How to Cut Larger than Mat Projects with Silhouette Studio

Creating large-scale projects, also known as "off the mat" projects, can seem daunting if you're working with a Silhouette machine, especially when your design exceeds the standard cutting mat size. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to break down larger projects using Silhouette Studio, so you can cut intricate designs, like the Ender Dragon I'm working on, without the need for a larger mat or machine. Whether you’re using a Silhouette Cameo or Portrait, this technique will help you conquer projects beyond the typical size limitations.

Mobile users turn your phone or watch the YouTube Tutorial here.

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If you want to learn how to do this with a different cutting machine, like a Cricut - check out how to do this in Design Space here.

Step 1: Preparing Your Design in Silhouette Studio

To start, open Silhouette Studio and load your image. For this project, I used an Ender Dragon image that my son picked out. Since the image wasn’t of the highest quality, I used the trace function in Silhouette Studio to create an outline of the dragon. If you’re using a high-quality image or an SVG file, you can skip the tracing step.

Ender Dragon design traced in Silhouette Studio ready for cutting.

Tracing the image:
Select the image and open the trace panel in the upper right-hand corner. Adjust the threshold to ensure all parts of your design are connected. This step is essential to prevent any gaps or breaks in your final cut. Once satisfied with the trace, click Trace.
Simplifying the design (if you traced):
After tracing, you’ll likely have a lot of nodes (small points that define the shape of your design). To reduce these, highlight your design, go to Object > Simplify, and this will clean up unnecessary details, making the cut smoother.

Step 2: Breaking Down the Design for Cutting

Once your design is ready, the next step is to break it into pieces that can fit on your Silhouette cutting mat. My dragon design was 29 inches long, far exceeding the size of a standard mat. Whether you're working with a Cameo or Portrait machine, here’s how you can slice your project into manageable pieces:

Releasing the compound path:
Select your design and click Release Compound Path. This action breaks the design into individual parts, which you can color and group as needed. In my case, I grouped the dragon’s parts by color based on my son’s preferences. Grouping elements helps keep the project organized and ensures that when we reassemble the pieces, they’ll fit together correctly. You want to keep groups under your cutting size (so under 12 inches in my case).

Silhouette Studio workspace showing a large design split into sections.

Sizing the largest piece:
Before cutting, identify the largest piece of your design. For me, the dragon’s tail was the biggest, and I wanted to ensure it fit within the cutting mat limits. I scaled the entire design until the largest piece was just under the 12-inch width of my mat. If you're using a Silhouette Cameo Pro, you could go larger, but with the regular Cameo machine or Portrait (max 8 inches roughly), stick to this rule of thumb.

Step 3: Creating the Cutting Grid

Now comes the fun part—cutting the project into sections that fit on your mat. To do this, you’ll create a grid of rectangles over your design.

Silhouette Studio showing divided design pieces for off the mat project.

Drawing grid rectangles:
Use the rectangle tool to draw squares slightly smaller than 12 by 12 inches (the size of your mat). You want to cover the entire design with these squares. Make sure to rotate and adjust the squares as needed to cover all parts of the design without leaving gaps. I am only placing these over the backing for mine because that is truly the only piece that is too large, if you made your design even bigger you will have to do this technique for any piece that will not fit on the mat.
Dividing the design:
Once your design is covered with grid squares, select everything—both the design and the squares—and go to the Modify Panel. Click Divide. This function splits your design into smaller sections, each fitting within one of your squares.

After dividing, you can delete any extra grid lines that don’t correspond to your design. At this point, you’ll have multiple pieces that can each be cut on a standard-sized mat.

Step 4: Optimizing the Cut Layout

With the design divided into sections, you can now optimize how it will fit on your cutting mat. Silhouette Studio allows you to rotate and reposition elements to make the best use of your material.

Cut pieces of large Ender Dragon design laid out on cutting mat.

Using the nest feature:
The nest feature in Silhouette Studio helps you fit more pieces onto a single sheet of material. This is particularly useful when working with multiple colors or small, intricate parts. After using Nest, adjust the pieces manually to maximize your material usage. Do not change any sizes.

Step 5: Cutting the Pieces

Once everything is laid out and optimized, it’s time to cut!

Setting up your mat:
Load your cutting mat with your chosen material. For this project, I used 65-80 lb cardstock (I like to use both heavy texture and plain cardstock), which provided enough sturdiness for the dragon’s pieces without being too thick for the Silhouette machine. Make sure to adjust your default cut settings based on the type of material you’re using. I also don't love using new mats with my paper projects, I would rather them lose a little stick to prevent tearing and curling.
Sending to the machine:
Load the mat into your Silhouette machine using the load button. Double-check that your pinch rollers are in the correct position, ensuring they’re gripping the edges of your mat securely. Then, send your cut job from Silhouette Studio to the machine. You can also opt to use the electrostatic mat attachment to cut your pieces just keep in mind that textured paper might not work as well.

Step 6: Assembling the Pieces

Completed Ender Dragon pieces ready to be assembled after cutting.

While this tutorial focuses on the cutting process, assembling the project is straightforward, though time-consuming. The cut pieces fit together like a puzzle. A tip I find helpful is keeping a reference image of the design open in Silhouette Studio, so you can visualize how everything fits together.

Using low-tack transfer tape:
For small or intricate sections, use low-tack transfer tape to pick up and place the pieces. This method works similarly to vinyl application but instead uses glue for a permanent hold.

Kelsey holding the off the mat ender dragon project.

That’s how you create an off the mat project with Silhouette Studio! This technique allows you to cut large designs, even when working with a standard Silhouette Cameo or Silhouette Portrait machine. By breaking the design into smaller pieces and reassembling them, you can achieve impressive results without needing oversized materials or machines like the new (not released yet) Silhouette Cameo Pro MK-II.

Whether you’re cutting dragons, letters, or custom shapes, this process works for any larger-than-mat project. Just remember to be patient during assembly, and don’t hesitate to use grid lines and nesting features to make the cutting and assembly as smooth as possible. Enjoy creating your next large-scale project!