Grey pattern with Red outline in Inkscape

[Foxfold]

As promised in another post.

This is the way I create a grey pattern with a red outline in Inkscape.  I have a preference for these colours as I find a black line difficult to follow with a scrollsaw blade whereas my blade stands out against a red line.  I've condensed the process into 6 stages.

1) At the Top Lefthand corner of the page there is a 'File' button.  Click on this and a box will drop down.  Click ‘Import’  button and find

the pattern you want and click on it  and that will take it to your Inkscape screen.

Click on your image so that it’s got a 'box' around it.

 

2) At the very top of the screen you will see a line of various words (File-Edit-View) etc.

Click on ‘Path’ and a box will appear, then click on ‘Trace Bitmap’  a drop box will appear on the screen and show you the pattern that you've 'outlined'

Click on ‘Live Preview’ if you don’t see it and your pattern will appear in the box 

Click on ‘OK’  

This will make an SVG copy of your pattern.

 

3) Click on and drag the copies apart. The ‘top’ copy is the one you use.

 

4) Highlight this copy and click on the ‘Grey’ paint box at the bottom of the screen and this will turn the pattern Grey and you will see that colour in the ‘Fill’ box that is at the

very bottom of the page.

 

5) While you still have your image highlighted,  Right Click on ‘Red’ paint at the bottom of the screen and a box will popup, select ‘Set Stroke’ and this will give you a Red outline, you will see this in the ‘Stroke’ box that is underneath the 'Fill' box.

You can also adjust the width of the outline by doing a  ‘right click’ on the tiny numbers next to the ‘Stroke’ box, a drop box of widths will appear

( I use 0.25 as this suits my #3 blade nicely) but you can play with the different widths until you find one that suits you.

 

6) Go to the 'File' button at the top lefthand corner and choose 'Print', this will open a 'box' so that you can chose your printer.

I then click the 'Preferences' button and it will show me whether I've chosen 'Portrait' or 'Landscape' on my Inkscape page.

I personally then have to go to 'Advanced' and choose A4 paper size as that's what we commonly use here in the UK, I'm not sure what any other country has as a default but there are a few choices.

 

You can then print your pattern.  Bear in mind that Inkscape only prints what is inside the 'page' that is shown on your screen.  

 

I then ‘save’ these changes so that if I cut the pattern again it’s already sorted and ready to print. 

 

I hope this is helpful and that I've laid it out in a manner that can be understood and followed.  If not, let me know.

[OCtoolguy]

4 hours ago, Foxfold said:

As promised in another post.

This is the way I create a grey pattern with a red outline in Inkscape.  I have a preference for these colours as I find a black line difficult to follow with a scrollsaw blade whereas my blade stands out against a red line.  I've condensed the process into 6 stages.

1) At the Top Lefthand corner of the page there is a 'File' button.  Click on this and a box will drop down.  Click ‘Import’  button and find

the pattern you want and click on it  and that will take it to your Inkscape screen.

Click on your image so that it’s got a 'box' around it.

 

2) At the very top of the screen you will see a line of various words (File-Edit-View) etc.

Click on ‘Path’ and a box will appear, then click on ‘Trace Bitmap’  a drop box will appear on the screen and show you the pattern that you've 'outlined'

Click on ‘Live Preview’ if you don’t see it and your pattern will appear in the box 

Click on ‘OK’  

This will make an SVG copy of your pattern.

 

3) Click on and drag the copies apart. The ‘top’ copy is the one you use.

 

4) Highlight this copy and click on the ‘Grey’ paint box at the bottom of the screen and this will turn the pattern Grey and you will see that colour in the ‘Fill’ box that is at the

very bottom of the page.

 

5) While you still have your image highlighted,  Right Click on ‘Red’ paint at the bottom of the screen and a box will popup, select ‘Set Stroke’ and this will give you a Red outline, you will see this in the ‘Stroke’ box that is underneath the 'Fill' box.

You can also adjust the width of the outline by doing a  ‘right click’ on the tiny numbers next to the ‘Stroke’ box, a drop box of widths will appear

( I use 0.25 as this suits my #3 blade nicely) but you can play with the different widths until you find one that suits you.

 

6) Go to the 'File' button at the top lefthand corner and choose 'Print', this will open a 'box' so that you can chose your printer.

