We designed engineered carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) solutions for realising structural fuses in real CFRP composite components. We developed various concepts of engineered crack paths containing micro-cut patterns (MCPs) aiming to investigate how we can engage and trigger various damage propagation mechanisms both in-plane and through-the-thickness. To this end, we chose ultra-thin CFRP prepregs and engraved various designed MCPs/crack path combinations on them during layup with the help of a laser micro-machining system. Then, we manufactured CFRP specimens containing engineered crack paths and characterised them under a 3-point bending (3PB) test to evaluate their response in an out-of-plane loading scenario. We investigated various design parameters of the developed MCPs through 9 studies to understand how various parameters determine the damage propagation mechanisms and what effect they have on fracture properties. Following this, we performed fractography analysis to observe the failure mechanisms triggered by the implemented MCPs/crack path combinations in the tested specimens. The results demonstrate that carefully designed MCPs can tailor the failure load and energy dissipation, and moreover, provide significant control over the fracture locus and path.