Draw a Box in Silhouette Studio

The power to put text on a path – to have words wrap effectually a shape — has been bachelor in the Silhouette Studio software for a long time. But being able to put a shape on a path of another shape has been an elusive dream. This is a feature slated to arrive in version 4, but what if you demand it at present?

One workaround is to apply dingbat fonts – fonts where the messages are actually pictures – and follow the steps for putting text on a path. Merely many dingbat fonts are poorly made and cut raggedly. Or what if yous can't find a dingbat font that has the shape you want? Or you lot want to apply a shape in your Silhouette library?

Some other pick is to employ the replicate window and alter the center of rotation (Designer Edition and above). That works easily around a circle, only that's about information technology.

Up to this bespeak, y'all would have been out of luck. I'm going to teach yous today a technique that will blow your mind considering you lot can put one or more shapes on a path of any shape or even fill it. The chief pull a fast one on is this: you need Designer Plus Edition.

Notation: This is a sample of an advanced software tutorial. Software tutorials are available with a membership. Encounter here for information on memberships.

What is Designer Plus?

Designer Plus is an upGRADE to the Silhouette Studio software. Don't misfile this with an upDATE – see here for an explanation of the difference and a full explanation of all available software upgrades. When you purchase an upgrade to the software you go extra features that aren't in the Basic Edition. Non anybody wants or needs these features, so they are paid for past those who do. I will tell you all day long that Designer Edition is worth the price for any user. Normally DE+ is not something a lot of people need, only this post may change your listen.

What additional options are in that location in Designer Plus?

Designer Plus is a relatively new upgrade and is somewhat specialized. Basically, it offers the ability to open the standard embroidery file types and has advanced rhinestone features.

When yous convert a shape to a rhinestone design in the Designer Edition's Standard rhinestone mode, you merely see circles of the correct size. You tin choose between 4 standard rhinestone sizes. Every bit you lot increase the size of your shape, the size of the circles stays the aforementioned but more than are added. With Designer Edition Plus you have advanced options to select colored rhinestones that really await like stones. This provides a much ameliorate idea of finished product. Here's a side by side comparison:

Unlike the Standard mode, increasing the size of the group of fatigued stones increases the size of each circle instead of adding more circles (more on that afterward).

You tin as well apply multiple stone shapes/colors to a design at the same time and change the angle and spacing.

For many of us, aught and so far is a large deal, but here's the important part. Are you set up? YOU CAN ADD ANY SHAPE Y'all Want TO YOUR RHINESTONE LIBRARY! The intended use for this is for rhinestones that are, say, rectangles or hearts. Silhouette America doesn't sell those shapes, just other companies do. This allows y'all to be able to cut templates utilizing the unusual shapes.

Why exercise I intendance about adding custom rhinestone shapes?

There'south a employ for this exterior of simply rhinestones. Y'all can add a shape to the rhinestone library and then care for information technology like a rhinestone even if you never intend to cutting rhinestone template material. This is revolutionary because it ways you Tin can actually take a unmarried shape, or multiple shapes, and brand them go around the border of some other shape or fill it.

I'm a very visual learner, and so I'm going to testify you an instance of what I mean. Here'south a basic shape–

Now I've created a custom rhinestone and applied it to the edge of the shape—

Here I've applied it in a radial fill to the shape-

Here I've practical it in a linear fill to the shape—

Here's one that has interior pieces–

This rhinestone shape is more circuitous but information technology all the same works–

You lot can see that I've now gained the power put shapes on a path or use them every bit a fill up for whatsoever shape. Ready to learn how this works?

Adding a custom shape to the rhinestone library

Draw your shape or put a shape from your library onto your cartoon area.
In order to see and work with your shape more easily, fill up it with color.
Resize your shape as needed. The dominion is that the size must be .472" or less. Sometimes both height and width demand to be; sometimes but one. Information technology may even need to be smaller. I haven't found consistency here, and so make information technology as small as you demand to for it to load properly into the rhinestone library. Yous will get a bulletin if it'southward besides big. Yous can zoom in to pattern small then aggrandize later to increase the size of the rhinestone later you have added it to the library (come across below).
Make sure your shape is selected.
Open the Rhinestone window, gyre down and click on Advanced Rhinestones.
Select the option to "Add Selected Shape to the Rhinestone Library."
You should so see it below the pictures of the rhinestones under "User Rhinestones."

