mandyrose

a long while back I purchesd the olfa circle cutter WELL! I could never get it to work for me as the youtube demo of course they make it look soooo easy,I want to make different size yoyos and bought 3 sizes of the clover templates and the ez circle cut ruler not knowing that you needed the rotary cutter to go with it and dosen't say anything on instructions about it,couldn't use the 18mm I had then decided to trace lines well that didn't work either the circle template is thick and prevents the pen/pencil from reaching the fabric then went and got a pack of pencils the ones were you push the top and the lead gets longer can't think of the name of them and that works ok as long as the lead dosen't break.so I order the rotary cutter for the circle template and now come to find out it dosen't cut the 2 inch part what a struggle I chewed up the template at that mark works ok for the larger sizes but can't honestly say I am impress,anybody had issuses with this? :sheese: what a way to make circles,I know I can find lots of things in my kitchen but having the exact size at the start helps

ontheriver

I have the circle cutter but never use it. I just trace around a plate close to the size I need and then cut them out.

virtualbernie

I too bought the circle cutter and blade. The trick to cutting the smaller circles is that you have to have the cutter turned around the correct way. It's on the directions but of course I didn't read the directions right away before i had shaved a little plastic off the ruler . The larger cutters work fine in the larger holes.

auntpiggylpn

I didn't realize Olfa has more than one circle cutter. I have this one and it works wonderfully. I cut a yard of fabric into 5" circles in less than 10 mins! http://www.createforless.com/Olfa+Ro...utm_medium=cse

alleyoop1

I can't get it to work either.

ckcowl

i have this same circle cutter- have had it for gosh--8 or 9 years i would guess- it works great for me- i love it & always pull it out when i'm doing circles- i'm not really clear on what you are using or really what you are doing that is causing you a problem- or the template part- i have the clover yo-yo makers which i also love & work great-
but if you have the above mentioned circle cutter & do not know how to use it- visit the website & ask for instructions (if you threw your instruction sheet away that came with the cutter)
if you have something else...
but if you are using some sort of thick template...i would use the template to draw a (thinner) template (like a freezer paper one- or shirt cardboard/card stock) so i could trace around it- or in the case of the freezer paper you can press it to your fabric then use scissors to cut out your circles. (which is how i would cut traced circles.
my only (complaint) about my circle cutter is sometimes i want a really large circle (bigger than it will make-it makes really small circles up to i think 12") when i need a larger circle i do it the way we were taught to draw circles back in gradeschool (in the 60's) tie a piece of string to a pencil- the correct size (1/2 the circle) hold one end of the string (or pin it) in the center of the circle and draw the circle with the pencil on the other end of the string....with this you can make any size circle you want...big or small.

mighty

I just purchased one a couple of days ago. I have not tried it yet. Wish me luck!! LOL

virtualbernie

I believe this is the ruler she refers to. It works fine using a smaller rotary cutter in the larger slots but the 2/3" slots don't work with a regular 18mm rotary cutter. You have to buy a special cutter like this one:


The trick is to have the blade facing you/circle, otherwise it scrapes the outer edge of the plastic slot.

quilts4charity

I just use, old cd's, saucers, plates, lids, I keep looking til I find the right size around here....works for me and I don't have to spend any money on another useless gadget.....can you tell I've done it before??????

BellaBoo

If a tool works for what you buy it for then it's not useless. I use this ruler. A regular size rotary cutter fits the channels. The circles are always perfect. http://www.wonderarc.com/rulers.htm