Cricut Design Space can cut a PNG or JPG, but you have to clean up the background by hand, and a multi-color design comes in as one flat piece. An SVG is different: it uploads as clean shapes, with each color as its own cut layer, and it stays sharp at any size. This guide shows how to turn a logo, drawing or graphic into an SVG for Cricut for free, right in your browser, and how to get it ready to cut.
What you need
- A PNG or JPG of your design. The bigger and sharper, the better — around 1000 pixels wide or more is ideal.
- Our free image to vector converter. Nothing to install, no signup, and your image is not uploaded anywhere.
- Cricut Design Space on a computer, phone or tablet.
Step 1: Pick an image that will cut cleanly
Cutting machines love simple shapes. Before converting, check your image:
- Flat colors work best. Logos, lettering, clip art and simple illustrations convert cleanly. Gradients, shadows and photos turn into lots of tiny pieces that are hard to weed.
- Strong contrast helps. Dark lines on a light background give the cleanest result.
- Scanning a drawing? Use plain white paper and even light, and crop close to the design.
- Only use designs you own or have permission to use. Tracing someone else’s logo or artwork doesn’t change who owns it.
Step 2: Convert your image to SVG
- Open the free image to vector converter and drop in your image.
- Choose what you are making:
Line art / B&W for single-color decals, vinyl lettering, stencils and signatures. Use the Black / white cut-off slider until thin lines look solid.
Logo / icon for layered vinyl or iron-on with several colors. Set Colors to the number of vinyl colors you plan to use, because each color becomes one layer. - Raise Ignore specks to remove dust and stray dots. Every speck you remove is one less tiny piece to weed.
- Keep Remove the background switched on, and click any color in the palette that you don’t want to cut, such as white areas inside the design.
- Click Download SVG.
Step 3: Upload the SVG to Cricut Design Space
- In Design Space, start a new project and click Upload in the left toolbar.
- Click Upload Image, then Browse, and choose your SVG.
- SVG files skip the background-cleanup screens that PNG and JPG files go through. Give the image a name and tags, then click Upload.
- Select your new image under recent uploads and click Add to Canvas.
Step 4: Get it ready to cut
- Set the size. Resize the design on the canvas with the lock icon on, so it keeps its proportions.
- Attach pieces of the same color. Uploaded SVG layers come in grouped but not attached. Select all the pieces of one color and click Attach, so they cut in the same position on the mat instead of being rearranged.
- Layered designs stack from the bottom up. Our converter places each color on top of the one below it, with the lower layer continuing underneath. This avoids gaps between colors when you layer the vinyl — start with the biggest layer and work upward.
- Iron-on? Remember to turn on Mirror for each mat before cutting heat-transfer vinyl.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Too many tiny pieces | Raise Ignore specks, or lower the number of colors. |
| Edges look bumpy | Start from a bigger image, set Detail to High, or choose Sharp corners for geometric logos. |
| The inside of letters is filled in | Click the white color in the palette to leave it out. |
| The background is still there | Make sure Remove the background is on, or click the background color in the palette. |
| Thin lines break apart | Use Line art / B&W and move the cut-off slider until the lines are solid. |
Using another cutting machine?
SVG is the standard cut-file format, so the same file works elsewhere too. Silhouette Studio needs the Designer Edition or higher to open SVG files, and laser cutters such as Glowforge accept SVG directly.
Frequently asked questions
Can Cricut cut a PNG without converting it?
Yes, but you need to remove the background yourself in Design Space’s cleanup screens, and the image is cut as one single-color shape. To cut each color separately, convert it to an SVG first.
Is the converter really free?
Yes. There are no limits, watermarks or sign-ups, and the conversion runs on your own device.
Why does my SVG have so many layers?
Each color in your image becomes a layer. Lower the Colors setting, or click colors in the palette to merge your design down to the number of vinyl colors you actually want to use.
Want to convert a PNG logo for something other than cutting? Our PNG to SVG converter explains how to get a clean, transparent SVG for websites, print and merch.
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