Inkscape - Making lacy circles

I have been having fun playing with stars in Inkscape. Below are some photo's of my cut items, they are 11.5" in diameter.


A screenshot of some of my results.
All of the images are based on an 11 point star.


A video showing how I use a star with stroke to create these designs.

Written Instructions.

To draw these shapes start by selecting star from the side menu bar.
- Draw a star and choose number of corners (my examples have 11).
- Open Fill and Stroke and change the following settings.
- Fill > No Fill
- Stroke paint > Flat colour
- Stroke style > Increase width to thicken the line.
Screenshots below showing the settings. Stroke width will vary to my setting depending on the thickness you want for your shape and the size of the star.
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Now for the fun part.
- Double click on your shape and two nodes will now be visible.
- Drag the nodes to change the shape.
- To change the star further, change the number in Rounded. Rounded can be increased to 10 and decreased to -10. Location is shown on screenshot below.
- When dragging the nodes do not worry to much about the size of the shape, it can be changed later. The aim is to get a shape you like that will be suitable for cutting. I cannot give exact settings, as it varies greatly depending on the location of the nodes.
- Width of stroke can be thickened while working if you want to change the look of the shape.
- Basically drag nodes, change stroke width and change value in Rounded.
A word of warning if you like a shape save it, as it can be very hard to repeat. Duplicate the shape, move it aside and continue working on the original. I often have lots of shapes on the screen as I duplicate any suitable shape.
- After all the changes Path>Stroke to Path must be applied.
- After stroke to path is applied the shape can be saved, resized and edited as normal.
- Edit nodes. Have a look and remove any tiny clusters that will result in a pinprick size hole when cutting.
- Save file.
Click on any image for a larger view.


When I learn how to make videos I will redo this tutorial. It is very hard to show in a few images. Play around with the settings, it is easy to get great results and it is fun.
Summary
Draw a star.
Open Fill and Stroke. Turn fill off, stroke > flat colour and change stroke width.
Double click on the star and drag nodes to change the shape.
Change line width while designing shape if necessary to give a good cutting width.
Path>Stroke to Path
Resize and edit nodes.
Save file.

Great results can also be achieved by turning fill on and stroke off. The designs are entirely different. I will do a tutorial later on.

Using Grid to Draw Objects in Inkscape.

To draw objects with straight lines such as diamonds and zig zag lines, turn on the grid feature in Inkscape. The advantage of turning on the grid is the pen will follow the lines and nodes will snap to intersections on the grid enabling accurate straight lines and corners to be drawn. If the lines and nodes do not snap, just turn on snap by View>Snap. If further editing is to be done it is often necessary to turn the snap off but leave grid on.

Click on any image for a larger view.
View>Grid or (# which on my keyboard is shift and 2)


Settings for the grid can be changed in Inkscape Preferences if you would like to change the size of the grid squares.


- Select the bezier tool to draw.
- Left mouse click to draw first point, release mouse button and move to next point, then left mouse click
- Repeat until the shape is complete.
- If drawing a closed shape it will close when you return to the starting point.
- Alternatively hit the return key on the computer to finish the shape.
- A line is green when drawn and red while being dragged.


- Shapes can then be colour filled.

- Select the object to be changed and select a colour from the colour bar.

- Save file.

If cutting from Sign Cut, remove either the fill or the stroke, as Sign Cut treats them as separate paths and will cut the shape twice.
Other users of Inkscape for digital cutters, save the file as normal.

Using grid to draw open shapes.

- Select the bezier tool to draw.
- Left mouse click to draw first point, release mouse button and move to next point, then left mouse click.
- Repeat until the shape is complete.

- Hit the return key on the computer keyboard to finish the shape.

- A line is green when drawn and red while being dragged.

To thicken the lines, path outset often give untidy results and dynamic offset rounds the corners. I do the following instead to thicken the lines.

- Open the Fill and Stroke menu.

- Select object.

- Select flat colour in the Stroke paint tab.

- Open the tab Stroke style.

- Increase the Width as shown below.

- Select a style for the Join.

- Select a style for the Cap.

Below are three examples on the same object.

Many combinations can be used, select and try different options until the shape suits your requirements.

Example 1.

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Example 2.

Example 3.

- After making the above changes, Path>Stroke to Path.

- Path>Simplify to remove extra nodes that are added in the process.

- Save file.

Example showing View>Outline after all the changes.

Please leave a comment if you find this useful or find it difficult to understand.

Inkscape -Thickening a Line

Thickening a line.
Do you find when you draw a spiral or open shape with the bezier tool that the shape closes and fills when trying to make the line thicker, like the example below? If you wish to have the line remain the same, Path>Stroke to Path, keeps the path open and does not fill with colour.
Download full article in pdf format here.



- Draw spiral or any open shape with the bezier tool.
- ensure object is selected.
- Path>Stroke to Path.
- Path>Outset. Repeat offset until it reaches the desired thickness.