Free key SVG files

The parts of an old key

An old key has three parts. The bow is the handle you turn, here a ring, a clover of three rings, four rings round a diamond, a heart, a star or a little house. The stem is the long bar, with raised collars near the bow. The bit is the flat piece at the end that works the lock, drawn here either as three teeth or as a block with wards cut into it.

The stem is the part to watch when cutting. It is about 5 to 6 mm wide when the key is 100 mm long, so in vinyl these keys are happy from 50 mm long, and in wood or acrylic from about 90 mm. The simple key icon has a stem nearly twice as wide and is the one to use small.

Keys for occasions

Keys mark thresholds. The new home key and the house key suit housewarming cards and gifts from estate agents. The key to my heart is for weddings and Valentine’s Day. Santa’s magic key is hung outside on Christmas Eve at homes without a chimney: cut it at 120 mm or more in wood or thick card, and thread a ribbon through the ring.

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