Felt on the lasercutter?

Laser
#1

Just brainstorming. Can you cut standard “crafting” felt on the laser?

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#2

Absolutely. I’ve cut a bunch of it.

EDIT: The edges shrink up just a tiny little bit, but the laser puts a nice smooth “seared” edge on it.

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#3

OH MY! Thank you

necklace

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#4

Speaking as a person who’s tried to turn fabric into jewelry, it seems to be largely temporary. Sure, it looks fabulous when it’s fresh. But stiffening it so that it holds up for a while is Just Goofy. I was making tatted earrings. StiffStuff and ModgePodge both go limp when you’re sweating on them. Actually, I had some stuff with Pearl in the name that seemed to just be a really thick PVA glue. Same sad story. Still – a fun art project.

#5

Thanks for the heads up and insight!
Missing your face

#6

What a fun idea for special event “jewelry”, too.

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#7

@Haley_Moore did a bunch of felt cut on the lasers many years ago as a part of her cool Laser Lace Letters project: perhaps she’d have some tips to share.

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#8

It seems I’ve been summoned, so here’s some advice from deep in the felt mines:

  1. If you’re planning on doing anything with small details, I recommend noting what your real cut width is on your intended material before you design; it will be wider than the usual cut kerf and actually varies between colors. I’ve had to revamp stuff because, for example, yellow felt and ivory felt just cut differently.

  2. The exhaust and air assist can cause the felt to shift very easily. There are obviously tons of ideas on holding things down, but I just use a hold-down frame I lasered out of masonite.

  3. No matter how clean your cut is, sometimes you get little flaws. (For example, sometimes the melted plastic bridges the cut instead of separating cleanly.) A pair of those little thread-nipping scissors will come in handy.

Happy lasering!

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