Free hot air balloon SVG files

Patterns cut as whole panels

A balloon is sewn from long panels called gores, and its stripes follow those seams. The patterns here are made the same way: each stripe, diamond or star is a complete opening cut out of the envelope, and every opening stops short of the outline. That leaves a solid border round the balloon about 2.5 mm wide when it is 100 mm tall, which is what holds it together.

Cut from one colour and stuck on a second, the openings show the colour underneath, so a striped balloon needs only two sheets. For more colours, use the layered hot air balloon, which has the sky, the clouds, the envelope, the stripes, a band and the basket as separate layers.

Ropes and basket

The four ropes between the skirt and the basket are the thinnest parts, a little under 2 mm wide at 100 mm tall and about 7 mm long. They are short, so they hold well in vinyl and card from about 70 mm tall. In wood, cut the balloon at 150 mm or more. If you want the basket in a different colour, cut the balloon twice and take the basket from the second cut.

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