Join Cricut Text using Microsoft Word

Cricut Design Space can do many things, but one area it is notoriously behind its competitors is in how it handles text within its proprietary software. Although by no means impossible to create beautiful cursive writing, it can be a pain in the bum having to manipulate each letter individually. But this hack using Microsoft Word will allow you to join Cricut text in a hurry, without even opening Design Space.

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There are several ways to create beautifully joined fonts for Cricut cutting:

• Persevere with Design Space, and manually alter the spacing/kerning using the built in tools, or by manually moving each character
• Using free graphics software (such as GIMP) to create the writing, and export as a picture file or SVG
• Exporting from a paid graphics software (such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop) to create the writing, and export as an SVG or Image File
• Use the shortcut in this article, to quickly type your text in Word and import into Design Space

For the purposes of this tutorial, I am using Windows 10 on PC, with Word (Office 365).

The problem; Cricut doesn't join text

We've all seen the beautiful joined up text on custom shirts, water bottles, and even on Hinching gear such as Zoflora and Soap Dispensors. But when you've come to recreating it for yourself in Design Space, have you found that those beautiful cursive fonts just don't join?

There are tools within design space to overcome this - you can alter the gap between the letters using the letter spacing tool, and if this doesn't give you the precise movements needed you can ungroup words to letters and manually place them to the desired spacing. This can be time consuming, especially when you just want to bash out a name label and move on with your day. That's where this tutorial comes in.

Testing the Microsoft Word "Cricut Join Text" Hack

The obvious concern of using a screenshot is the quality; is it going to give a smooth enough cut to warrant using over design space. To test out the hack full, I recreated the same text in Microsoft Word and Design space, and cut them both to compare them side by side.

To ensure fairness, both cuts:

• were cut using a Maker
• used the font Chandele* (available on Font Bundles)
• are on the same type of vinyl
• were tested across the same 3 sizes

As you can see from the pictures, the cuts are near identical. There is a slight flattening on a couple of the letters in the hack version vs. the one created in Design Space, however the idea of this is a quick fix. My preferred method is to create the writing in Illustrator (or GIMP) and export as an SVG, before uploading directly into

Creating Joined Writing in Microsoft Word for Design Space

1. Open Up Word and select a font

Open up Microsoft Word, and select the font you would like to use

2. Type your desired text

Type out the text you would like (notice how it automatically joins up!)

3. Open Windows Snip & Sketch

Make sure the flashing text cursor is out of the way of the text. Open up the Windows Snip & Sketch Tool

4. Make a snip

Click on "New Snip", and drag a box around the writing you created in Word

5. Save the Snip

Click on the "Save" icon in the snipping tool, and save the picture somewhere you can find it later (.PNG filetype is what you need)

6. Upload your image to design space

Open up Design Space and start a new project. Click on "Upload", then the "Upload Image" button. Select the picture of your text from Word.

7. Remove the white background

Click on "Simple". Remove all the white areas in the picture by clicking on them (don't forget the bits between the letters!). Click on continue.

8. Save as a cut file

Select the second option - "Save as a cut image"

9. Insert into Design Space

Insert your new cut image back into Design Space. Make sure to use the Attach and Weld tools as necessary.

How to Create Joined Writing for Cricut Design Space in Microsoft Word

Active Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Although this looks like a lot of steps, once you've got to grips with the method it will take you less than a minute each time!

Print

Tools

• Windows PC
• Cricut Design Space Desktop Software
• Microsoft Word (or equivalent word processor software)
• Windows Snip & Sketch Tool

Instructions

1. Open up Microsoft Word, and select the font you would like to use (in our example, we have picked "Adventure")
2. Type out the text you would like (notice how it automatically joins up!)
3. Make sure the flashing text cursor is out of the way of the text. Open up the Windows Snip & Sketch Tool
4. Click on "New Snip", and drag a box around the writing you created in Word
5. Click on the "Save" icon in the snipping tool, and save the picture somewhere you can find it later (.PNG is fine)
6. Open up Design Space and start a new project. Click on "Upload", then the "Upload Image" button. Select the picture of your text from Word.
7. Click on "Simple". Remove all the white areas in the picture by clicking on them (don't forget the bits between the letters!). Click on continue.
8. Select the second option - "Save as a cut image"
9. Insert your new cut image back into Design Space

Please let us know in the comments if you have tried this hack, and how you got on with it! Message or tag us on Instagram - @MamaMakesDo showing your use of the hack and we will feature our faves.

Be sure to checkout our other craft tutorials here. And if you want an in-depth guide on which Cricut Machine is right for you, check out this awesome guide from Jenny at Hobbyhelp.