Fabric Preparation
A laser can cut any design you create however, there are limitations to a fragile material like fabric. Cotton fabrics are woven fibers and will fall apart if cut too delicately. Nevertheless, the laser burns nicely through cotton fabrics, creating edges that are smooth, clean, and fray resistant. The edges will be slightly brown (burnt) and the brown discoloration will bleed inward over time, mostly noticeable on light colored fabrics. This will wash out for the most part. Fabrics that contain polyester and other synthetic material will melt and should not be use in a laser.
A 21-22" width of fabric is perfect for the Glowforge and xTool. Bulk fabric is conveniently available in 44" or 60" widths, which makes it easy to cut it into a fabric width that fits in the tray of the laser. A 44" wide fabric can be cut down the fold and a 60" wide fabric can be cut in thirds. The selvedges should also be cut off because the threads tend to be pulled too tight and deforms the fabric. A Fat Quarter is 21" x 18", a Fat Eighth is 21" x 9". Smaller pre-cut fabrics like 10" squares are too small to be useful and are much more expensive than larger cuts.
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The Glowforge Aura needs about 12.5 to 13 inch width, so dividing a 44" width of fabric into thirds will be perfect.
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The fabric should be pressed until smooth, flat, and stiffened with your preferred stiffening product (i.e. spray starch, Best Press, etc.). The goal is to make a flat, smooth, stack of fabric that has a uniform thickness.
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Laser cutting is about cutting multiple copies of a shape or shapes.
Fabric cut off the bolt
Layer
Stack

20" width
Up to 8 layers
20" width
Divide down the fold and cut off the selvedges
Cut to the length needed for the design
8 different fabrics
Tips:
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Group fabric by color, collection, project, or theme and stack with right sides up.
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The stacks should be fabrics that you would likely use together in the same project.
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Store the stacks by hanging on a railing or clothes drying rack.
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When you are ready to laser cut, lay the stack on the cutting mat, cut off the length you need from each fabric.

