Free elf SVG files

What to make with them

Elf designs are mostly worn. The body goes on the front of a shirt or a sleepsuit so that the wearer becomes the elf, and the collar goes round the neckline of a plain top. For an adult shirt cut the body about 250 mm tall in heat transfer vinyl; for a baby vest, 110 mm is enough. The legs and the feet are for things that stand in for the elf: a pair of legs sticking out of a wreath or a plant pot, or feet under a name on a stocking. The monogram frame and the hat and legs take an initial or a name, which makes them useful for a whole class or family at once.

Cutting notes

The zigzag brim and collar are marked with slits about 2 mm wide on the faces at 100 mm, and about 1.3 mm on the standing elf, so keep the standing elf at 120 mm or taller. The striped legs have slots with a thin edge left each side to hold the stocking together: weed the slots and leave the edges. On a shirt, mirror every design before cutting heat transfer vinyl. The jumping silhouette has no inner cuts and is the one to use below 50 mm.

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