I then click the 'Preferences' button and it will show me whether I've chosen 'Portrait' or 'Landscape' on my Inkscape page.

I personally then have to go to 'Advanced' and choose A4 paper size as that's what we commonly use here in the UK, I'm not sure what any other country has as a default but there are a few choices.

 

You can then print your pattern.  Bear in mind that Inkscape only prints what is inside the 'page' that is shown on your screen.  

 

I then ‘save’ these changes so that if I cut the pattern again it’s already sorted and ready to print. 

 

I hope this is helpful and that I've laid it out in a manner that can be understood and followed.  If not, let me know.

You did a masterful job on your "how-to" Brenda. I get messed up on the "trace bitmap" command because of all the settings in the trace bitmap box. I have no idea what any of them mean. Also, how do you fit what you want printed into the small box on the screen? Many times what I'm working on will be part in and part out of the box.

[jollyred]

2 minutes ago, OCtoolguy said:

Also, how do you fit what you want printed into the small box on the screen? Many times what I'm working on will be part in and part out of the box.

While the pattern is highlighted, left click on the "Select" icon at the top of the left box.  It looks like an arrow.  The box around the image will now show some arrows at the corners and the middle of the sides.  Put the select arrow over one of the corner arrows.  While holding "ctrl" key on the keyboard, move the arrow in or out to change the size of the image.  The "ctrl" key will force the image to maintain its proportions.  The arrows at the middle of the sides will make the image shorter or wider, depending on the arrow chosen and the direction it is dragged.

Tom

[OCtoolguy]

47 minutes ago, jollyred said:

While the pattern is highlighted, left click on the "Select" icon at the top of the left box.  It looks like an arrow.  The box around the image will now show some arrows at the corners and the middle of the sides.  Put the select arrow over one of the corner arrows.  While holding "ctrl" key on the keyboard, move the arrow in or out to change the size of the image.  The "ctrl" key will force the image to maintain its proportions.  The arrows at the middle of the sides will make the image shorter or wider, depending on the arrow chosen and the direction it is dragged.

Tom

Will it still print at full size?

[Foxfold]

9 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Will it still print at full size?

Depends on your printer I suppose.  It will print only the size of the 'page' that is on Inkscape and you can make that 'page' different sizes.  go to 'File' in the top left hand corner and in the drop box chose 'Document Properties',  I only ever use A4 or multiples of as this is all my printer will take.

So if I need a 'larger' pattern I position my pattern over the 'page' when I print, so that I ultimately print all of it and then tape them together. 

Edited September 13, 2021 by Foxfold

[Fish]

Thanks for your help.  I am gonna try this.

[jr42]

Thank you Brenda, for the time you put in to this, as it will help a lot of people.

[barb.j.enders]

Thanks Brenda for the lesson. I haven't used Inkscape very often but like the other got very frustrated at using it.  I know that I am a visual learner.

[Foxfold]

1 hour ago, jr42 said:

Thank you Brenda, for the time you put in to this, as it will help a lot of people.

You are more than welcome, I hope it helps.  I'm not really 'computer literate', but I honestly struggle seeing a black blade on a black outline so I forced myself to learn how to do the grey/red patterns so that I could carry on enjoying scrolling.  

[OCtoolguy]

5 hours ago, Foxfold said:

Depends on your printer I suppose.  It will print only the size of the 'page' that is on Inkscape and you can make that 'page' different sizes.  go to 'File' in the top left hand corner and in the drop box chose 'Document Properties',  I only ever use A4 or multiples of as this is all my printer will take.

So if I need a 'larger' pattern I position my pattern over the 'page' when I print, so that I ultimately print all of it and then tape them together. 

Thanks. I think I get it. Now, if I could just understand "trace bitmap" things would be great. One of the things I've tried to do but so far have failed is to import a pic, do a trace bitmap and then tried to break it all down into pieces and parts so that they can be manipulated. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes not. "Group", " ungroup", "break apart" you name it. Still a mystery to me.

[flarud]

Brenda, thanks for offering (and doing) to put this into print.  I will play around with it for sure. 

Barry

[Foxfold]

2 hours ago, OCtoolguy said:

Still a mystery to me.

