My youngest boy recently got engaged. Hurrah! I was very excited to welcome his sweet future wife to the family. He had a very elaborate plan that worked almost to perfection, culminating in a celebratory dinner with her parents who came in as a surprise. To commemorate the occasion, I got her a ring dish from the gift shop at the restaurant where we ate. I also made her a t-shirt to celebrate the step up from girlfriend to fiancée. I thought this would make a great quick tip — showing you how to strikethrough text as I did.
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What doesn’t work
To create a strikethrough, many beginners will simply use the drawing tools to draw a line through the text like this:
However, as soon as they cut the HTV they realize that doesn’t work. Here’s why — a line you draw is just one dimension. It has length, but no width. So, it only cuts a slit, as if you had sliced through it with a knife. In fact, this is a very common mistake when doing any project.
What is needed is a 2-dimensional element — something with both length and width. There are a couple of different ways to do that. First, I’ll show you how to make something with 2 dimensions. Then make sure to read at the end how to get it to form a single piece with the word and cut correctly. Trust me — it may not be what you think.
And just in case you’re wondering — the fonts I used are Riverhead and Magic Winter Script from the Silhouette Design Store. I love that cute little heart on the script “i.” So thematic!
Option 1: Strikethrough with a rectangle
The first option is to draw a rectangle through your word. It can have flat edges, or with the Draw a Rounded Rectangle option you can have rounded edges. Click the tool, then move your mouse over to the drawing area to the left of your word. Click and drag to begin drawing the rectangle. Release the mouse button once you’re to the right of the word.
The advantage of doing it this way is that if you need to resize your word, the rectangle will resize with it proportionally. And it can be easier to choose the correct cut options (more on that below).
Option 2: Strikethrough with a thick line
The other way to do a strikethrough is to go ahead and draw a plain line…
HINT: To draw a perfectly horizontal line, hold the SHIFT key as you draw.
…but then raise it’s line thickness.
Do it this way if you feel more comfortable drawing a line instead of a rectangle. Just know that if you have to resize your design, the line will remain the same thickness, so will not continue to be in the same proportion to your design.
Making the parts cut as one
So far, you have your elements — word(s) and either a rectangle or a line. But if you don’t tell the software to make them cut as one, you’re still going to wind up with a problem.
Many people will advise you to weld the text to the line. BUT BUT BUT — if you do that, they become permanently one piece. There are several implications to that. Your words are no longer editable text but a regular image. That means if you decided to change the font or realize you misspelled a word, you can’t change it. You couldn’t decide to make the line thicker or thinner.
There’s a much better option.
Cut Edge or AutoWeld instead of Weld
In the current version of the software, text defaults to Cut Edge/AutoWeld when you type it. What that means is that if you are using a script font, where the letters overlap they don’t cut into one another.
You can use the same principle here. Anywhere where one element overlaps another element, if you choose Cut Edge/AutoWeld, the overlaps don’t cut. It’s a much better option, because the text stays editable and you can separate the design pieces later if necessary. Once you weld, you can’t. And don’t worry — parts like the inside of a letter “o” will still cut because a letter like that is in a compound path. You can read all about Cut Edge here and AutoWeld here.
***Here’s a critical tip. If you’re cutting in that by line color or by fill color mode, the 2 pieces MUST have the same line or fill color, respectively. That’s why I said using a rectangle was a bit easier when selecting the cut mode.***
To choose one of these cut options, you’d go into the Send area, select both the text and the shape, and choose Cut Edge in standard cut mode…
…or check the box for AutoWeld when cutting by line, fill or layer.
Why it’s better
The good thing about doing a strikethrough in one of these ways instead of welding is that you’re telling the software exactly what to do.
- By choosing Cut Edge/AutoWeld on a shape, you’re telling it to not allow the machine to cut into any other design piece that it overlaps that ALSO has Cut Edge/AutoWeld selected.
- If your word is a design rather than something you typed (non-editable text), you’re making sure that text is going to not cut the overlaps.
- On a thick line, Cut goes right down the middle of the line, while Cut Edge/AutoWeld cuts on the outside of it. That means with one element — a line — you have 2 different options. You won’t want to use Cut this time, but you might in the future (it’s an easy way to make a bleed on a print and cut).
- If you are perhaps doing a print and cut, if you weld your pieces you can only have one fill color or fill pattern. With Cut Edge/AutoWeld, you can have both because they have not permanently become one piece.
The main keys are to–
- make sure that the same cut style is selected on ALL the pieces.
- follow the rule about needing the same line or fill color if cutting by line or fill.
Always check your Cut Preview to make sure. Learning to read that will save you a TON of headaches! You’ll see ahead of time right where the software is going to tell the machine to cut.
P.S.
My future daughter-in-law loved the shirt. Here’s a photo of the happy couple–
I’ll probably be sharing wedding decor projects in the coming months as her mom is a Silhouetter, too. I knew I liked this girl!
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