What this template is for
Rectangular in plan but with the two long faces bowed out — or pushed in, if you give the curve a negative figure. Cosmetics, confectionery, display packs.
Also called bowed box · curved front carton · convex box · waisted box — all the same shape, and this is it.
- Cosmetics and skincare packaging
- Confectionery and chocolate boxes
- Shelf display packs that stand out
- Candle and diffuser boxes
How to use this template
Set your measurements above, then download the file that suits whatever you are already working in. All four are the same curved box, drawn to the same size — only the format changes, and every one of them is free.
- PDF printing at home
- Print it at 100 per cent and cut it out. This is also the file to hand a print shop: say "actual size, no scaling".
- PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate
- Upload it as an image, lock it in place, and design your curved box on top of it. Works on the free Canva plan and on a phone. Full Canva walkthrough →
- SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity
- Vector, with the cut lines, fold lines and labels on separate layers so you can style or delete them independently. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
- DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters
- Two layers, CUT and FOLD. The free Silhouette Studio Basic opens DXF where it will not open SVG, so this is the one to use there.
Putting your own design on it: you do not need any of those programs for a logo or a pattern — add a picture in the panel above and drag it onto the curved box. It is trimmed to the cut outline and embedded properly in the PDF, and it never leaves your computer. Getting it printed properly →
Printing it
- Type the size you need above, in millimetres, centimetres or inches.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
- Too big for your paper? Tick Split across several sheets and it prints across as many as it needs, with overlaps and matching letters to tape together.
How to put it together
These pictures are the curved box itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.
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Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Scissors are fine; a craft knife against a steel rule is neater on the straight runs. Cut the inside shapes, like a thumb hole, before you free the outline — the sheet is easier to hold while it is still whole.
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Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds, and they want scoring first: run an empty ballpoint, a bone folder or the back of a butter knife along a ruler. Card folded without scoring cracks along the outside of the bend. Fold each crease both ways, then back — it makes the shape almost close itself.
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Fold, glue and hold
Only the four corners crease; the two long faces stay curved, so do not score them. Curl the strip over a table edge first, glue it into a loop round the base, then fix the tabs down.
Glue: a glue stick is enough for paper; use white PVA on card and hold each seam for thirty seconds. Tape works on the inside of any seam if you would rather not wait. Let a box dry standing up, not lying on a flap.
Questions about the curved box
- How does the box hold its curve?
- The card does it on its own. Only the four corners are creased; the two long faces are left unscored so the paper takes a smooth bow between them. Curl the strip over a table edge before you glue it and it settles into shape.
- Can it curve inwards instead?
- Yes — give the bow a negative figure and the two long faces pinch in, which gives you a waisted box.
- Why is there no crease on the curved faces?
- A crease would fold the curve flat at that line and you would end up with a many-sided box instead of a curved one. If your board is too stiff to bend, use a thinner card rather than scoring it.
Print your own design on it
Every template here takes your artwork. Add a picture in the panel on the left — a logo, a photo, a pattern — drag it where you want it on the curved box, and it prints with the template. It is trimmed to the cut outline automatically, so nothing spills over the edge, and it goes into the PDF as a properly embedded image.
No other free box template site will do that, and your picture never leaves your computer — there is no server here to send it to.