I am trying to do some designs for the front of t shirts relating to my hobby Flyball. Most of these are just text but I am told they have to have a path or cut line around them and I am stumped. I have drawn round them with the bezier tool but that didn't work?

I have attached the font I am wanting to use and welcome any tips and advice as I'm stumped.

Hi Lemonie

I'm not sure if its possible to get the exact look that this font has, as a cutting file. I have attached a file where I was able to remove the shadow behind the lettering which can be cut, and I have also included a cut file using a Font called BD Shadow which I believe is a standard font found on most window based PC's...I Hope.....

Someone may come along later with a better solution...

Hi Lemonie,

I see Angela has helped and I would like to offer one more solution. Trace the text - I will explain further below.
First I am unsure how experienced you are with Inkscape so I will answer as if you are a beginner. Ignore the information if it is not needed.

Before I start I would like to mention there are a few issues that could cause you a problem.
1. When you place a font in a file it will not be the same on the other person's computer if they do not have the same font installed, therefore our amended files may look different to the font you used originally.
2. the shadow on the font is a filter and is not actually part of the text.
3. the font is in the root layer and can cause problems with some cutting programs.
All of the above do have solutions and are not hard to fix.

If you are sharing a file at any stage to ensure the other person can use the same font, change it from a font to an object by applying Path>Object to Path. If the colour of the font changes when converted to a path just select the colour you wish to use.

Luckily I had a look at Angela's amended file first and noticed you had a filter. Now fonts (unless they are bitmap fonts) do not need cutting lines adding. The problem you are encountering is the filter. If you look at your font in outline mode you can see it looks like a normal font and there is no drop shadow. Your example is a font coloured white with a grey drop shadow. Screenshot below.
If you notice in the screenshot the orange rectangle and text. Your text is in the root layer and it can cause problems if you use Sign Cut. To prevent problems move any objects in the root layer to a new layer. Do not just rename the layer, move the objects. If you don't know how to do this let us know and we can help. In the meantime I will attach my own amended file for you to have a look at.


If you want to cut the shadow part to give a stencil look to your project there is a solution. It can be traced. The font itself cannot be traced but you can create a bitmap copy and the copy can be traced.
Select the font and apply Edit>Make a Bitmap copy. It will be directly on top of your text so drag it aside and trace.


As it is a bit difficult explaining each step I have made the changes and labelled them on the attached SVG. Download the file and have a look at each change. A lot of mine looks just like Angela's. The purpose of this post was to give you another option to change the text and then trace to create a cutting file.

Don't forget to show us pictures of your finished project. Give a yell if anything I explained does not make sense or if you need any more help.

If you are new to Inkscape I find it often helps when learning to view problem files in outline mode. In outline mode the visible lines are the ones your cutting blade will follow. If they look wrong it will cut wrong. Also, get into the habit of selecting the file and reading the information about the file in the notification region at the bottom of your Inkscape window. The notification region will show useful information that may help if you are having a problem.

I do have a question - was the original file created in Illustrator. I am trying to work out why some files have a root layer. The only time I have seen it on files is when a file has been converted to SVG in Illustrator. I am sure it happens for other reasons and I am trying to find out what causes a root layer to be created.

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