HRK-100

This is another rotary-like fabric cutter that you don’t want to miss out on. The Hercules HRK-100 is the best electronic fabric cutting machine. It accelerates up to 5x’s speed–that’s a little faster than the Cricut Explore Air 2! In addition to this, the Hercules HRK-100 has a 4″ octagonal rotary blade and a built-in sharpening stone. It can cut through cotton, silk, synthetic fabrics, and leather. If you decide to invest in an HRK -100, then you’re definitely in for a treat!

Pros:

• Comes with the same features as the Hercules AS100-K

Cons:

• Difficult to cut artificial fabrics

6. Brother CM350

The Brother CM350 is a very exquisite and fancy fabric cutting machine! I’ve used it a few times and by far, it’s my favorite. If you enjoy working with touch screens, then I would recommend buying this one. Lean in a little closer so you can hear me well: the Brother CM350 has 631 built-in designs! Yes–631 of them and they’re astounding. It also comes with a 1-year warranty.

Pros:

• Comes with a 300 DPI scanner
• LCD touch screen (30% larger)
• Wireless design transfer
• Direct USB transfer
• Color recognition for scanning
• SVG files support
• Access to CanvasWorkspace
• Standard blade
• 2 pens and one pen holder
• Stylus pen and spatula
• Built-in patterns

Cons:

• Doesn’t come with a wireless transfer, direct USB transfer, color recognition, or support for SVG files

7. Brother SDX125E

The Brother SDX125E fabric cutter is touch screen compatible. It has a few things in common with the Brother CM350. They both cut through thick fabric swatches, they have over 600 essential designs and a 1-year warranty. This fabric cutter comes with 682 built-in designs!

The Brother SDX125E has the following unique features: blade sensor technology and on-screen editing. You should be great to go with this fabric cutter.

Pros:

• Scans your original art (can draw and cut it)
• It doesn’t make a lot of noise
• It’s touch screen compatible
• You can use it offline and online

Cons:

• It doesn’t come with a detailed manual
• It’s hard to find mats for it

8. Sizzix 660425

The Sizzix 660425 is a savvy machine (well known as the big shot fabric cutter). With it, you get the best of both worlds–fabric cutting and embossing! Most fabric cutters only come with a 1-year warranty, but this one comes with a 3-year warranty. This beauty works as a rolling/winding system. You would use the side handle to cut fabric and embellish/print your designs.

Pros:

• Beginner and expert-friendly
• Die cuts and embosses up to 6” of fabric
• Comes with 1 pair of cutting pads
• Comes with a 1-year warranty

Cons:

• The handle may come off from time to time

9. Silhouette Cameo

The Silhouette Cameo Electronic Cutting Tool won’t take up too much space. For instance, your sewing closet may be a little cluttered and you’ll need to make some extra room. This fabric cutter is perfect for storage and fits in the tightest spaces.

Pros:

• Cuts all standard-sized materials
• Features high speed and increased force
• New smart tool dual carriage
• Comes with a type 4 auto blade
• Comes with a mat-loading sensor
• Features a roll feeder
• It has a nice cross cutter
• Retractable lid

Cons:

• Only the blue pen adapter is included
• The tools cannot be used interchangeably
• There’s not an input for a USB thumb drive
• Doesn’t come with a Cameo 4 stand

10. Silhouette Portrait

If you’re looking for a fabric cutter that’s a bit on the techy side, then you should try the Silhouette Portrait! It’s BlueTooth and auto blade compatible. The Silhouette Portrait is normally used for vinyl, vellum, magnetic paper, and other transparent materials.

Pros:

• It’s relatively small and light-weight (great for transportation and storage)
• Cuts through tough materials
• Cost-efficient (typically costs less than the Silhouette Cameo)
• Easy to set up and start-up
• Works with a PC or Mac
• You can work on designs without wifi
• Comes with PixScan technology
• Beginner-friendly

Cons:

• Can only cut small areas of fabric
• The portrait’s alignment isn’t the best (which may lead to inconsistent cuts)
• It’s not held up to commercial standards (promotion-wise)
• The cutting mat sticks to some materials

And here’s one more high quality fabric cutter that’s also cheap, as a bonus suggestion:

11. Cricut Explore Air 1

I would say that the Cricut Explore Air One is one level down from the Cricut Explore Air 2; however, this doesn’t mean that it’s bad. The Cricut Explore Air One works just as great! It’s a wireless cutting machine and is very similar to the Air 2.

Pros:

• It’s very easy to use
• It’s a wireless device
• Great for beginners
• You can use old cartridges
• You can write and cut at the same time

Cons:

• Pricing (The Cricut Explore Air 1 runs for about $149.00. It shouldn’t be a huge problem though–because other fabric cutters cost more money)
• Craft supplies can be pretty expensive
• You’ll have to purchase premium designs, cartridges, and tools separately
• It’s not compatible with android devices

That’s a Wrap

In conclusion, you’ll always need a good fabric cutter on hand! There are great fabric cutters out there; you just have to look in the right places. Take this little piece of advice: don’t worry about how much a fabric cutter will cost. I’m pretty sure you’ll want your quilt, blanket, or outfit to come out nice. I highly recommend that you try one of these out!