By Show Me Step by StepPublished Updated
Based on a video by Alexis Rose Creates | Crafting, DIYs, + Design.
A layered SVG is one design split into stacked pieces, one piece per color. Cut each color from its own sheet, stack them in order, and you get a multicolor decal or card topper that no single sheet could give you. Getting the layers to line up is the whole skill, and it is easier than it looks.
In her video, Alexis Rose of Alexis Rose Creates walks through a three-layer leopard print heart with "Wild One" lettering, from Design Space to a painted sign. Her trick is parchment paper, which vinyl will not stick to, so you can slide a layer into place before it grabs. This page starts with the file already uploaded. For the upload itself, see how to cut SVG files with Cricut.
Alexis starts with an SVG, not a PNG or JPEG, for one reason: an SVG keeps its layers. A PNG or JPEG uploads as one flat image. The SVG arrives already split into the tan heart, the brown spots and the cream lettering, so Design Space knows to cut them separately.
Open the Layers panel and the design shows up as a group with one row per color. Design Space sends each color to its own mat when you click Make It, so a three-color file means three mats. Two handy controls: the eye icon hides a layer so you can see what is underneath, and the Color Sync tab merges near-identical shades so you cut fewer colors. Resize the whole group at once, never one layer, or the pieces stop fitting.
Three mats is the safe default. Alexis saves time by moving every color onto one mat with the three-dot menu on the Prepare screen, leaving a gap between pieces, and noting the grid squares each one sits on. You then lay small pieces of vinyl on exactly those squares. For her 5 inch heart, each piece is about 6 by 5 inches. It saves vinyl and loading, but only works if every color is the same vinyl type, since one mat gets one cut setting.
Work from the biggest piece to the smallest. The base layer goes down first and every layer after it sits on top. Tape the base layer to the table so it cannot shift. Lay parchment paper over it, set the next layer on its transfer tape on the parchment, and nudge it until the edges match. Tape the top edge as a hinge, slide the parchment out, and press the layer down.
Well-made layered files give the base layer a slightly bigger outline than the layer above, so a hair of misalignment never shows a gap.
The same files cut from cardstock make dimensional card fronts and shadow-box scenes. Cut each color, then glue the layers with a fine-tip glue pen, or use foam dots for depth. Line up the outer edges before the glue sets. For more card ideas, start with how to make a card, and if you are new to the machine, how to use a Cricut for beginners.
From a shop we love: to try layering in cardstock, HKC Market's layered Christmas tree cut file stacks in the same biggest-to-smallest order.
10 steps · about 7 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
Upload the layered SVG and add it to the canvas. Alexis uses a heart with a tan base, brown leopard spots and cream "Wild One" lettering. Look at the Layers panel on the right: three rows, one per color. Each row is a separate piece of vinyl, and the panel order is the stacking order.
Tip
Size the whole group before anything else. Alexis sets it to 5 inches wide.
Click Make It. The Prepare screen lists one mat per color down the left side, three for this heart. You can cut them that way, loading a new sheet of vinyl for each mat. Alexis prefers to put all three on one mat to save time, which the next step covers.
Tip
Design Space always makes one mat per color, grouped or not. More mats than you expected means near-identical shades: merge them in the Color Sync tab.
On the second mat, click the three dots beside the leopard layer and choose Move Object, then send it to mat one. Do the same with the tan heart from mat three. Drag each piece to its own clear area and leave room between them. Note which grid squares each piece covers.
Tip
Leave at least half an inch between pieces so a slightly crooked vinyl scrap still covers its cut.
Cut a piece of each vinyl color a little bigger than its design. Using the grid on the mat, press each piece onto the squares where that layer sits on screen: cream for the lettering, brown for the spots, tan for the heart. Smooth them flat, load the mat and let the machine cut.
Tip
Use the same vinyl type for every piece, since one mat gets one cut setting.
Peel the mat away from the vinyl, not the vinyl off the mat, so the vinyl stays flat. Then weed each layer: lift away everything that is not part of the design. The leopard spots take the longest because every spot is its own island. A small piece that lifts can be pressed back down with the tool.
Tip
Bend the mat back gently. Bend it too hard and it can crease or snap.
The tan heart is the base layer, the biggest piece that everything else sits on. Keep it on its backing and tape it to the table with painters tape so it cannot slide. Then tape a sheet of parchment paper over it. Vinyl will not stick to parchment, which is what makes the next step forgiving.
Tip
Painters tape lifts off cleanly and will not tear the vinyl backing.
Put transfer tape on the weeded leopard layer and peel off its backing. Lay it on the parchment over the tan heart and slide it around until the edges line up all the way round. Nothing sticks yet, so take your time. When it looks right, tape the top edge of the transfer tape to the table as a hinge.
Tip
Look straight down, not at an angle, when you check the edges.
Lift the leopard layer on its tape hinge, slide the parchment paper out, and lower the layer onto the tan heart. Because the hinge holds it in place, it lands exactly where you lined it up. Burnish it with a scraper, then peel the transfer tape away slowly. The two layers are now one piece.
Tip
Peel transfer tape back low and flat against the design so small pieces stay down.
Pick the combined heart up with transfer tape and press it onto your surface. Alexis uses a painted acrylic sign, but a mug, tumbler or wood plaque works the same way. Scrape it down well and peel the tape back slowly. The bigger layered piece goes on first, and smaller details go on top.
Tip
The same piece of transfer tape can be reused for the next layer.
The lettering is the last and easiest layer. Pick it up with transfer tape, line it up over the heart by eye, and press it down from the middle outward. Scrape it, peel the tape and the three-layer decal is done. Lettering on top hides small gaps in the layers underneath.
Tip
Small top layers rarely need parchment. Save that trick for big layers that have to match.
Keep going
How to Make a Concrete Lamp Base With LED String Lights
Usually the layers were resized separately, or the vinyl shifted. Resize the whole group together in Design Space, tape the base layer down, and use parchment paper so the next layer can slide into place before it sticks.
It cuts each color on its own mat. Use Color Sync to merge shades that should be one color, or move several layers onto one mat from the Prepare screen when they are the same vinyl type.
The biggest piece, usually the base or background color. Every smaller layer sits on top of it, and the smallest details, like lettering, go on last.
Yes, with heat between layers. Mirror every mat, press each layer only long enough for its carrier sheet to peel, then give the finished stack a final full press. Keep a cover sheet between the press and the vinyl.
The layers were cut exactly to size with no overlap, or one is slightly off. Better layered files make the base a little larger than the layer above. A slightly bigger base, or lettering on top, hides small gaps.
How to Layer SVG Files in Cricut
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E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
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Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
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OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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