Silhouette CAMEO: How to Use Fill Colors to Cut Different Materials on the Same Mat

You can cut different materials on the same cutting mat, with different cut settings, at the same time.

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The trick is using either cut by line color or cut by fill color. Read on for the step by step on how to set up multi-material cutting with Silhouette CAMEO.

How to Open SVG Files in Silhouette Studio

Open Silhouette Studio and import the design. If you can open an SVG file and have that format, that's the easiest.

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I'm using this design from So Fontsy's Amazing Crafter's Bundle.

Filling Designs With Color in Silhouette Studio

To make this easiest for beginners, we're going to only cut two different types of material. I'm using glitter HTV and metallic puff - each requiring different cut settings.

For that reason we want to fill our design with two different colors. The colors don't have to be the same colors as the material you're cutting.

I'm going to cut the top and bottom sections of this design in black glitter HTV and the middle in puff.

Select all parts of the design that will be cut in black glitter heat transfer vinyl and fill with any color - I went with black.

Then select the part(s) of the design that will be cut in the other material and fill with a different color. I opted for blue (even though I may not cut them in blue puff).

Group all same-color pieces together.

Mirror the design if you're cutting on HTV the duplicate the design.

Setting Up Designs to Cut By Color with Silhouette CAMEO

On one copy delete the blue elements and on the other copy delete the black elements so you are left with two partial designs that when put together would be the entire design.

Move them into different areas of the cutting mat giving you room to place the actual materials so they're not overlapping.

If the grid is not showing on your cutting mat, increase the transparency option in the Page Setup panel. This will show you grid lines and will help with where to place your materials on the physical cutting mat.

How to Cut by Fill Color With Silhouette CAMEO

Move to the Send panel and select "Fill" at the top instead of Simple.

You should have two color swatches there.

Choose the settings for each independently. In my case I set anything that's filled with black to cut with the Heat Transfer Vinyl, Glitter settings. All blue-filled pieces will be cut with the HTV Puff settings.

While I don't usually cut with the Autoblade, because I prefer the 1mm premium blade, the Autoblade makes cutting multiple materials easiest because it re-sets itself automatically.

Now grab your cutting mat and the two different materials and place them on the cutting mat. And you're ready to cut.

If you want to learn how to use the grid numbers to position different materials on the same Silhouette cutting mat with your Silhouette CAMEO check out this tutorial.

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine!

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