Tip for Aligning Multiple Vinyl or Paper Layers in Silhouette Studio

Trick for Aligning Vinyl Layers (method taught to me by a professional vinyl sign maker)

Step 1: Two layered image, two different colors. Both are rotated the same direction.

Step 2: With both images selected, open the Align menu, and select Center. This will center the images on top of each other. This shows exactly what you want to apply to your surface.

Step 3: With the shape tool, make a rectangle. Go ahead and add a fill color. Right click the rectangle, and select duplicate. Move the new rectangle to the lower corner.

Step 4: Duplicate the rectangle again, and change the color to match your top layer (pink). Duplicate the pink rectangle, move down to the other corner. Notice that none of these rectangles are lined up at all yet, we're just putting them in the same general area.

Step 5: Select the top two rectangles, open the Align menu again, and select Center. They will move exactly on top of each other. (This is why you want to duplicate your original rectangle - they need to be exactly the same size.) Repeat this step with the bottom two rectangles, so that it appears that you only have two rectangles.

Step 6: Drag a selection box around both rectangles (all four, in actuality, since you have two hidden beneath the pink rectangles), and in the Align menu, select Align Center. They will now line up horizontally. You can move them closer to your image, if you wish.

Step 7: While holding Shift, select each rectangle and the corresponding layer of your image. Right click and select Group. You can now move the rectangles and image without changing the alignment. After cutting and weeding each layer, apply transfer tape to your top layer. Now you can line up the rectangles on the left side of the image so that they overlap completely, just like they did on your screen in Step 6. Lay the rest of your image down carefully, and remove/cut out the rectangles from your transfer tape before applying to your surface.

If you have more than 2 layers to work with, just be sure to add an additional set of rectangles for each new layer!