How are people getting around the fabric blowing all over? I can see putting the magnets on the edges to keep it down, but once you cut out a piece the internal fan is going to whip it around. That and once a piece is cut, if another is cut near the edge, the air below the fabric is going to cause it to blow up giving an inconsistent cut… any solutions?
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I saw somewhere someone cut the mask pattern out of wood at like 90% of the size and put that on the fabric to prevent too much blowing around. To get this right you’d probably need to do one shape at a time.
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This is where the jig comes in handy again. Lay out your design. Make two copies, one larger, one smaller. Set the actual design line to ignore, and cut the larger and smaller lines on a full sized sheet. Discard the “strip” between them, and you have a repeatable jig to hold down the material, as well as pieces for the center. Set the inner and outer lines to ignore, and now only cut the design pattern.
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Was just wondering, I am new to this. I want to cut the file out. Is it the first one? I am assuming it is. Also, when I open the SVG, it resizes. What size should this be? I nervous as heck to mess this up. Bad enough anytime I cut something I have the fire extinguisher ready and say a prayer that all goes well. Thank you for your help.
Welcome to the forum. The first one is the file. You opening in the GFUI (Glowforg user interface) or in a design program? If a design program, what design program are you using? Sometimes the scale gets messed up importing into it. Like an older version of Inkscape.
Try the second one to see if your scale is correct.
I was opening the file in the GFUI. I have Adobe products so I never downloaded Inkscape. Do you think I should? Honestly, the thing that frustrates me the most is sizing it somewhere, opening in GF, and it being a different size. When I opened the other one, it looks to be the right size, but it has the words in it, and obviously it would cut that out as well.
Thanks for the welcome. I was opening the file in the GFUI. I have Adobe products so I never downloaded Inkscape. Do you think I should? Honestly, the thing that frustrates me the most is sizing it somewhere, opening in GF, and it being a different size. When I opened the other one, it looks to be the right size, but it has the words in it, and obviously it would cut that out as well.
If you are using Illustrator, you can stick with that.
Here is a topic that discusses Illustrator scaling. Often there are issues depending one what program and options are used.
You might want to open a new topic and post some examples of scaling issues.
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Thank you! I sincerely appreciate your help. I was able to get the design to size. Now it’s saying there is “no artwork” even though it’s in the area, and I eliminated the mouth pieces because I want it different material. I could have hand cut all these faster at this point in time!
Did you do the Set Focus and make sure the operations are set?
I decided to change the settings. Once I did that, it worked. I think it’s because I was going crazy and ready to give up! Thank you so very much for your help and your responses. I had initially joined a FB group and asked a question once…I was told to figure it out myself so I never asked anything again and deleted my post. So thank you for having patience and helping.
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You are lucky you caught us in a good mood here! 
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It’s posted in the topic. Right click on the image of the jig. Save as.
Just select all the test and put your own in.
Here it is blank. Good luck. Let me know if you need any more assistance.
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Has anyone made a cut file for an insert to this mask. Was thinking of cutting some towels or terry cloth to place in the inside pocket.
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DO NOT use HEPA filters that contain fiberglass. These particles will get into your lungs causing more long term issues than COVID (Look for YouTube video on this subject). Merv9 or better furnace filters are better. Check contents!
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I cut the fabric directly on the glowforge, it was perfect. Thank you,
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good afternoon I just received my Glowforge plus and am have a few issues. if you a few min. can you please guide me on how to set mine to cut patterns out of fabric? many thanks. Juliana
I just used the setting provided at the top of this post.
HxW = Height and width
I just saw this… this is what I do and you could definitely do this with your template.
Making acrylic templates, using rotary cutters and FILTI face mask material
This has worked VERY well for me and I bought the zig zag Olfa blade so that the fabric doesn’t ravel. It really does make it quick to cut out fabric.
@ryancolts1988 I would recommend using something that is apt to block a lot more particles than a towel. You can make a lot of mask inserts with this filter (the company’s background is in home filtration but adapted their business for the pandemic and made face mask material).
I apologize … I thought I posted this a month ago and just got back on the tablet I use only occasionally and apparently I got interrupted and didn’t post.
Go to their website and read the specs on their material, it really is much better than a towel in filtering out particles.
We also use the nose bridge from a US veteran owned company and absolutely LOVE them. They show adding them to the outside of the mask (which you can) but I make a little pocket and sew it inside and it washes great (no rusting). Metal Nose Forms/Bridges which is great for those that wear glasses or just so it can fit your face better.
If you have any questions, let me know! I would prefer my filters not to get dirty (by having dust or whatever blow over them in the GF) … fast and easy to cut with a rolling (plain) OLFA blade and cutter.
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