EveryCutFileRead what you see
Ungroup the image first, then look at what the rectangle is.
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A separate rectangle layer behind the design | The file has a background shape, often a white rectangle the size of the canvas | Hide it with the eye icon or delete the layer |
| The cut follows the picture's outer edge | A PNG or JPG uploaded without erasing its background: everything not erased is cut | Upload it again and remove the background in the upload step |
| A frame you cannot select apart from the design | A border drawn into the same shape as the design | Select the layer, open Contour and hide the frame's outline |
| A box around a photo inside an SVG | An embedded picture, which Design Space does not accept in a vector upload | Use a file without the picture, or trace the picture first |
A worked example
The PNG of our owl on a branch is 512 × 412 pixels on white. Upload it to Design Space as a basic image and leave the white in, and the cut line follows the edge of the whole picture: a rectangle with the owl printed inside. Erase the white with the Select tool, preview the single layer, and the cut follows the owl instead.
The owl's SVG has no background at all, so it needs no erasing: every shape in it is part of the drawing.
Fix it in Design Space
- Select the image and choose Ungroup in the Layers panel.
- Find the rectangle's layer and click its eye icon to hide it; hidden layers do not cut, draw, score or print. Delete it if you never need it.
- If the rectangle is part of the same shape, select that layer and use Contour to hide the frame's outline.
- For a PNG or JPG, upload it again and use Select, Erase and Restore until only the design is solid; the checkerboard shows what will not cut.
Fix the file so it imports right next time
Open the SVG in your design program, delete the background rectangle and export again. Run the file through the checker: it lists every shape and refuses an embedded raster image.
None of the files on this site carries a background shape or a page border.
From the maker’s documentation: Cricut: image upload instructions, Cricut: Canvas screen guide, Cricut: unsupported image items.