You can get silhouette cameo cutting mats in 12 x 12 and 12 x 24.
How to use mat vinyl.
Place htv on cutting mat.
Most basically a cutting mat is a lined piece of plastic that has one sticky side.
This tutorial will show you how to cut vinyl using cricut design space which is the cricut design software used for all newer cricut models cricut explore explore air explore one explore air 2 and cricut maker if you have an older cricut machine that uses cricut craft room the software looks different from design space but the basics are the same.
If your vinyl came on a roll you can cut off a piece to fit on your mat.
You will want to put the vinyl face up on your mat and press it down well.
For my decal i decided to use expressions vinyl series 31 removable vinyl in bright berry.
In this case i am using a piece that is 12 x 24 along with a 12 x 12 mat.
The point of the sticky side is to let you stick your material here heat transfer vinyl onto the mat which holds it in place.
To remove your vinyl from your cricut mat bend your mat away from the vinyl instead of peeling the vinyl up off the mat.
You then load the cutting mat and your material into the cutting machine and voila.
Finally i like using a paper trimmer to cut down my vinyl so i can save the scraps and use later.
What is a cutting mat and why use it to cut htv.
In this video joann goes over how to cut vinyl without a mat using the cricut.
Whatever mat and machine you are using put your adhesive vinyl paper backing side down onto your mat so the colored vinyl side is facing up see image below.
This helps prevent curling.
If you have a roll of vinyl you can adhere to just the 12 12 area and leave the rest hanging off the edge of your mat.
A lot of people think that you have to use a mat when cutting with the cricut.