I am trying to make an acrylic template for a quilting pattern and not having any luck. I have a cardboard template that I would like to make into an acrylic template. Seems so simple in my head. Can anyone guide me on how to do this? each template is unique to the design of the quilt so I can’t just do squares and circles. thanks in advance. Sharon
Hmm, do you have a picture of an existing one? Hard to know what to recommend without knowing what you’re trying to do.
If you can make the distances and angles to put into Inkscape or if you can scan it in on a fax machine you could use that image to work from. Or as last resort take a careful photo with your phone and use that image.
templaate|386x500](upload://7aLpDY765N8RF44JJzcnrJABeYH.jpeg)
I have scanned it into my computer then imported to inkscape, then saved as an svg and then tried to upload to glowforge. when I do it says i have no artwork and will only engrave. I want the pattern cut.
did a picture show up?
The picture did not show but what you want is the cut lines not the image. You use the image to show you where to draw the lines as inkscape vectors.
Here is an example of letting Inkscape do the trace…
thanks. I will try and let you know.
I have tried with both of these templates. I did the trace bitmap in a blue color. saved to plain svg. uploaded to glowforge and it says I have no artwork. Is there a way I can just put this in my glowforge and scan and cut it on the acrylic?
This is the result you are looking for…
You don’t need to bother with the image just cut the lines.
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I tried to do that but it says there is no art work and only gives me the engrave option. I know it is something that any body with common sense could do and I will slap my head when i figure it out but still baffled.
You can download that and see what it is and should be able to cut it. that will show you what you are looking for.
You could also try this…Using Gimp to get a better trace in Inkscape
You might have the artwork extending past the cuttable area in the Glowforge interface. Try moving it around to the center of your screen. And if you have a closed vector figure that defaults to Engrave in the interface, you can always change that to a Cut. Also, if you don’t have Proofgrade material chosen, the interface will report No Artwork until you choose settings for the job.
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If you have the picture of it scanned into the computer, i would suggest that you open the image up in Inkscape, or your choice of vector programs, and manually create the outline. As much as I love technology and I do periodically use the tracing functions, I would probably not for the stencil.
I have made a few of these for my wife. That is the process I follow. Picture, with ruler so I can get scale. Manually trace. Cut out of acrylic.
BTW, the Glowforge also makes for a really convenient tool when looking to make a specific triangle ruler for cutting out pieces.
thanks for all the hints. I finally figured it out and it was as I thought, something real simple. tried to make it harder than it was. Now on to more intricate pieces.
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