Free dragonfly SVG files

Wings made of windows

A real dragonfly wing is a clear film stretched over a net of veins. In a cut file that becomes a frame round the edge, a spar down the middle and a few cross veins, with the cells between them cut away. On the main dragonfly the frame and veins are just under 2 mm wide at 100 mm, which is sturdy enough for vinyl and card and looks delicate once it is weeded. Put iridescent or pearl paper behind the windows and the wings catch the light as real ones do.

The tail is a row of eight overlapping beads that narrow towards the tip, so it has no weak neck. For cutting very small, use the dragonfly silhouette or the simple dragonfly, which have no cross veins.

Dragonflies for remembrance and for gardens

Many people see a dragonfly as a sign of change, or as a visit from someone they have lost, so dragonflies turn up on sympathy cards and memorial gifts as often as on garden signs. The dragonfly with heart wings and the dragonfly in a mandala ring suit those pieces. For a pond, a patio or a plant pot, the dragonfly on a cattail sets the insect where it lives.

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