Me too, I can turn a pattern to grey/red, never said I could give a full course in Inkscape, sorry. Youtube your best bet for all your questions I think 

[OCtoolguy]

34 minutes ago, Foxfold said:

Me too, I can turn a pattern to grey/red, never said I could give a full course in Inkscape, sorry. Youtube your best bet for all your questions I think 

I was just crying on your shoulder as to how confusing it is to me. I realize you're not the Inkscape guru. Thanks for your help though. Those clear instructions will help tremendously.

 

[Dak0ta52]

Don't forget that Travis has posted several videos on Inkscape and GIMP under Resources/Village University. I am like Barb in that I learn better by seeing. I've just started playing with Inkscape and can change patterns to gray/red. Now I'm wanting to take the next step and try some basic pictures.

Thanks Brenda for the tutorial. It's always nice to see how others reach the end results. Sometimes the steps may be a little different but the final outcome is the same.

[FrankEV]

I do the conversion to Red/Grey using the "Trace Path" command often.  Works great, but there are a few things to watch out for.   It does not produce an EXACT copy of the original.   It tends to treat pointy intersections as curves and will sometimes merge adjacent line work that are very close together on the original. 

For original JPG or other bit map files that are composed of crisp and sharp lines, it works great however, if the original file is at all fuzzy you can get a lot of inccurate duplication.  

I have found a lot of patterns offered free in jpg format must be copies of copies or have been produced form screenshots, thus loosing resolution.  When patterns are purchased form an orinal pattern maker, or their seller, the patterns are usually electronic copeis of the original and good a clear. 

And, just a BTW, I make my red lines .005 inches and use a 20% Grey fill.  I don't try to split the line, but will have the edge of the blade cut follow the line, one side or the other, depending on how close adjacent cut lines are.  However my general rule is "Stay in the Grey" when the cut out area is grey.    

[Foxfold]

2 hours ago, FrankEV said:

I do the conversion to Red/Grey using the "Trace Path" command often.  Works great, but there are a few things to watch out for.   It does not produce an EXACT copy of the original.   It tends to treat pointy intersections as curves and will sometimes merge adjacent line work that are very close together on the original. 

For original JPG or other bit map files that are composed of crisp and sharp lines, it works great however, if the original file is at all fuzzy you can get a lot of inccurate duplication.  

Must admit I've never had this problem, even on the 'fussiest of patterns',  but as I've said, I use this method to convert my black/white  patterns to grey/red so perhaps because the original patterns were good, this method works great for me.  The 0.25 outline works best for me as it's the size that fits my blade and the one I find easiest to follow.  Everyone does it differently to suit themselves. 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Foxfold

[Jim Blume]

Thanks for all the time you spent on this. I do the technique using Inkscape you are discussing all the time for folks. Some can't see unless a pattern is in red or with red outlines and a gray fill and they ask me to change things up for them.  Always happy to help when I have time, but f you have a computer, it is actually fun to do it yourself.

It really seemed hard until I figured out the "one potato, two" you described here. And that is really all it is, a step by step process, but man oh man was I intimidated when I first tried to learn this. I wish I had you around to explain this to me then.

[kmmcrafts]

On 9/12/2021 at 9:52 PM, jollyred said:

While the pattern is highlighted, left click on the "Select" icon at the top of the left box.  It looks like an arrow.  The box around the image will now show some arrows at the corners and the middle of the sides.  Put the select arrow over one of the corner arrows.  While holding "ctrl" key on the keyboard, move the arrow in or out to change the size of the image.  The "ctrl" key will force the image to maintain its proportions.  The arrows at the middle of the sides will make the image shorter or wider, depending on the arrow chosen and the direction it is dragged.

Tom

Cool a new trick, I didn't know holding the control key would keep everything proportioned.. I've always resized by checking the box to keep proportioned at the top of the tool bar and then selecting to resize arrows in the width or height boxes at the top of the page.  

[kmmcrafts]

On 9/13/2021 at 12:26 PM, OCtoolguy said:

Thanks. I think I get it. Now, if I could just understand "trace bitmap" things would be great. One of the things I've tried to do but so far have failed is to import a pic, do a trace bitmap and then tried to break it all down into pieces and parts so that they can be manipulated. Sometimes I can do it, sometimes not. "Group", " ungroup", "break apart" you name it. Still a mystery to me.

I've never been able to do this on inkscape either.. and the eraser tool seems to me just smears the line you're trying to erase around.. Sometimes I get lucky with trace bitmap and other times it sucks and I can't figure out how to make it look good.. maybe it's the photo quality that is the issue..

