Cricut is debatably one of the leading brands of cutting machines and it has been a Godsent gift for me as a crafter. But I’m not gonna lie, it can be pretty frustrating when the Project Not Supported notification pops up.
Have you ever received this notification when you’re using your Cricut? I’ve experienced this a few times myself and sometimes I can’t even seem to pinpoint what went wrong let alone how to fix it.
With the recent updates, however, Cricut Design Space will automatically tell you what is wrong with your design that caused it to not work. And there are actually multiple reasons why you might be receiving this Project Not Supported notification. From issues with your design, your file format type, to problems with file size and tools, we are going to go through all things you have to know to avoid getting this notice again!
Since SVG files save data of your design in codes of letters and numbers instead of pixels, they can’t store the pattern fills you might have in your design.
Pattern fills are fills on a design that contains anything other than flat colors. So things like color gradients, texture, patterns, etc. are all considered pattern fills. Pattern filled SVG is not supported by the Cricut Design Space application.
If you can, consider removing the patterns you have on your SVG. However, if you can’t remove the pattern then you need to export your file to a JPG or PNG format.
You will need to print your design on a regular inkjet printer. After that, you can continue and use your Cricut Machine with the Print Then Cut setting.
Clipping paths are shapes that are formed by a layer of multiple shapes layered together and clipping or masking the other shape. So instead of shapes layering on top of each other, they overlap to make a new shape. This type of shape in SVG is not supported by Cricut.
To prevent Project Not Supported, before uploading your file to Cricut Design Space, use an editing app first to flatten your image so that it forms one shape. Then you will be able to save it as an SVG file to upload to Cricut Design Space.
If your design contains an image or pattern other than flat colors, you will need to save your design as a JPG or PNG before uploading it to Cricut Design Space.
However, unlike SVG, you will get a single-layered object rather than individual layers. So you will have to print your design on a regular inkjet printer first then use Cricut on its Print Then Cut setting.
Did you know that vector images like SVG can not contain editable text? This might be embarrassing but honestly, I didn’t know this! So since the text on SVG is not supported by Cricut Design Space as well, here’s what you need to do.
Before saving and exporting your file, convert the text on your design from editable text to shapes. To do this you will need to go to an editing app such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw. Then, use the Create Outlines or Convert to Curves feature.
You will get a set of shapes instead of editable text without changing the way they look. Then finally you will be able to save it into an SVG file and upload it to Cricut Design Space.
Sometimes, an SVG file can contain a linked image which is an image that is stored someplace else to make the file size more compact. However, Cricut Design Space can’t work with this because it can’t detect those links.
If the links you have on your file are SVGs, you can try to embed the images into your file. You can do this on editing applications like Adobe Illustrator. After you successfully remove any external links, export your work as SVG again and upload it on Cricut Design Space.
Sometimes, even after embedding the images, Cricut will still show that Project Not Supported notification. This may be caused by pattern fills in your design so Cricut Design Space can’t create a file with several separate layers as it usually does.
If this is the case, you can try exporting your file as a JPG or PNG format rather than SVG. This would also be the best way to go if the files you linked are not SVG files.
Every cutting machine has its own limitations when it comes to the supported file size. Take the Cricut Joy machine for example, as it is the more compact and smallest version out of all Cricut cutting machines, it can only cut up to 4.25 inches x 6.25 inches or 4.25 inches x 11.75 inches on a cutting mat.
Resize your file so that it complies with the requirements according to your machine. If you are using any smaller cutting machines, your notifications might read Project Not Supported by Joy.
If you wish to cut bigger projects, you can switch to a larger machine like Cricut Explore 3 or Cricut Maker 3 to use instead.
Looking for a new cutting machine? Check out this article about Cricut vs Silhouette for your consideration!
I hope this article was helpful and you won’t be clueless anymore when you encounter the dreaded Project Not Supported notice! Maybe you should bookmark this article for future reference, haha!
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