GUIDE
How to make a rhinestone template for Cricut
Cricut machines cut beautiful rhinestone templates — as long as the holes are the right size and spacing. Stoneplot generates exactly that: a clean SVG with true-to-scale circles, ready for Design Space.
What you need
A Cricut (Maker or Explore series), flock rhinestone template material (or stencil vinyl), hotfix rhinestones in your chosen size, transfer tape, and a heat press or iron.
Step 1 — Build your stone map in Stoneplot
Open the Stoneplot studio and upload your artwork. Set the canvas to your real finished size in millimetres, then pick your stone size. The preview shows exactly what will be cut — every circle is a true-dimension hole position.
Step 2 — Match stone size to your stones
Template holes should be slightly larger than the stone itself so stones drop in easily. As a rule of thumb, set your stone size in Stoneplot about 0.2–0.4 mm above the stone's actual diameter — for SS10 stones (≈2.8 mm) try 3 mm holes. See our stone size guide for the full SS-to-millimetre chart.
Step 3 — Download the SVG
Hit DOWNLOAD and you get a single SVG where every stone is a perfect vector circle, grouped by colour. There are no strokes, no raster images, and no hidden layers — exactly what Design Space imports cleanly.
Step 4 — Import into Design Space
In Cricut Design Space choose Upload → Upload Image and select your SVG. Because Stoneplot exports true millimetre dimensions, the design imports at the correct size — but always double-check the width in Design Space before cutting. Attach all layers and cut from flock template material with a fine-point blade.
Step 5 — Brush, lift, press
Weed the template, lay it flat, and brush hotfix stones into the holes with a foam brush. Lift the design with transfer tape, position it on your garment, and press according to your stones' heat settings (typically 150–165°C for 10–15 seconds).
Tips for cleaner templates
Increase spacing slightly if stones pop out when brushing; reduce detail in overly complex artwork before uploading; and save your draft to your Stoneplot library so you can re-cut the template whenever you need another copy.