Knife Tool Archives

Creating a Larger Than Mat Project in Silhouette Studio

Have you ever wanted to create a larger than mat project?

How do you cut apart an image that is larger than you can print or larger than you can cut on your Silhouette machine mat?

This was a question asked on my Silhouette Secrets+ Facebook group this week and I created a quick YouTube video showing one way you can do this.

Check out the new video tutorial HERE
Don’t forget to Like and Subscribe to be notified of future video tutorials on
my YouTube channel.

I used a random photo from one of my recent projects I’ve been working on, but you can do this with any image. A jpeg or png file will be the easiest to work with since it’s a flattened graphics and consists of 1 layer. You could still work with a svg file, but it may require a bit more playing with it, since it’s made up of pieces.

Check out the File Types for Silhouette tutorial HERE for more information on file types.

Here are a few of the resources I posted in the video description to help with future projects:
– New! Print and Cut Tutorial Video HERE
– Silhouette Guides and Rulers HERE
– Knife Tool Tutorial HERE
– Knife Thickness Tutorial HERE
– Print & Cut written Tutorial HERE
– Printing Large Format Tutorial HERE

Have you made a larger than mat project?

I used it when I cut the black backing for this large reindeer gnome.

Check out the post on Getting More Out of your Silhouette Designs HERE where I first showed the large reindeer gnome.

Pop over to the new YouTube video tutorial HERE and then get to creating!

I would love to see what you are creating with your Silhouette software or machines!
Feel free to post photos or questions on my Facebook group at
Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

Enjoy !

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Or if you are looking for more in-depth, step-by-step classes, check out all of my online Silhouette classes on my Teachable site HERE.

The Silhouette Studio software is jam-packed with Tools and features that can be used to design with. One of those is the Knife Tool.

In the Silhouette software, Tools are located on the left side panel and Panels are located on the right side.

The Knife Tool is located on the left side of the Silhouette v4 software.

Keep in mind that the knife and eraser tool are changing a lot of data when they are in use. There are many factors that will affect what a user sees when using these tools. These could be the design being changed, the computer processing power, the version of software a user has, etc.

A user may need to be patient with their computer when they are using these tools as the computer processes the change in data. If a design is “complex”, then there may be other options to alter the design versus the knife or eraser tools, such as Releasing the Compound Path and deleting. Keep in mind, that each design might react differently.

Knife Tool

Tutorial written in v4.3.372

Let’s take a look at a circle shape and how the knife options work with it. I used the drawing tools on the left side to draw a circle and then replicated it on the right side and filled it with color using the Fill Color Panel.

Tip: holding down the Shift key on the keyboard will make the Knife (or line drawing tools) cut in a straight line either vertically, horizontally, or at a 45 degree angle.

Solid Option

With the Solid option chosen, the shape will be cut and create 2 solid images.

Each piece is now independent of the other and can be moved.

Outline Option

With the Outline option selected notice that the unfilled shape reacts differently than the color filled shape.

A shape with no fill, will cut apart the design and leave the shape open. It is cutting a closed shape apart and making it 2 open paths.

Open paths react differently than a closed path. Open paths can be found by double clicking on the line of the design and bringing up the Edit Points.
If there are any red dots, that means it is an Open Path.

What you see above, is 2 semi-circle lines that have been cut from a circle. Open Paths cannot be filled with color and will only cut from 1 red dot to the next red dot.
It will not connect the cut.

If a shape is filled with color, then it reacts differently when the Knife – Outline option is used. It will result in 2 closed shapes.

Knife Set Tools

Each user with the basic (free) Silhouette software has access to the basic knife function as shown above.
If a user has a software upgrade such as Designer Edition, Designer Plus, or Business Edition there are more knife options available.

With the software upgrades, there are several more fun options for the knife tool.

Let’s take a look at a couple of these options.

Notice that the unfilled shape behaves differently than the color filled shape. There are open paths on the unfilled shape and you do not see the knife design. But, the filled shape the knife tool creates the shape according to the design option you have chosen.

Auto Apply or Apply

Next on the knife tool bar is the options to either Auto Apply the knife option when the mouse button is clicked or to manually choose Apply to have the knife finish. This gives the user the chance to decide whether they want the knife selection before it starts the process of changing the data.

This is all a matter of personal preference. However, if Auto Apply is chosen, then you do not get the chance to adjust the knife selection before it applies to the design.

Some of the knife tool options have an additional slider that appears when you draw with it that can adjust the shape of the chosen knife.

Preferences

Under the Preferences, there are options for how a user wants the Knife Tool to act. After Using the Knife can be set to “Continue Using Knife” or “Choose Select“.

If it is set to “Continue Using Knife“, then you will need to click on the Select Arrow in the top left corner when done with the knife to turn it off.