Free ruler SVG files

Rulers that really measure

Every file here is 100 mm on its longer side, and several are drawn so that this makes them accurate. The 10 cm ruler has a long notch at each centimetre and a short one at each half. The two T-shirt rulers and the chest logo guide have marks exactly 10 mm apart. Cut them at 100 mm and they are metric. Scale them to 254 mm and every 10 mm becomes an inch, because an inch is 25.4 mm.

For a tool you will use, cut from something stiff and thin: 2 mm acrylic, 3 mm plywood or heavy card. Check one mark against a steel rule after cutting, since some machines scale files a little on import.

Why there are no numbers

Numerals tie a ruler to inches or centimetres and are the hardest part of a ruler to cut small, so these have notches only. The notches are 1.6 mm wide and open to the edge, which leaves nothing loose to weed. If you want numbers, add them in your cutting software beside the long notches, or write them on with a paint pen after cutting.

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