How many ribbons does it have?

As many as fit at the ribbon width you give. A lantern 75 mm across is about 237 mm round, so at 12 mm ribbons it has 20, each 11.9 mm wide — the width is adjusted slightly so they come out exactly even with no odd strip at the seam.

Why are the glue tabs only at the top and bottom?

A tab the full height of the strip would glue the last ribbon to the first, and that pair would bow out as one ribbon twice the width of the rest. With tabs on the plain bands only, every ribbon stays free and the lantern looks the same all the way round.

The crease across the middle of every ribbon gives the pointed profile of a Chinese lantern. Set it to 0 and the ribbons bow into a rounder, softer shape. Either way, press the top gently towards the bottom after gluing to open it out.

Will it print on one sheet?

Yes. At the size it opens with, 75 mm across and 160 mm tall, the strip and its handle fit one A4 or US Letter sheet turned sideways. A bigger lantern prints in numbered sections that glue end to end.

Paper Lantern Template — Free Printable Diwali & Chinese Lantern, Any Size

The paper lantern template, flat and folded

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

What this template is for

The classic slit-paper lantern: a strip cut into ribbons, rolled into a tube and pressed down so the ribbons bow out. A crease across the middle gives the pointed Chinese-lantern shape. Diwali, Chinese New Year, Ramadan, parties and classrooms.

Also called chinese paper lantern · diwali lantern · slit paper lantern · ramadan lantern craft — all the same shape, and this is it.

Diwali, Chinese New Year and Ramadan decorations
Classroom and kids’ craft sessions
Party, wedding and garden garlands
Covers for a battery tea light

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same paper lantern 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 lantern 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 lantern 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
Cut every slit with a craft knife and a ruler — they stop at the plain bands, so do not cut through those. Crease each ribbon along the middle line, folding it outwards. Roll the strip into a tube and glue the two tabs behind the bands at the other end. Press the top gently towards the bottom so the ribbons bow out, then glue the HANDLE ends inside the top band, opposite each other. Light it with a battery tea light or LED string only — never a candle.

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 lantern

How many ribbons does it have?: As many as fit at the ribbon width you give. A lantern 75 mm across is about 237 mm round, so at 12 mm ribbons it has 20, each 11.9 mm wide — the width is adjusted slightly so they come out exactly even with no odd strip at the seam.
Why are the glue tabs only at the top and bottom?: A tab the full height of the strip would glue the last ribbon to the first, and that pair would bow out as one ribbon twice the width of the rest. With tabs on the plain bands only, every ribbon stays free and the lantern looks the same all the way round.
Crease or no crease?: The crease across the middle of every ribbon gives the pointed profile of a Chinese lantern. Set it to 0 and the ribbons bow into a rounder, softer shape. Either way, press the top gently towards the bottom after gluing to open it out.
Will it print on one sheet?: Yes. At the size it opens with, 75 mm across and 160 mm tall, the strip and its handle fit one A4 or US Letter sheet turned sideways. A bigger lantern prints in numbered sections that glue end to end.

Print your own design on it

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