Crafting and decor
Paper Craft Templates
Cut-and-fold templates for a gift box, a pillow box, a party hat and a pyramid box, sized to whatever you need. Cut, fold and glue lines are drawn differently, with a key on the sheet, so nobody cuts along a fold.
Four steps
How to make a paper box
- 1
Pick a template
Gift box, pillow box, party hat or pyramid box.
- 2
Set the size
The finished size is printed on the sheet before you cut.
- 3
Print on card
160 to 250 gsm. Thinner will not hold its shape.
- 4
Cut the solid lines only
Dashed lines are folds. The key on the sheet says which is which.
- 5
Score, fold and glue
Score every dashed line first, then glue the tabs inside.
Three line types, drawn three ways
Nearly every printable box template has the same flaw: cut lines, fold lines and glue tabs all drawn at the same weight. The result is predictable. Somebody cuts along a fold, the box falls into pieces, and the template gets blamed for being wrong when it was only unclear.
| Line | Means | Do |
|---|---|---|
| Solid, heavy | Cut | Scissors or a knife |
| Dashed | Fold | Score first, then fold |
| Faint grey | Glue tab | Fold under and glue inside |
The hat is calculated, not drawn
A cone is the one shape here where getting it slightly wrong is invisible until it is too late. The curved edge of the flat sector becomes the rim of the hat, so it has to be exactly the circumference of the head. The angle of the sector is therefore set from the radius you choose, not picked to look right.
A few degrees too small and the hat will not close; a few degrees too large and it overlaps and sits crooked. Flat on the paper, all three versions look identical, which is why it is worth doing the arithmetic rather than the eyeballing.
Scoring, and why card cracks
Card above about 160 gsm does not fold, it breaks: the outer surface stretches further than it can and cracks, showing a white line along every fold. Scoring solves it. Run the back of a craft knife, a bone folder, or even an empty ballpoint along the dashed line against a ruler, pressing firmly enough to dent but not cut. The fold then goes exactly where you want it and the printed surface stays intact.
Related printables
Patterned paper supplies the patterns used here, party printables covers the tags and place cards for the same event, and cash envelopes use the same cut-fold-glue approach for something more practical.
Answers