I recommend keeping your original shape on your drawing expanse. You can pull it off to the side of the mat if you similar every bit it may be helpful to have information technology later.

Deleting a custom rhinestone shape

If you desire to delete a custom rhinestone, highlight it in the list and click the "-" sign.

Altering the size

In Standard mode the sizes available for the stones are 6ss, 10ss, 16ss and 20ss. The preset rhinestones in Avant-garde style are 10ss, 16ss and 20ss in a variety of colors.

With the custom rhinestones you create, you can use a different size each time you add together the stone to your blueprint. This is good news for what we want to practice, especially since the size can be larger than the limit listed above.

Highlight the custom rhinestone you lot desire to use.
Backspace out the numbers for width and superlative and input the dimensions you desire. Yous tin also use the slider bar or arrows, but they are slower. The max size is .984″.
At that place isn't a fashion to proceed the aspect ratio since you lot accept to blazon each number in individually. To work effectually this, use the original shape you saved off to the side. When resizing this you tin go along the aspect ratio and and then you'll know the numbers yous need to input. You tin can relieve the shape to your library and input the dimensions as keywords in the shape properties.
You can ready new dimensions each time you utilise your custom rhinestone shape, and so this gives you keen flexibility.

Putting the shape on a path

Put the shape yous want to utilize as your path on the drawing area. I'one thousand going to use an oval.
Resize as needed to match the calibration of your created rhinestone. The shape y'all used to create a custom rhinestone should still exist on your drawing area (if y'all took my advice) then it can help you figure out the scale you need. You may need to practise some experimenting with this step.
Make sure your shape is selected and that your custom rhinestone shape is highlighted under User Rhinestones.
Select the Rhinestone Mode. For now we're doing Single and nosotros'll talk through the options on bending, spacing and commencement in a bit.
Choose betwixt the 3 options–

Utilize to Edge — puts rhinestone shapes centered forth the edge of the path shape.

Fill Interior (Radial) – fills the path shape with the rhinestone shape along the outer edge and then in spokes emanating toward the center.

Fill Interior (Linear) – fills the path shape with the rhinestone shape in directly rows like a grid.

HINT: whichever you choose, stones are placed on the edge. Using the fill interior likewise puts some inside the shape.

After the shapes are applied…

Your original path shape stays in place and is even so usable. This is different from the Standard rhinestone way. If you lot are not going to employ information technology, pull it off to the side or delete it. I recommend the former in case y'all need to use it again in the aforementioned size.

One reminder: the stones that are fatigued in Advanced way don't act the same way they do in the Standard way. In Standard, if yous increment the size of the shape the NUMBER of the stones increases instead of the SIZE OF EACH Stone increasing.

In Avant-garde mode, in one case drawn the stones are just a set of filled shapes. What y'all are getting is a circle filled with a motion picture of a rhinestone. What that ways is that if after the stones are drawn you increase the size of the set, the SIZE OF EACH STONE increases instead of the NUMBER of stones increasing. This is both helpful and problematic, depending on what you are trying to do. Since we are not actually trying to brand a rhinestone shape to cut, information technology tin can be helpful. This will be explained throughout this post.

The ready of rhinestone shapes you just created are grouped together, so ungroup as needed if you want to move or remove whatever.

If y'all don't like the way the created gear up of rhinestone shapes looks, delete it and start over with your original path shape.

Occasionally a single extra rhinestone is drawn beside your shape. This seems to be an odd software issue. Only brand sure to delete it earlier cutting if it winds upward in your cut surface area.

Using multiple custom rhinestones on a path

You can create a pattern using multiple rhinestone shapes instead of a unmarried one.

Create as many custom rhinestone shapes as you want.
In the Rhinestone Mode, select Multiple.
The Rhinestone Way window expands. Beneath the words "Single" and "Multiple" y'all'll run into either an empty box or, if you have used the multiple pick previously, the set up of custom shapes last used.
Highlight i of your User Rhinestones and click the "+" sign. Brand sure you are selecting it in your rhinestone library and not trying to click on 1 of the shapes in the box for the set you are creating. This adds that shape to the set.
Highlight a different custom rhinestone shape and add it. Repeat until y'all have added equally many as you like.
To delete a shape from the set, highlight it and click the "-" sign. Once again, be sure y'all are in the right surface area considering information technology tin can be confusing.
Select your path shape and apply to edge or fill. The shapes will be added in the ready design.
Allow's say you desire to practise a blueprint of ii flowers and 1 heart. You would add the blossom to the set 2 times and the heart once.
If you want to change the order of the rhinestones in the pattern, y'all can highlight one of the custom shapes in the box, left click and drag it to a different position in the society.

