Is a Cricut an Embroidery Machine?
No, a Cricut is not an embroidery machine. A Cricut is a cutting machine that cuts and draws on materials such as vinyl, paper and fabric. It has no needle and thread, so it cannot stitch a design.
The two machines look similar in one way: both follow a digital file. The difference is what they do with it.
- A Cricut uses a blade or pen to cut out or draw a shape.
- An embroidery machine uses a needle and thread to stitch a design into fabric.
The files are different too. A Cricut uses cut files, most often SVG. An embroidery machine uses stitch files such as PES, JEF or DST. An SVG file will not work on an embroidery machine, and an embroidery file will not work on a Cricut.
What a Cricut can do for embroidery
A Cricut cannot embroider, but it can help with embroidery projects:
- Cut applique fabric. If an applique design comes with a cut file, a Cricut can cut the fabric shapes precisely, so you do not have to trim them by hand in the hoop.
- Draw a pattern for hand embroidery. With a washable fabric pen, a Cricut can draw a design onto fabric for you to stitch over by hand.
- Add vinyl to an embroidered item. Some crafters combine iron-on vinyl and embroidery on the same project.
What you need to embroider
To stitch embroidery designs, you need an embroidery machine, either embroidery-only or a sewing and embroidery combination machine. Many crafters own both a Cricut and an embroidery machine and use them together.
Learn more in what kind of machine do you need to do embroidery and can a regular sewing machine do embroidery.
Have an embroidery machine? Browse our applique embroidery designs and all our machine embroidery designs.
Have another question? See all the answers in our machine embroidery designs FAQ.