My Favorite Script Fonts

Favorite script fonts for cutting & how to adjust in Silhouette Studio

I had a reader ask me what my favorite script fonts are, so I decided to include them in a post that could benefit all of you. These script fonts are ones I’ve actually used and liked. I provide the links below, but I couldn’t stop there — I also include a few tricks for manipulating fonts in Silhouette Studio so they are easier to cut.

Links to my favorite script fonts:

(Please be aware that downloading fonts online has some risks, so do so at your own risk. I personally have not had trouble with any of these.)

Sweet Pea

Dancing Script

Japan

Honey Script (choose the “semibold” option for cutting)

Lauren Script

Lavanderia* (choose the “sturdy” option for cutting)

Black Jack

These are all free for personal use, most with an option to donate. Watch for the link to download the actual font, not some other download icon on the page (often larger and more prominent than the one you want).

 

Using Silhouette Studio to manipulate script fonts for better cutting:

Now that you’ve got your script fonts, you can simply use the Text Tool in Silhouette Studio to type out a word, then change the size, and Weld it. (Don’t forget to Weld. The easiest access with text is to select your word and right-click to see “weld” on the dropdown menu.)

 

Make it BOLD:

Some fonts will have a Bold option in the Font Style section of the Text Style Window. Honey Script’s bold option is called SemiBold. Bold options will make the letters a little thicker and easier to cut, so I like to choose that if I can.

Script Fonts - Adjust in Silhouette StudioThe other thing I like to do with Honey Script is to make it look a little thicker by dragging the side handle (in selection mode, not text-edit mode). This stretches out the word and makes it a little wider and thicker. Generally you don’t want to use side handles because it will distort the text, but I think it looks good with Honey Script.

Script Fonts - Adjust in Silhouette Studio

Another way to get a bold look if the option is not provided in the Font Style box is to create a faux-bold effect. Simply type your text, then with the words selected, open your Offset Window and choose Offset. Click the arrow buttons or adjust the slider to change the amount of offset.

Script Fonts - Adjust in Silhouette Studio | Finding Time To CreateYou’ll see a thin red outline moving further from or closer to your text, showing where the offset will be. If you’re just trying to thicken the letters for a bold look, keep it pretty small. Once you click Apply and fill the letters with color, you’ll have your faux-bold text (which is easier to cut than skinny little lines).

Script Fonts - Adjust in Silhouette Studio

 

Adjust the spacing between letters of script fonts:

One of the great things about script fonts is the automatic overlapping of letters so when you Weld the text, the overlapping bits will connect the letters together. However, some script fonts (like Sweet Pea) have many connectors that don’t overlap. It’s easy to fix.

As you can see on Line A of the image below, the letters don’t overlap and Welding will not fuse the words.

The first step is to decrease the Character Spacing between letters. While in the Text Style Window, select your text, then use the arrows or the slider to decrease the Character Spacing. You can see in Line B of the image below that 85.7% makes the connections much nicer.

I wanted to eliminate the tiny gap between a few remaining letters like I to P and P to T, so I Ungrouped the text and selected individual letters to nudge with my keyboard arrow keys (see Line C below). Note that once you Ungroup text (or weld), it can no longer be edited with your Text Tools. It’s now an object, not text.

Script Fonts - Adjust in Silhouette Studio
I hope this helps you pick a few new script fonts to cut with your Silhouette machine! And I will cover more text tricks in upcoming video lessons, but this is a little taste of what you can do to manipulate text in Silhouette Studio. And don’t forget to Weld those script fonts before cutting!

One final note. Not all materials are created equal, so don’t expect perfect results when cutting text every time. Vinyl is always easier to cut than paper. Some paper is easier to cut intricate shapes with (including text) than others. Just be patient as you experiment, and feel free to ask me if you have questions.

 

*Note: this Lavanderia font keeps getting removed from all the free font sites I’ve tried. Google “free Lavanderia font” and use at your own risk from whatever font site you may find it on. I will no longer include a link.

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