Altering the angle

This selection allows yous to change the direction in which the rhinestones betoken.

Standard (Rhinestones upright) – the stones are added to the path in the same orientation as the custom rhinestone shape you created. So here, the rectangular shape is right side up forth the whole path, whether you choose edge, radial or linear fill.

Heart (Rhinestones bespeak to middle) – the stones betoken directly at the heart of the path shape.

Perpendicular (Rhinestones align to profile) – this places stones along or in the path shape post-obit the contours of the shape rather than beingness aimed at the direct heart. With Linear Fill, information technology is the same as the Standard Upright Manner.

Try all the unlike combinations of manner and angle to see the various looks you tin can go.

Altering the spacing

This option is used to change how close together the software places your stones. You can input numbers, or use the slider bar or arrows. It'due south important to know that the number hither has to be between .039 and .394."

A trick you tin employ is to make your path shape larger before y'all add the rhinestones. This allows you to put more than stones into your shape. If your shape is small, you may but fit in x. If the shape is large, y'all can fit in 50. The size of the stones is limited and the amount y'all tin infinite them apart is limited, but the size of your path shape can be any size you like. After drawing the stones, you tin can and so make the fix smaller. The size of the stones volition get smaller, simply so volition the spacing.

Remember that I said the difference between Standard and Advanced rhinestone modes tin can help usa? In Standard mode, yous can't take a shape you've converted to a rhinestone epitome and then change the size of the circles. When you lot make the prepare larger, it merely adds more circles instead of making the circles themselves larger. You are limited to using the preset sizes of half-dozen, 10, 16 or 20ss. In Avant-garde mode, when you alter the size of the fix, the size of the circles does changes.

Have I lost you? Just retrieve – to get the await you lot desire you lot may demand to play effectually with the size of your shape in relation to the size of your stone.

Altering the angle starting time

This option allows you to angle the stone before calculation information technology to your shape, anywhere from -180° up to 180.° This is easiest to see on a rectangular shape.

The samples hither are all with the Standard Upright Way applied to the edge. There are multiple possible combinations, so experiment to get unlike looks.

Drawing rhinestones

Just as in Standard rhinestone way, you can add together or manipulate private rhinestones in Advanced manner.

Selecting – Before using this feature, y'all volition need to ungroup your ready of drawn stones. Then you lot'll be able to select one or more stones for a count or for replacing.

Single click – With this pick, you can add or replace rhinestone shapes one past one to your drawing area.

ane. Select Single Click.

2. Choose whatever of the stone shapes from your library – either default or 1 you created.

3. Left click on the drawing area where you want to add the stone, or hover over a rhinestone in a set yous have already created and left click to supervene upon it with the new 1.

This is helpful when you lot've added your stone shapes along a path just desire to put in some of your own or tweak the layout.

Supercede rhinestones – With this y'all can replace one or more rhinestones with a different rhinestone. You won't be able to change the mode, angle, spacing or angle of outset because your original shape is no longer in the picture. You're merely working with some individual shapes.

To replace all the stones with another rock or gear up of stones (y'all can use either the single or multiple option hither)—

1. Select the fix of stones you created.

2. Cull whether you lot desire to utilize Single or Multiple.

3. Choose a unlike rock or design of stones.

4. Click Replace Rhinestones. The new option will replace the old.

To supercede only some of the stones–

ane. Ungroup your stones.

two. Select the ones y'all want to replace.

iii. Choose Single or Multiple.

4. Choose the new stone or pattern of stones.

5. Click Replace Rhinestones.

Rhinestone count

This is another area that works the same way in Standard and Advanced modes. It may or may non be something you need, simply it's expert to know how it works. Because your custom stone is almost likely not one of the standard default sizes, it will exist listed in the "Other" category.

With nothing selected, the count contains every stone on the page.

With a gear up of stones withal grouped selected, the count contains the number of stones in the grouping.

With the stones ungrouped, the count represents all selected stones.

And that, beloved friends, is how you lot tin can put a set up of shapes on a path but like you lot tin can with text. Let me know your thoughts!

NOTE: This is a sample of an avant-garde software tutorial. Software tutorials are bachelor with a membership. See here for information on memberships.

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Source: https://smart-silhouette.com/shape-path/

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