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Learn a new hobby with this easy guide to paper cutting!
Paper cutting is an absolutely brilliant hobby for people with a bit of artistic flair (and patience) wanting to learn something a little different that can be done in the comfort of your own home. The supplies you need to get going are minimal and the results will give you beautiful artwork which you can frame and keep, or give to others as thoughtful gifts.
Essential paper cutting supplies
The basic equipment that you’ll need to get started with paper cutting is as follows:
Craft knife or scalpel and blades, one with a fine point.
Something like a Fiskars soft grip or Swann-Morton scalpel. My personal favourite is a Swann Morton knife with 11A surgical blades.
You also want to make sure you have plenty of spare blades, as soon as the blade begins to go dull it drags the paper and can lead to rips and tears rather than clean cuts. I find it easier to use pliers to attach the blades and a blade removal and disposal box is essential.
Self-healing cutting mat
To protect your work surface, A3 is a good size but if you don’t have that much surface space an A4 mat will work too and they will last you a long, long time with proper care. You can even get them in a range of colours.
Cardstock
This is personal preference. Some cutters use thin paper, which is easier to cut but considerably more delicate and more prone to tears, while some prefer a thicker card stock although these will blunt your blade quicker and take more effort to cut neatly.
My favourite papers for paper cutting tend to be around 130gsm but I’d say anything from there up to 160gsm is a good start.
Templates
There are so many websites offering templates now it can often be hard to find one you like and that matches your skill level. However, Design Bundles offer a fantastic selection of paper cutting templates from a wide range of designers all at reasonable prices and of course you don’t have to worry about copyright as you might with images that you find and download.
The only thing you really need to look out for is the file type. Ideally you want a pdf, png or jpeg file as these don’t require any special software to open and print although they will not be editable (such as if you wanted to add text like a name or date of birth).
Other file types you may see include ‘ai’ ‘svg’ ‘dxf’ or ‘eps’ these are fully editable files but require software such as Adobe illustrator or Inkscape and they are the file types that can be used for cutting machines such as cricut.
Printer
To print out your beautiful paper cut templates! Remember that templates get printed backwards as you work from the back of the paper so no marks are left on the front of the artwork itself, so print on the reverse of any one sided papers (some pearlescent or black papers will have a grey, white or plain reverse side, this is the side you want to print on). It also means any text will be printed backwards and this is completely normal!
Items which are not required (but are nice to have):
Coloured paper for infills and a glue stick
Infilling is when you cut and glue coloured paper to the back of your paper cut to ‘infill’ some of the holes. It’s a great way of adding colour and depth to your artwork and it looks super fancy.
Acetate
A clear sheet of acetate can be placed behind your paper cut during framing just to add a little more structure to it or if it’s a ‘floating’ piece which doesn’t touch your frame at all.
Now you’re ready to go!
Print your template, set up your work area and get going. Start with small details first, then curves, then straight lines. Take it slow and don’t press too hard as you will dull your blade on the cutting mat itself.
It’ll take a little while for your first try but by the end, you’ll have a piece of art you can be proud of.
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