Gingerbread Paper Chain SVG

About this design

This design looks like a classic paper chain of gingerbread men. Four small figures stand in a straight line with their arms stretched out to the sides, each reaching toward the next one’s hand. Each figure is a simple, bold silhouette with a round head, and thin lines of icing across the wrists and ankles set the hands and feet apart, like a tray of freshly decorated cookies.

Unlike a folded paper chain, the figures here are separate pieces: the design has nineteen pieces in total, counting the small hand and foot details. That makes it a border or a banner rather than a fold-and-cut project. The row is about three times as wide as it is tall, and it passes our cut checks from about 3 inches wide.

Color layers

• Backing in cream, the same outline as the figures
• Design in gingerbread brown

The figures have no cut-outs, so the backing sits hidden underneath. The icing lines are gaps between pieces, and they show whatever surface you place the border on.

Border and banner projects

• Shelf and mantel borders in a kitchen.
• Card fronts. A row across the bottom of a holiday card.
• Kitchen towels with the chain along the hem.
• Cookie tin bands that wrap around the sides.
• Classroom bulletin board borders.
• Gift wrap bands around a box.
• Window decals along the bottom of a pane.

Size and cutting tips

It passes our cut checks from about 3 inches wide, but each figure is then only about an inch tall, which suits tiny tags and planner stickers. For borders, 10 to 12 inches wide is a better size; at 12 inches, the width of a standard mat, each figure is about 3.5 inches tall. For longer borders, cut several rows and line them up end to end.

Step by step: kitchen towel border

1. Measure the width of your tea towel above the hem.
2. Set the design to that width in the editor and download the solid style.
3. Mirror it and cut it from brown iron-on vinyl.
4. Weed it carefully, keeping the small hand and foot pieces in place on the carrier sheet.
5. Press it in a line about 2 inches above the hem.

Color ideas

• Brown with cream icing, the classic
• Red figures for a bold kitchen border
• White figures on a green or red towel
• Alternate colors by cutting two rows and mixing the figures

Good to know

The hands come very close together but do not quite touch, so the figures stay separate. If you need a single connected piece, use the editor’s offset border option: it wraps the whole row in one outline shape that holds everything together, which works well for stickers and wood cut-outs.

Variations to try

• Cut the row twice and place the copies end to end for a longer border.
• Use the color file with a red backing for a candy look.

Pairs well with

The Gingerbread Border is a diagonal garland version, and the Gingerbread Circle Frame puts a ring of figures around a name.