40+ Fabrics with Tested Settings

Felt board in red, black, blue, green, yellow and orange. Coated canvas in white, yellow, red and black. Denim sheets in assorted colours, twill, microfibre, cotton, and a coir doormat for the coarse end.

Plus the finished blanks: canvas tote bags plain and two-tone, a drawstring bag, a denim bag and a tote with an external pocket — the ready-made items most fabric work actually ends up on.

Browse tested fabric

Eight fabric lines and blanks — felt board and felt squares, assorted denim sheets, two-tone and black canvas totes, a drawstring bag and a denim bag

Synthetics Seal Their Own Edge. Cotton Does Not.

Felt and polyester melt slightly as they cut, which fuses the edge and stops it fraying — that is why felt is the easiest fabric to laser. Twill cut at 30 mm/s and 100% over two passes on an S1 20W.

Cotton has no melting point to work with. It chars, so a laser can distress or etch it but cannot give it a clean sealed edge or any colour. A black t-shirt engraved at 500 mm/s and 15% on an M2 shows what the beam is good for here: removing dye, not adding it.

Browse tested fabric

Diagram contrasting a synthetic fabric edge that melts and seals with a cotton edge that chars and frays

Pick Your Fabric

Fibre content decides whether the edge seals or frays.

Felt board and felt squares

Polyester felt in six colours. Melts as it cuts so the edge seals itself — the most forgiving fabric there is.

Coated canvas and tote blanks

Canvas coated in white, yellow, red and black, plus ready-made totes. The coating takes an engrave that plain canvas cannot hold.

Denim sheets and bags

Assorted-colour denim and a denim bag. Engraving removes the indigo from the surface for a faded, distressed look.

Cotton, twill and microfibre

Natural and blended cloth. Twill cuts; cotton only engraves. Neither will hold colour from a laser.

Which xTool Machine Is Best for Fabric?

Fabric is low-power work, so the smaller machines cope well.

xTool M2 with infrared module for coated metal

M2 — the most recorded

12 of 36 community fabric records. Coated canvas engraved at 180 mm/s and 18%; a black t-shirt at 500 mm/s and just 15%.

xTool S1 diode laser for powder-coated metal

S1 — cutting twill and felt

Twill cut at 30 mm/s and 100% over two passes. Cutting fabric wants slow and firm, the opposite of engraving it.

P3 — CO2 for coarse and thick

A coir doormat engraved at 500 mm/s and 30% on an 80W CO2. Thick natural fibre is where CO2 pulls ahead.

xTool F2 Ultra MOPA laser for colour marking on steel

F2 and F2 Ultra — fine detail on denim

Denim and microfibre engraved cleanly, with microfibre at 350 mm/s and 40% on an F2 15W.

Fabric Settings Tested by Real Makers

The machine each job was run on, and the numbers that produced the result.

100% cotton

M1 (Blue light 10W) · Process on baseplate 100 mm/s · 45% · 1 pass

microfibre

F2 (Blue light 15W) · Process on baseplate 350 mm/s · 40% · 1 pass

Coir Doormat (coconut fibre, TRAMPA)

P3 (CO2 80W) · Lift platform processing 500 mm/s · 30% · 1 pass

Coated Canvas (White+Yellow+Red+Black)

M2 (Blue light 20W) · Lasering on flat surface 180 mm/s · 18% · 1 pass

TWILL

S1 (Blue light 20W) · Process on baseplate 30 mm/s · 100% · 2 pass

schwarzes Fruit of the Loom t-shirt — community-tested settings on M2 (Blue light 20W)

Black Fruit of the Loom t-shirt

M2 (Blue light 20W) · Lasering on flat surface 500 mm/s · 15% · 1 pass

Explore the Materials Lab

Nine laser material families from the Atomm Materials Lab

All laser materials

Wood, acrylic, leather, metal, glass, stone and the rest — thirteen families with tested settings.

Nine laserable leather and PU items — a brown hide swatch, blue patch, bookmark, money clip wallet, watch box, MagSafe wallet, notebooks and a mouse pad

Leather and laserable PU

Top grain cowhide, crazy horse and two-tone PU. Low power and high speed is the rule.

Nine laser paper lines — coloured cardstock, glitter cardstock, printed sticker paper, marking paper, photo paper, gold foil transfer, gift card envelopes, holographic sticker paper and coloured shrink paper

Paper and cardstock

Cardstock, sticker paper, foil transfer and photo paper. Mostly a cutting job rather than an engraving one.

Screen printing supplies

Mesh count, emulsion, ink families and frames — the whole set, not half of it.

Fabric & Felt Guides & Ideas

Deeper reading once the material is sorted.

54 Free Custom Tote Bag Ideas & Designs

Browse 54 real, free custom tote bag designs from Atomm, including personalized, holiday, floral, and pop-culture totes ready to preview and download.

2026/07/071324

56 Free Personalized Canvas Bag Ideas

56 real personalized canvas bag designs from the Atomm community — scenic prints, florals, animals, holidays, and quotes, free to preview and export.

2026/07/18730

DTF vs Sublimation: The Fabric Decides, Not the Artwork

DTF vs sublimation comes down to one thing: what the garment is made of. Why sublimation needs polyester, why it cannot print white, and when DTF is the only option.

2026/08/27368

FAQs

Can a laser cut fabric?

Yes, but it is the minority use. Only 5 of 36 community fabric records are cuts. Synthetics like felt and polyester cut well because the edge melts and seals; cotton chars instead of sealing.

Fabric & Felt for xTool Laser Machines