Guide · Cricut
How to use your own handwriting font with Cricut
Mum's Kitchen
Cutting your own handwriting with a Cricut makes a mug, a shirt or a pantry label truly yours. Design Space does not let you upload a font directly, but it uses any font installed on your computer. So the plan is: make a font from your handwriting, install it, and pick it in Design Space like any other font.
1. Make your handwriting font
Print the Handyfont template, write one character in each box, and take a photo. For cutting, a few things help:
- Write with a thicker pen, such as a felt tip around 1 mm. Thin strokes make thin letters, which are fiddly to weed and can tear in vinyl.
- Write a little larger and rounder than you normally would, and close up loops such as in a, e and o.
- On the check page, open any letter that came out too thin and use the stroke weight slider to thicken it. A bit heavier is better for vinyl and iron-on.
You type in the font before you pay, so try the words you want to cut first.
2. Install the font
- Windows: right-click the OTF file and choose Install (or "Install for all users").
- Mac: double-click the OTF file and click Install in Font Book.
Then close Design Space completely and open it again. It only reads the font list when it starts.
3. Find it in Design Space
- Add a text box and click the font menu.
- Switch the filter to System fonts.
- Search for the font name you gave your font on Handyfont.
4. Get a clean cut
- Size it up. Handwriting has thin parts, so cut text larger than you would with a bold font. Test a small piece first.
- Separate letters are easy to place with transfer tape. If you want a word as one piece, reduce the letter spacing until the letters touch, then select the text and Weld.
- For stickers and labels, use Print Then Cut: the printer prints your handwriting and the Cricut cuts around it, so even thin strokes come out perfectly.
The Cricut pens trace the outline of a regular font, so letters come out drawn twice around the edge. That looks fine on larger text, but for small pen-written text, single-line "writing" fonts are better. For cutting, printing and Print Then Cut, your handwriting font works perfectly.
Project ideas
- Pantry and spice jar labels in your own writing
- Iron-on shirts and tote bags with a family member's handwriting
- Mugs and tumblers with a short note
- Wedding signs and place cards
- Cards with a handwritten message cut from glitter card
Questions
Why doesn't my font show up in Design Space?
Install the font for your computer first, then close and reopen Design Space completely. In the font list, switch the filter to System fonts and search for the font name you chose.
Can the Cricut pen write in my font?
It will, but it draws the outline of each letter, so strokes come out as a double line. For pen work, choose a single-line Writing font instead; for cutting, printing and print-then-cut, your Handyfont font works as it is.
Why are my letters cut as separate pieces?
Your font is print-style, so each letter is its own shape. That is easy to weed and apply with transfer tape. To cut a word as one piece, overlap the letters slightly and Weld them.
Does it work on iPhone, iPad or Android?
The desktop Design Space app on Windows or Mac is the simplest. iPhone and iPad can use fonts installed through a font installer app; check that the font appears under System fonts. Fonts are harder to use on Android.
Can I sell things I make with my font?
Yes. Shirts, mugs, signs and cards with your font are fine to sell. You just can't sell or share the font files themselves.
Print one sheet, write a character in each box, take a photo. You type in your font before you pay. From $19, one time.
Make your fontOr use old letters