Which size do I enter?

The size of the drawer — the useful space inside. The sleeve is worked out from it, allowing for board thickness and the clearance you set.

How do I get the sliding fit right?

Roll the sleeve around the finished drawer while the glue is still wet, then let it dry in place. That gives a better fit than any calculation.

Can I make it without glue?

The drawer needs glue at its four corners and the sleeve needs one seam. Double-sided tape works if you would rather not use glue.

Match Box Template — Free Sliding Drawer Box, Any Size

The match box template, flat and folded

Match box template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size — The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.

Match box folded up from the template — the finished box — The box it folds into.

What this template is for

An inner drawer and an outer sleeve that it slides into. Give the size of the drawer — the sleeve is sized to match.

Also called drawer box · slide box · tray and sleeve carton · sliding box — all the same shape, and this is it.

Party favours and small gifts
Jewellery and trinket boxes
Seed packets and sample boxes
Advent calendar drawers

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same match box at the same size — only the format changes.

PDF printing at home: Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate: Upload, lock it in place and design your match box on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity: Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters: Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.

Getting it printed properly →

Printing it

Type your size above, then download the PDF.
Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
Too big for the paper? Pick your paper size and leave Fit the pieces to the page ticked: each piece gets its own place on a sheet and the PDF comes out with every page in it, nothing cut in half and nothing to tape.

How to put it together

These pictures are the match box itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.
Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.
Fold, glue and hold
Build the drawer like a tray. Roll the sleeve round it while the glue is still wet so the fit is right.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let the box dry standing up.

Questions about the match box

Which size do I enter?: The size of the drawer — the useful space inside. The sleeve is worked out from it, allowing for board thickness and the clearance you set.
How do I get the sliding fit right?: Roll the sleeve around the finished drawer while the glue is still wet, then let it dry in place. That gives a better fit than any calculation.
Can I make it without glue?: The drawer needs glue at its four corners and the sleeve needs one seam. Double-sided tape works if you would rather not use glue.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the match box. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.

Templates like this one

See all 63 templates · For Canva · For Cricut · For Etsy sellers · Getting it printed

Collections: Wedding and party favour box templates · Christmas box templates · Food box templates