A Sewists Review of the Cricut Explore Air 2

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

Over the last year I have been experimenting with different cutting machines to see what works best for me as someone who loves to sew. It has been a whole new world to uncover but ultimately it has led to so many new opportunities and saved time! I have shared tutorials for projects like, appliquéing on a quilt, making a monster birthday outfit, and more recently making a leaf garland. For a while I had only used a Silhouette Cameo 3 to cut out my projects but I kept hearing all about the Cricut machines and knew I needed to try them out. I was planning on asking for one as a Christmas present this year but when the opportunity came to work with Cricut I jumped at it! Which is why I’m so excited to share with you my experiences with the Cricut Explore Air 2.

The first thing that you notice about the Explore Air 2 is definitely the COLOR options. If you can’t tell, I love color. So if I can integrate that into my machines and work space I will jump at the chance. I received the machine in the color Pistachio, which can be found exclusively at Joann Stores, and it is stunning. My jaw literally dropped when I opened the box, it is so vibrant and beautiful.

Once I was able to recover from the excitement of seeing the actual machine I found a few manuals and instructions that are very informative and helpful. When you first get any cutting machine it can be very overwhelming with possibilities and ideas but I loved how Cricut takes you step by step to get everything set up AND walks you through creating the first project! Sometimes that first project can be the trickiest but not with Cricut. They hold your hand through the beginning stages and beyond. I loved how easy it was to sync and use with my iPad since I always have it handy for patterns and instructions, it was the perfect pairing!

Now of course one of the first things I wanted to try was cutting out fabric. It has been very hit and miss for me in the past so I knew that was the first thing I wanted to figure out. Fabric can be tricky to cut but with the right tools I believe these machines are more than capable! Cricut has a blade and a mat to cut fabric with, although I was a little impatient so I went ahead and tried it with the tools the machine came with and it went great! But next time I definitely will be using the fabric blade and mat. Just like when you have a specific set of scissors to cut fabric and paper you want to do the same with the machine blades to help them last as long as possible.

Since I’ve done a little appliqué before I wanted to do a similar project to compare the differences. With Thanksgiving coming up I loved the idea of making turkey shirts for my two young boys. I was able to easily find the perfect feather pattern in Cricut Access. When The Explore Air 2 started cutting I was so pleased to see that it was cutting my fabric beautifully! With this machine you need to use a bonded fabric so I used a medium weight interfacing fused to the back of 100% cotton fabric. Some of the fabric would get stuck in the corners of the feathers and not come out as perfectly but that wasn’t anything a little slip of the scissors couldn’t fix. I then stitched the feathers to the shirt which gave it the perfect texture and look of real feathers! I love it! I finished the shirts off with iron on vinyl on the front with the quote, “shake your turkey feathers.” My boys love them and can’t wait to wear them for Thanksgiving!

This project was 10x easier with the Explore Air 2, since I never had to cut any fabric, which is probably my least favorite part of sewing 😬. I got to spend more time at my sewing machine and my hands didn’t cramp up from cutting (does that happen to you too?). This also resulted in a much quicker and easier project than I anticipated which is always a win in my book! If you want to make a shirt too, I have included the video tutorial below!

As I play around with my new Cricut Explore Air 2 I will be sharing more of the things I am learning and projects I am making so stay tuned! I’m no expert at this and have a lot to learn so I hope you will join me in this fun adventure!

Happy Sewing Friends!