If you have ever asked yourself “What does Flatten do in Cricut Design Space?”, “What does Attach do in Cricut Design Space” or “How do you know if you should attach or flatten Cricut Design Space?” you are in the right place!
What Does Flatten Do in Cricut Design Space?
In short, Flatten changes and cut design into a Print then Cut design. That’s it. Simple right? That is why the icon for Flatten looks like a little printer. If you would like a free reminder sheet that you can print out and keep near you I have one of those on my Free Resources page.
Should I Attach or Flatten Cricut Design Space?
The answer to that question depends on what you want the finished project to look like. For this video I am going to make a bookmark, and in the first one I will attach the circle and the second one I will flatten it so you can see the difference in the end results.
The person asking the question wanted a shape cut out of a print then cut image. They asked me if they should attach that shape or flatten it. I answered Attach, and her is why.
In the example below I am making a bookmark. I want to have a circle cut out of the top that I can hang a tassel through. The one on the left with the dark circle I attached the circle to the bookmark. For the one on the right with the bright yellow circle I flattened the circle. This will show you exactly what will happen differently between these two images.
If you watch the video, you will also see how I add a pattern to the bookmarks, align the circles so that they are centered on the bookmark and then attach the circle for the one on the left and flatten the circle for the one on the right.
Below is how these images printed out on the printer. So even though on the screen you see the dark circle on the bookmark on the left, you can see by the photo below that this circle did not print out. Why didn’t the dark circle print? Because it was only attached to the bookmark, and it would need to be flattened to print.
When I cut it, you can see that the one on the left actually cut the circle out like I wanted, while the one on the right did not cut out and separate the circle from the bookmark . . . because the circle was flattened.
So remember to attach a shape when you want it to cut out, but flatten it if you want it to print out.
What does Attach Do in Cricut Design Space
Attach holds the placement and poistion of things in Cricut Design Space. I use it to hold the position of a scoreline on a paper craft like a card, or to hold the positon of writing on a project.
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