FREE Single Line Fonts That Will Write without bubbling In Cricut Design Space-

A very long list of  where to find  FREE fonts that will work as writing fonts in Design Space, with examples sorted by which pens they work with, at what sizes, and all with the links for downloading them.  

Cliff Notes:

• The Problem - Hollow Text - The Cricut machine, when writing, will follow the same path it would if it was cutting.  So most text will appear "hollow".  You can avoid this by using a writing font in Cricut Design Space (Most cost around $5) OR, by choosing a free font thin enough that the lines "collapse on themselves"  (Those are the fonts listed here)
• Results will vary based on which pen you use, and how large your text is.  I make most of my samples at 1 inch tall, and they are sorted by which pens I used - Starting with the super thin precise v5 and working down to the larger markers.
• Alternative (not cricut brand) markers that work well in the Explore Machines - https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2017/12/alternative-markers-for-cricut.html
• Drawing Fonts - Cricut can DRAW, not just write!  Checkout these fun fonts that cricut does a great job drawing (think subway art, or posters)
• WELD.  If you are using a cursive font, be sure to weld it before writing.  That will tell the machine to write it as one smooth word, and not to write each letter individually. (do the same for cutting.  Weld is not necessary for print, where the letters do not touch - but it's really important for cursive writing)  If the centers of letters fill in when you weld, try sizing the text to something ridiculous like 200 wide, weld, then resize back to the smaller size.
• To see when I add more samples, follow Crafting With Fields Of Heather on facebook.  Look specifically under photos, there is an album of writing samples kept there.

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The Quick List

My Favorite Free Writing Fonts

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Matilde   Baby Lexi    Belta Light   Advertising Script   Gatsby    Encina Script    Montepetrum    Kaleidescope    Flamenco   Freckled Lemonade    Slim Extreme     September Mornings     Grace     Always Here     Jennifer Lynne    Stymie Hairline    Indesign Signature     Organic Fridays    Midnight Legend

This is a quick look at my favorites.  I have many pages of samples, hundreds of fonts, sorted by which markers they work with,  but if you are looking for a "quick font", these are my favorites.  The fonts in black will write in super fine point pens, the ones in wine will write with fine point pens, and the ones in blue will write with medium point pens.  Click on any of the names above and you will be taken to the site to download the font.

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MANY MORE 

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Free Fonts With Samples

Sorted  By Pen/Marker Size:
Super Fine Tip Writing Samples
Fine Tip Writing Samples
Medium Tip Writing Samples
Drawing With Fun Fonts In Cricut (Fonts that draw - great for posters)
Alternative Markers - No Adaptor Needed Pens that work in the cricut machines

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Learning to Write With Cricut
I wrote this post when I first started learning about writing with cricut.  Since then, I have added hundreds of samples of fonts that work as writing fonts, but this is where I started.

This is one of those project that  I thought I could finish in a few minutes, and get off my list.  Three days later, I'm still working on it.  I just wanted to write and cut soap labels.  Not print and cut - that would waste too much paper, as the design space is limited in size for print and cut.  Write, with cricut markers, and cut.  

But most fonts, when used in Design Space, will automatically write as an outline.  Like this:

Someone explained it, on a facebook post, as " TTF and OTF fonts can not be "open path" like Cricut writing fonts."   To write "normally", you need specific writing fonts.  Most of which are $5 or more through cricut, in design space.  You can see them by choosing "filter"

There are more options if you keep scrolling, I only screenshotted a portion here, but there are none that I love.  None I want to pay $5, or more, for. Now for all other projects, I just download free fonts off the internet, install them, an cricut cuts them just fine.  But when it comes to writing, it's not that simple.  

You can't just convert "normal" fonts to writing fonts.  

Well, you can, sort of.  Kind of.  There's a good video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7k5xXAMun4
This involved using a vector editing program like Inkscape.
The process is basically a digital version of filling in the font.  Rather than printing in the "bubble" outline, and filling in with a pen, you fill in the outline digitally before sending it to print. This does not truly make a writing font, rather it's more like using Phonto to curve text, you do this for each bit of text you want to write, and import it.

Obviously this all WAY exceeded my attention span, but I wanted to share it for those who may want to tackle this process.

But for me, I needed something simpler, and decided to go with thin line fonts that  do not need "filled in".  In one of the gajillion articles I read trying to understand all of this, someone explained that these fonts are thin enough that the outlines collapse in on each other..  so it doesn't look like cricut is writing the outline of the fonts.  

That's our llama, Tia, strolling by as I was working. I love having a craft space that looks out over this part of the pasture.  

I had a much longer list.  Some I could tell wouldn't work right away, some I saw change to an outline when I switched them to writing style in design space.  This shows some of the "failed" fonts mixed in with some of the above:

So you can tell, just by looking at design space, what will work and what will not.  Mostly.  Sometimes a small "bubble" does not mean it won't write well - but the thicker outline, like smiley monster, is unlikely to write well with any marker.

See the odd spacing in Fancy Pens & Frutilla?  This was before Cricut "sort of" fixed their font kerning issues.  Most of the time, this won't happen anymore.  

So far, the only way I have found to find these fonts is by trial and error, and suggestions from others.    I've sorted the fonts into pages by the markers they work with:

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Free Fonts That Appear Single Line

With Writing Samples

Sorted  By Pen/Marker Size:

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Super Fine Tip Writing Samples
Fine Tip Writing Samples
Medium Tip Writing Samples 
Drawing With Fun Fonts In Cricut (Fonts that draw - great for posters)
Alternative Markers - No Adaptor Needed Pens that work in the cricut machines 

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https://www.facebook.com/fieldsofheathercrafts/

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Where To Find Free Fonts By Style, By Type, And By Holiday

The Crafting With Fields Of Heather Font Index

And Tips & Tricks For Properly Spacing, Adding Glyphs, Organizing, Making Shadow Text, and more!

https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2020/05/where-to-find-loads-of-free-fonts.html

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https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/05/cricut-free-this-week-premium-fonts.html