Guide · 4 min read

An SVG for Cricut, in layers.

How to make an SVG for Cricut from a picture: why Design Space wants an SVG, how to turn a PNG or a JPG into one with a layer for each color, and what makes it cut cleanly.

A round black decal with teal snow-capped mountains, an orange sun and two black pine trees, on cream
The WebP as uploaded71 KBVecSnap's SVG2.2 KB113 anchor points

An SVG for Cricut is a picture made of shapes, which Design Space splits into layers you can cut one by one, each from its own color of vinyl or paper. A PNG or a JPG arrives as a single flat layer instead, and a plain cut keeps only its outline. To make one, convert the picture to an SVG with a layer for each color, then upload it in Design Space. Few colors, closed shapes and few anchor points cut best.

Updated 3 sources ↓

Why an SVG

Why use an SVG for Cricut instead of a PNG?

Because Design Space separates an SVG into its layers, ready to cut from different colors. A PNG or a JPG arrives as one flat layer: cut, it keeps only its outline.

  • SVG

    In Design Space
    Separated into its layers
    When you cut
    Each layer cut on its own, from its own material

  • DXF

    In Design Space
    Separated into layers
    When you cut
    Each layer cut on its own

  • A PNG or a JPG

    In Design Space
    One flat layer, its background erased on upload; several with Convert to Layers, for Cricut Access
    When you cut
    The outline only, or Print Then Cut for the colors

  • A GIF or a BMP

    In Design Space
    One flat layer, as a PNG
    When you cut
    The outline only, or Print Then Cut

Make one

How do I make an SVG for Cricut from a picture?

Convert the picture to an SVG of flat colors, then upload it in Design Space. Each color comes in as its own layer, ready to cut from its own sheet.

Drop your picture. Get its SVG.

  1. Drop the picture: a logo, a drawing, a design of a few colors.
  2. VecSnap redraws it as shapes, the shapes of each color in one group.
  3. Download the SVG. In Design Space, choose Upload, then Upload Image, and pick it.

What cuts well

What makes an SVG cut cleanly on a Cricut?

Few colors, closed shapes and few anchor points. Each color is a sheet to cut and line up, a closed shape is a piece the blade can free, and every anchor point is a turn the blade follows. Design Space stops an SVG of more than 5,000 paths with an upload error, and flags a gradient, a clipping path, editable text or a picture in one as unsupported.
potrace
6,921anchor points in the whole file
VecSnap
113anchor points in the whole file

Layers

How do I make a layered SVG for Cricut?

Keep the shapes of each color in one group: Design Space lists every group as a layer. Stacked, the layers rebuild the picture; cut apart, each one is a piece of a color.
  • One color, one groupA layer for each color
    • Design Space lists each group as a layer
    • Every layer cuts from its own sheet
  • StackedLayers laid on top
    • The bottom layer is whole, the ones above sit on it
    • Easy to line up: one piece of each color
  • One upload, one layerEverything merged
    • A file whose shapes are one group arrives as one layer
    • Ungroup it in Design Space, or convert it again
  • Cricut AccessConvert to Layers
    • Design Space splits a PNG or a JPG into up to nine layers
    • A subscriber's feature; an SVG arrives in layers without it

Questions

SVG for Cricut, answered.

Sources

Yes. Design Space takes a PNG, a JPG, a GIF or a BMP as one flat layer: you erase the background as you upload, then it cuts the outline, or prints the colors and cuts around them.

PNG to SVG

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