Using Inkscape to create separate layers

(Disclaimer: If you're looking for a detailed tutorial,
run far and run fast.

This is solely to share my process) :D

I use Inkscape to break my posterized photo into four distinct vector layers for my quilted portraits. I've made applique quilts in the past by drawing the pattern on foundation paper and gluing it to the fabric.

For a great explanation with pictures, check out this tutorial. My Charlie Brown quilt was done this way and I love the effect it gives the panels. I've tried doing portraits that way but they just end up looking like Muppets.

Since I use a laser cutter to cut out the fabric, I need the lines to be completely smooth. A laser cutter will cut exactly what the file brings and unless an image has been vectorized, it will be pixelated and boxy. The smooth edges, however, can be scaled as much as you want without changing the nature of the lines. I only know enough Inkscape to do what I need to do. I found a Youtube tutorial that was made for complete beginners like me.

My goal here isn't to teach you how to use Inkscape. But rather just share my process with you. If you find you want to try this method for yourself, I'd recommend tutorials to learn the basics of the program, but I'm happy to answer questions if I'm able. Remember, I'm a n00b!

The first thing I do after choosing a photo is to trace the bitmap. That's in the file menu under Paths. A new window opens and I select Live Preview. There are quite a few options to choose from, but I'm choosing Colors under Multiple Scans in the dialog box. Grays work too but for now I like seeing the colors as I reduce the number of scans (layers).

I end up with six layers but will use only four. The very bottom layer is the background which gets tossed and the next layer is the base layer or foundation that the portrait is built on. So normally I don't cut that one out.

This is a comparison of the original photo vectorized in Inkscape (on the left) and the vectorized photo that was filtered first in Toolwiz Photos.

The photo on the right has four layers while the photo on the left has seven. I've tried using that many layers before but that's a lot of fabric and I like the detail I get with the Toolwiz filters. Plus it gets too bulky with the fabric, batting and fusible web and is difficult to quilt. And it looks too busy in my opinion.

To separate it into individual layers I use the Select Path by Nodes tool. I can highlight a single layer to display the squares and diamonds (nodes).

There are a couple of things I might do depending on the effect I want. By choosing Simplify in the Path file menu, the number of nodes will be reduced and the layer will lose detail but for some layers that's a good thing. For one thing it makes for a less complicated file for the laser cutter which speeds it up. And sometimes I will simplify parts of a layer, not the whole thing.

In this layer, for example I want the hair to be less defined but the eyes need to stay sharp. It may be hard to tell the difference in the details of the hair, but it really makes a difference when I cut it.

To edit just part of a layer, I need to break apart the elements, so I select it with the node selection tool, go up to the Path file menu and choose Break Apart. Anything in this layer that isn't physically connected will be converted into a separate.....words escape me.....thing (element? object?)

I learned the hard way that an object can also be a hole or blank spot within another object. If you don't remove it before you take it to the laser cutter, it won't show up.

Here's a tutorial designed for preparing text for laser cutting but the concept is the same.

When I'm all finished I'll save this as an .svg file. The quickest way for me to do this to the remaining layers is to undo undo undo undo until I'm back to the beginning and do it again with another layer (yeah, its unsophisticated but it works).

Once it's cut out, I'll share how I put everything together.