How the machine actually behaves, written from what goes wrong rather than from the feature list.
All guidesDesign Space6 min readUpdated
How to slice, attach, flatten, contour and offset in Cricut Design Space
Six tools do most of the work in Cricut Design Space. Slice cuts one shape out of another. Attach holds pieces in place on the mat. Flatten turns layers into one printable image. Contour hides cut lines you do not want. Offset adds a larger or smaller outline. Curve bends text. Pick the tool by what you want the machine to do, not by how the design looks on screen.
Which Cricut Design Space tool do you need?
Most "my cut came out wrong" problems come from using the right-looking tool for the wrong job. This table matches each tool to its result.
| Tool | What it does | Use it for | Select first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weld | Joins overlapping shapes into one outline | Script names, connected lettering | Two or more layers |
| Slice | Cuts one layer out of another, leaving separate pieces | Words knocked out of a shape | Exactly two layers |
| Attach | Keeps layers in the same position on the mat | Text placed on a tag, pen lines on a card | Two or more layers |
| Flatten | Turns layers into one image to print | Print Then Cut stickers | Two or more layers |
| Contour | Hides cut lines inside an image | Removing small details | One image layer |
| Offset | Adds a larger or smaller outline | Sticker borders, shadow layers | Text or images |
How to slice on Cricut
Place one layer over another, select exactly those two, and click Slice at the bottom of the Layers panel. You get new pieces: the overlap, plus what is left of each layer. Delete the ones you do not need.
If Slice is grayed out, you have more or fewer than two layers selected. Multi-layer images and multi-line text have to be ungrouped or welded down to one layer first.
How to attach on Cricut
Select the layers and click Attach. On the mat preview they now stay where you placed them on the canvas. Without Attach, Design Space rearranges every layer to save material, which is why text you lined up can come out somewhere else.
Attach is not Weld. Attached shapes keep all their own cut lines; welded shapes lose the overlapping ones. To write on a card with a pen, attach the writing to the card layer.
How to flatten on Cricut
Select the layers of a printed design and click Flatten. They become one image that prints in full color, and the machine cuts only around the outside. This is the step that makes Print Then Cut stickers work, and forgetting it is why a sticker prints in pieces.
How to contour on Cricut
Select an image layer with several cut lines and click Contour. In the window that opens, click the lines you want to hide. It is the quick way to remove a detail too small to weed, without leaving Design Space.
How to offset on Cricut
Select text or an image and click Offset, then drag the distance. Design Space adds a proportionally larger or smaller outline on a new layer. Use it for sticker borders and shadow layers behind lettering.
How to curve text on Cricut
Select the text and open Curve in the top edit bar, then move the slider one way to arch it up and the other way to arch it down. Curve the text before you weld it: welded text is a shape, and shapes do not curve.
Doing these edits before you upload
If you build designs outside Design Space, weld, slice and offset in your design tool and upload a finished SVG. CricutCraft Studio has these in the browser, and each fill color arrives in Design Space as its own layer. Attach and Flatten still happen in Design Space, because they are instructions for the machine rather than part of the artwork.
Sources and further reading
Manufacturer references checked for this guide’s November 2, 2026 update.