Free dog SVG files

Silhouettes, faces and what to cut them from

Every file is 100 mm on its longer side. The side-view dogs are solid shapes with only two or three thin slits, for the ear, the eye and the thigh. Those slits are about 1.5 to 2 mm wide at full size: in vinyl they weed with a pin, and on a laser they cut as single clean lines. If you want a plain shadow with no slits at all, weld the slits shut in your cutting software or use the dog outline as a guide.

The legs and tails are sturdy. Each slit stops short of the outline, and the bridges left at its ends are the narrowest parts: about 3 mm on the Labrador and 4 mm on the sitting dog at full size. That holds in 3 mm plywood at 100 mm wide and above. The dachshund has the slimmest bridges and tail, at a little over 2 mm, so keep it at 100 mm or more in wood and acrylic. In vinyl and card all of them cut well at half size.

The faces have eyes, a nose and a mouth cut through, so the surface behind shows as the features. They look best in a dark colour on a light surface. The mandala face has the most cuts: use card of 200 gsm or heavier and a sharp blade.

How to open the files

• Cricut Design Space: choose Upload, pick the SVG, and add it to the canvas. Set the width you want; the shape is already welded.
• Silhouette Studio: Designer Edition and above open the SVG. The free Basic Edition does not, so open the DXF instead.
• LightBurn, xTool Creative Space and Glowforge: import the SVG, then set the layer to cut, score or engrave.
• Inkscape, Illustrator and Affinity: open the SVG. It is a plain filled path, so you can recolour it, add a stroke or combine it with your own work.
• Printing or sublimation: use the PNG, which has a transparent background.

Each design page lists the file’s narrowest part at seven sizes, so you can tell whether it will survive at the size you plan to cut.

Questions