Welding inside a shape

Update: More recent version of DS allow you to weld objects inside ready made frames. You may still have trouble getting some parts of the object to cut however. Here's some info on how to fix that problem. http://myfaqcricutds.blogspot.com/2008/02/more-on-welding-inside-frame-burping.html

The following information is still relevant however, if you can't find the correct ready made frame for your project....




Who would have thought welding an object inside a shape could be so difficult? Many of us have tried and unfortunately it's not as easy as it should be. The trick is that you can't actually weld inside a frame. But you can make your own "frame" and weld inside that. Here is a step by step pictorial on how to do it. For this example I have used the George/Basic Shapes cartridge for both the frame and the object inside it.

Click Shift Lock on the DS keypad.

Click on the thin rectangle button key (below the question mark).



Click on your shape and using the Vertical Stretch handle, stretch the rectangle to the length you want your frame to be. Then using the Horizontal stretch handle, stretch/shrink the rectangle to the correct width.







Copy this shape (Edit, Copy/Ctrl C/ ) then Paste (Edit, Paste/Ctrl V/ ).

A new rectangle will be pasted on top of the original rectangle.


While this rectangle is still selected (i.e. you can see the selection handles) click the Turn 90 button once.

This will flip the rectangle horizontally.










Using the Free Move handle, move it up to meet the top of the vertical rectangle.

This will form the top of your frame.

Using the Horizontal Stretch handle, stretch this rectangle until it is the correct length.

(Note, when you use the stretch tool on the vertical shape, it stretches in one direction. When you stretch a horizontal shape it stretches from both ends).


Using the Free Move handle, position the top rectangle so that it meets the left rectangle.

Select each shape in turn and click Weld on both.

Click the Preview button to make sure your welding has worked. Remember, only the bold lines are the cutting lines.




Select the top rectangle and select Copy.


Select Paste, then using the down arrow on your computer keyboard, move that rectangle to the bottom of the vertical rectangle.

When you are close, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard while clicking the down arrow. this will move your shape in smaller increments. You can also hold down the ALT key while moving your shapes to make the Selection handles disappear. This makes the placement of your objects easier. You may also find it easier to make small adjustments if you change your view to 200%.

You have now formed the bottom edge of your frame. Check that the bottom rectangle has the Weld option ticked.

NOTE: Don't be tempted to create the right hand rectangle yet because for some reason it won't weld properly if you do!

Now it's time to insert your shape. For this example I've used a star - also from the George cartridge.

Click on the first star shape on the DS keypad. This will insert a star onto the mat.

Select the star and using the Free Move handle move it inside the 3 rectangles so that the top point and the left point touch the top and left edges of the rectangle.








Using the Scale handle stretch the star until most of the points of the star meet the edges of the rectangles.



While the star is selected click Weld.













Now you can add the final side to the frame.

Select the left hand vertical rectangle and copy and paste it. Move the pasted rectangle over to the right side until it meets the two horizontal rectangles. Adjust the placement as necessary.


Again, check that it is welded.

Click the Preview button. You should have something that looks like this:



If any of the points of the star don't touch the side of the frame, you can use the Vertical and Horizontal stretch handles. However, it's not necessary that ALL the points touch the frame. It will just give you a different look if they don't.


Click Preview again to check your welding. Remember, only the DARK lines are the cutting lines.

Use the same process if you want to weld a word inside your frame. Just remember that everything must be welded.

Here's some more examples:

With this example I did the flower first and built the frame around it. Just remember to weld everything and add the right hand side of the frame last!

If for some reason your welding isn't working, delete the right hand side of the frame (select it and press the delete key) then undelete it (CTRL Z or Edit, Undo Delete Shapes).

And here's a great example from AnointedHands: