I have imported a jpeg into Inkscape. I would like to separate a couple areas so that when I send it to Makercam I can do two different "Pocket" cuts. Is this possible?

You'll have to first convert the JPG to vector. There are 2 ways to do that, each way having it's own benefits and drawbacks. And the choice between the 2 ways depends mostly on the image itself, and your desired outcome.

1 -- Path menu > Trace Bitmap is a way to convert it automatically. That's not so auto-magically since the result will likely have to be tweaked manually.
2 -- Trace it "by hand" using Inkscape tools (Pen, Pencil, or possibly Calligraphy tool) (Or even possibly the Paint Bucket tool.)

If you'll show us the image, we can give you some idea which way would be best, and tips for best results.

Just for my own curiosity, what is Makercam? When you say "pocket cuts", is that pockets on clothing, like on a shirt? Or is that pockets in some kind of woodworking? Or maybe it's something else?

brynn Thanks for the reply. I have attached the jpeg. I am using Inkscape to setup and layout work for a CNC router. Makercam is an online program that takes vector drawings and lays out the tool paths and then saves them in Gcode for the machine to use. By "Pocket" cut, I am talking about removing large amounts of material. I am removing the 'black' portion so the unit traces all the lines but the large area in the ears have to have several paths with a small (1/8 or 1/16") bit. I would like to do two separate tool paths so that I can change the bit and use a larger one to remove the large black area.

Pioneer Mickey!

As I understand what a router does (I do have some minor background in woodworking), the router will move along one of those black lines, removing material and creating sort of a negative space. So that means that Inkscape's Trace Bitmap will not work for you. Imagine a straight black line that extends between 2 points. Let's say that is a line on paper, that you have scanned into your computer (creating a raster image). When you submit that image to Inkscape's Trace Bitmap, the result will be a long and very skinny vector rectangle. The router would trace out a rectangle, rather than a single line.

So now you have 2 different choices. One still is to trace it by hand, which is probably the best option. The other is that there are other auto trace programs available which have what is called a "centerline option" (Trace Bitmap does not). That means they will create a single line instead of the long skinny rectangle. The problem is that most....or maybe all of them don't do a very good job. Where 2 lines intesect, the centerline tracers often draw tiny knot-like areas, instead of a clean intersection.

My best suggestion would be to use Inkscape to trace over the image, with either Pen or Pencil tool. It will probably take you some practice before you can decide which tool you prefer. But either way, you'll also need to use the Node tool, which will allow you to edit those lines after you draw them. Probably you'll want to use Zooming, to get in close, with the Node tool, to make your lines match the drawing as close as possible, and then zoom back out to see how it looks.

As many new Inkscapers do, you may be tempted to use the Eraser tool. But I would avoid it. It does have some very unique uses, but it's rather buggy, in my opinion, and doesn't work very well, for even those unique uses. The Node tool can be used to delete lines, and much more precisely than the Eraser. (I'm not even sure why the Eraser tool was created!)

Makercam sounds interesting. Inkscape does have an extension that outputs the gcode http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php ... code_tools. Although I have no idea whether one is better than the other.