Another new tool for me, and thus I will take you along with me while I learn. My idea is to cut vinyl, stickers, fabric and foam with it. The kinda cosplay stuff you’d expect me to “bully” a machine with. So, what’s the lucky machine?

The machine I work with is a Brother ScanNcut SDX1250. My embroidery machine is a Brother too, so I simply decided to go with Brother as I’d grasp their software faster due to my experience with their embroidery software,  there is a local dealer in Brother machines and accesoires in my area and the software is free. No monthly fees!

Specifications

The SDX1250 is a medium-range hobby plotter. It has a work area of 297 x 297mm or, if you buy the extended mat, 297 x 610mm or, if you buy the required extra’s, you can use a roll feeder for an even bigger work area. The various blades can cut up to 3mm thick material, depending on the blade. So cutting thin EVA/crafting foam should be no problem. 

First tests

The first tests I did were just vinyl cutting. Making small stickers to embellish my business cards with. I went with a butterfly to match my Fern cosplay. I used a free SVG file to make the design. The cutting went smoothly. The peeling was a little struggle, but I got better at it with every sticker. Make sure you have a good set of tweezers available for this. I found out that makes a big difference this early. 🙂 Some parts of this design were too thin. Meaning I slightly ripped a few stickers.

The second file was for my dad: he wanted a Volkwagen logo for a bag with small spare parts of his car. Easily identifiable was the main criterium for this, so I made him a sticker in regular white vinyl. Heat Transfer Vinyl would have been the better option, but my dad just wanted to see it work. Thus I just made him a regular sticker. Cutting this also went smoothly. But I learned a lesson: make sure your mat is the right stickiness! When I tried to remove the vinyl from the mat, it stuck to the mat too well. Hence a few more rips. I could save the sticker, so it was all good. 

Now I was feeling a little confident, it is foam cutting time! I made a design based on Arkveld armor from Monster Hunter Wilds. (The armor is pretty and I need to contain myself, but the creative itch is itching). Here, the sticky mat was perfect: the foam stayed in place perfectly. The lever on the side had to be adjusted to 2 and it cut the pattern in multiple passes. The result is so clean! I am so happy with how it came out. It is so promising for foam cutting details, that my brain is exploding with ideas right now.

Things learned

  • Get a low stick mat for vinyl cutting
  • Use the strong stick mat for foam
  • Put the lever on 1 for vinyl cutting, 2 for foam/thicker materials
  • Thicker materials require more passes

Keep on crafting!
Amirine