Using Ungroup to Letters in Cricut Design Space is a feature I wish I had known about as a beginner!
Some fonts are gorgeous… but don't have nice, even spacing between letters. If you have been avoiding these fonts, here's your chance to stop.
The nice spacing (also known as “kerned” fonts) has become more of a must-have for many crafters. But don't miss out on some glamorous fonts that just need a little extra love to make work perfectly for your project.
Below, I have shared a Cricut Design Space tutorial video using a font available in Cricut Access. We will ungroup letters simply, so you are not spending time creating hundreds of individual text boxes.
Don't like to watch, or want to learn at your own pace? Just skip past the video and read all of the best parts of the transcript that I have organized out for you.
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Ungroup To Letters: A Cricut Design Space Tutorial Video
Key Transcript Actions For Ungrouping Letters
If you haven't already read or watched Part One of the Cricut Design Space Text Tutorial, I recommend going back and starting there. It starts off with the fastest and easiest way to better space text with many fonts available on your computer and in Design Space.
However, some fonts are not created with equal spacing between letters. Therefore, when you try to use the Letter Spacing tool in the text menu, it just creates weirder gaps between letters.
Ready for an example?
Follow Along With My Cricut Tutorial Example
Starting in a new canvas, open a new text box and find a font that you have this “awkward spacing” problem with. You may already have one in mind which is what brought you to this tutorial. Feel free to use that as you follow along!
If you are not sure about a font that creates this problem, the one I use in this example is called Aphrodite Pro.
The awkward spacing between letters is created because this font style has more calligraphy aspects to it, so some letters look like they are taking up more width on the canvas than they actually need.
What Not To Do
As a Cricut beginner, when I found a font that caused this problem, I wasted a lot of time doing the wrong thing.
If I really wanted to use a font like Aphrodite Pro, I took the long way around. Of course, I didn't know that at the time! That's why I love sharing these tutorials so hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.
I would work with a font style like this by tediously typing out each letter one-by-one in it's own text box. Then, I would line them all up the way I thought the text should look in the first place.
Now technically, this isn't wrong. I mean… it works, right?
But it's definitely not fast or easy.
And what if you want to write out something longer than a word or two. Maybe you want to make a quote for a nice home decor sign. Or maybe you want to use this font for a heart-felt sympathy card insert.
Instead of either taking forever or settling on a font you don't love, try this tip instead.
The Easier Solution To Uneven Text Spacing
Start by typing your entire word or phrase in a single text box, using the font you want. Yes, even with the weird spacing and all!
Next, select your text box (if it isn't already.) Scroll up to the Text Menu options (horizontal menu on the top of your screen.)
Instead of using the Letter Spacing Tool like in part one, scroll over to the right and click the “Advanced” dropdown menu options.
Select “Ungroup to Letters.”
Tah-dah. Just like that, you will have individual letters to work with and space the way you'd like!
So yes, you will still have to arrange the letters the way you like one by one. But, you can skip the one-by-one text box creation and letter typing.
Use The Align Tool For Symmetry
One of my favorite tools, especially for projects like this one, is the Align Tool.
Move the letters to the horizontal spacing that you like. Then, instead of trying to eyeball whether they are in a straight line, use the Align Tool to snap them onto a perfect axis.
For the example above, I would select all of the letters “e, b, e, c, c, a”. Then, I would use the “Align” Tool on the top horizontal menu bar and select “Align Bottom.” This will set each letter on the same horizontal axis so they are sitting in a perfectly straight row!
Reasons to Ungroup Words Into Letters
- Individually space letters for fonts without symmetrical spacing between letters. (Not “kerned” fonts.)
- Change alignment of the letters because you don't want the words on perfectly straight paths.
- Ability to create individual sizes of each letter one at a time as a design feature.
- Color change letters independently of one another as part of your design.