As for erasing I found going to the gimp program and doing the cleaning up works way better than trying to use the stupid erase tool in inkscape. There must be a better way within inkscape that I just haven't learned yet as it's a powerful program..  

[FrankEV]

When working with free stencil patterns or other images that can be found on-line, the image is not always made up of sharp clear deliniated line work.  When I convert these types of images, I basically follow Brenda's procedure to convert a B&W pattern to a R/G pattern.   However, the quality of the 'Trace Bitmap' fuction does not always duplicate the image acccutately if original line density varies or if there is any background clutter. 

The folloing is just for some FYI:

In the 'Trace Bitmap' pop up box there are a number of setting that can be adjusted.  There are 5 scan types.  I've only had sucess using the first two.  Brightness Cutoff works the best for most but I have done a few using Edge Detection.  Then there is the threshold settiings for these that can be rasised or lowered to give varying results in the duplication.  These 'Threshold' settings can help reduce or even eliminate background clutter and/or improve line detail.  I'm not sure what some of the other setting do... yet!

After converting to R/G and setting the line thickness, I will usually resize the pattern to suit the size of board I want to cut.  I fit a pattern to a board, not the board to the pattern.  I mainly do this using the "X', 'Y', 'W' & 'H' values in the top tool bar.  This allows me to center the pattern and leave the appropriate balanced amount of "white space" around the pattern.  

I most often find it is necesssary to edit the actual duplicated pattern using the 'Edit by nodes' comand to move/delete linework and the 'Draw Besier' command button to add/draw linework back in as needed.   As, mentioned, the 'Erace' function is not very easy to work with so I don't.  It is easier to delete/draw back than to erace.

I'm still learning how to use the many Inkscape commands.  There is a lot to learn if you want to edit.  As and example, even if the 'Snap' command is not turned off, it can make editing difficult.  Learning some of the many commands found under 'Edit' 'Layer', and 'Object' can get you started to modifing an image into a scrollerable pattern.   The 'Undo' command under 'Edit' being the most important and most often used .

Inkscape is not intuitive and takes a long time to learn.  Experimentation and practice is how I have learned what I have so far. 

  

  

 

[don watson]

I have just bought a book of patterns that can be freely copied for my use. I would like to use the method shown here or the Gimp method. I like the GIMP way as it is straightforward and gives a result but I am very keen to get started with the Inkscape method. I tried yesterday without success and am about to start today's session hoping for better results. If I may can I come back on here and find out where I have gone wrong. Most of yesterdays results did not have any colours on them. I will post again when I have tried again and have noted down the steps I have taken.

[OCtoolguy]

6 hours ago, don watson said:

I have just bought a book of patterns that can be freely copied for my use. I would like to use the method shown here or the Gimp method. I like the GIMP way as it is straightforward and gives a result but I am very keen to get started with the Inkscape method. I tried yesterday without success and am about to start today's session hoping for better results. If I may can I come back on here and find out where I have gone wrong. Most of yesterdays results did not have any colours on them. I will post again when I have tried again and have noted down the steps I have taken.

I'll be following along Don. I've begun to understand some of Inkscape's odd command language but most of it is still confusing to me. Somebody should write a dictionary of all the "command" meanings so that they aren't so obscure. After reading back through this thread I've come a long way since it started. But still have a very long way to go. I wish FrankEV lived next door so we could "brainstorm" together. 

[Wichman]

6 hours ago, don watson said:

I have just bought a book of patterns that can be freely copied for my use. I would like to use the method shown here or the Gimp method. I like the GIMP way as it is straightforward and gives a result but I am very keen to get started with the Inkscape method. I tried yesterday without success and am about to start today's session hoping for better results. If I may can I come back on here and find out where I have gone wrong. Most of yesterdays results did not have any colours on them. I will post again when I have tried again and have noted down the steps I have taken.

Are you scanning the images? If so I have found that scanning to jpeg works better for me than any other format.

If you are looking for definitions of terms; then click on help, go to the online manual and while in the manual click on the index on the top right of the page.

 

[Blaughn]

I just printed out a pattern I will be using to make Christmas presents for 3 of my Grandchildren.  I recalled your post so I changed the lines to a dark red in my Inkscape program.  I have to agree with you.  The red lines make the blade standout and the line following much easier.  Thank you for your comment.

Bruce