What is an SVG file and why do YOu care?
Why should you care? If you’re not a DIY crafter or have one of those personal cutters like a Cricut or Silhouette, you probably don’t!
But if you’re intrigued and like the idea of crafting. Or you’re dabbling and buying pre-made stencils, paper cutouts or stickers.
Access to your own cutter and learning about SVG designs will likely be in your future!
Each one of the above crafts were made from SVG designs I made on software like Silhouette.
These little wonders, cutters, can do so many tasks and I’ve only learned just a few!
I make stencils to paint signs, add designs to furniture. I’ve also cut vinyl decals to place on car windows and football helmets memorabilia for a special customers man-cave! I have several showcased in previous posts here in my blog. My favorite ones are for gifts for couples! Click here for more information!.
All from SVG Designs I make myself or buy from other crafters and graphic designers.
I also sell SVG designs here on my website and on Etsy.
My next big SVG task, is making designs for paper cutout crafts from card stock for an upcoming class for our local 4H chapter in January. I’ve been putting out little Easter eggs in my Insta-Stories about this project.
What is an SVG File
A SVG file is short for Scalable Vector Graphics. In laymen’s terms, it’s a small file that can be enlarged without loosing clarity or resolution. Other files such as a .png or .jpg file can be adjusted to larger size but may turn out grainy and unclear.
Here is where I show you how to open an SVG file in your Silhouette Design edition software.
If you’re thinking about getting one of these awesome cutters, you can download their free software and play around with it to see what you think! I have software from both Silhouette and Cricut on my computer.
The basic series from Silhouette will not allow you to open up SVG files. You will need to upgrade to a Designer or Business edition for this feature.
The Cricut program will allow you to download SVG files.
Notice in the box on the below. You can see in inches the size of the design space in the box on the left, where the grid lines are.
As each picture progresses, I’ve enlarged the design and design space. Notice the actual design does not become blurry or pixelated.
First box, is as originally opened and unedited. It is a 12 x 12 inch design space. The second box is 36 x 36 inches.
The third box (below) is 120 x 120 inches and last box is 196 x 196 inches. This was the larges size I could make!
As I’ve stated, with an SVG file, they can be used for whatever size you need and will not become grainy. This explanation if VERY basic and if you want a more technical explanation you can easily find more answers on google or Youtube. I learn best by hands on practice and repetition.
Tip: If you’re new to crafting with cutters, save your designs to your computer instead of the design software. I’ve heard many stories where people could not access their designs after a software update because of some glitch.
Murphy’s Law, if it’s going to happen, it would happen to me so I am not taking chances!
Click HERE for my post on how to save your Silhouette designs.
Tip: When starting out, you don’t have to use all the supplies you see in the cutter section at Hobby Lobby! I use plain ‘ol patterned contact paper from Amazon! You can see how I use contact paper as stencils and transfer tape here.
The roll I buy is usually is 18 to 20 in x 15 ft. Yes, I have to cut it down to about 13″ wide by however long I need for my current project. I save my scraps for smaller projects. If your wondering about price, check Amazon’s Oracel Oramask 813 stencil. It’s about $1.00 higher and it’s 5 feet less. I use contact paper for both my stencils and clear contact paper as transfer tape!
my favorite places to get SVG Designs
- I make a lot of my own and I offer SVG designs for sale here, and here. I am also starting my own library of FREE SVG Designs for joining my tribe. I will notify you in my weekly emails when new designs are added. All designs are for personal or small business use up to 100 uses.
- Creative Market
- Etsy: search what you’re looking for and “SVG”. I recently needed a lavender flower so I searched “lavender SVG”. Keep the search basic and you’ll get more variety.
It’s amazing when I first started writing this post, I didn’t know how I was going to do this, now I’m finding future topics to write about in the coming weeks, I am so excited! Let me know if you have any questions I can clear up and I hope you have a great week!
xoxo
Melissa
Yes, this post contains affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you.
