How does the bottom fold?

Crease the gusset lines and the bottom diagonals firmly, fold the bottom in and glue the two large flaps over each other. Creasing before folding is what makes it sit square.

The band at the top folds inwards to stiffen the mouth of the bag. It is also where you would punch holes for a handle.

What paper should I use?

Ordinary kraft paper of 80 to 120 gsm. Card is too stiff to fold the gussets cleanly.

Paper Bag Template — Free Printable Gift Bag, Any Size

The paper bag template, flat and folded

Paper bag 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.

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

What this template is for

A flat-bottomed bag with gusseted sides that folds completely flat. Shop bags, party bags, bread bags.

Also called SOS bag · flat-bottom bag · gusseted gift bag · shopping bag — all the same shape, and this is it.

Shop and market bags
Party and gift bags
Bread and produce bags
Branded packaging for a small business

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same paper bag 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 paper bag 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 paper bag 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
Glue the side seam. Crease the gusset lines and the bottom diagonals well, fold the bottom in and glue the two large bottom flaps over each other.

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 paper bag

How does the bottom fold?: Crease the gusset lines and the bottom diagonals firmly, fold the bottom in and glue the two large flaps over each other. Creasing before folding is what makes it sit square.
What is the hem for?: The band at the top folds inwards to stiffen the mouth of the bag. It is also where you would punch holes for a handle.
What paper should I use?: Ordinary kraft paper of 80 to 120 gsm. Card is too stiff to fold the gussets cleanly.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the paper bag. 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.

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