Free forest SVG files

What to make with them

A forest is a wide subject, so most of these files are wider than they are tall. The treeline and the silhouette suit the bottom edge of a cabin sign, a mug wrap, a water bottle or the hem of a shirt: cut them 200 to 280 mm wide in vinyl and the smallest trees still weed easily. The circle, the path and the winter panel are badges and card fronts, good at 90 to 120 mm. The panel of tall trunks is made for light: cut it from black card or 3 mm plywood and stand it in front of a candle lantern or in the back of a shadow box.

Cutting notes

Treetops are the fragile part. Every pine and spruce ends in a sharp tip, and on vinyl those tips lift first when you weed, so pull the waste downwards from the tips towards the ground strip. On a laser the tips char if the power is high: lower it for card, and leave the protective film on plywood until the cut is done. The layered forest needs no registration marks, because all three layers share the same bottom edge and the same width. Mirror any design before cutting heat transfer vinyl.

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