BoxTemplate

Pleated Lamp Shade Template

An accordion-pleated shade: one long strip of even pleats, rolled into a ring and drawn in at the top by a cord through every pleat, so the bottom fans open. No cutting patterns, no glue on the pleats. LED bulbs only.

Pleated lamp shade — change shape

Units
Dimensions
Optional parameters
Only here Your own design

Put a logo, photo or pattern straight onto the box — most free template sites give you the outline and stop there. Drag it where you want it; it is trimmed to the cut lines so nothing prints off the card, and it stays in your browser.

Page

Bigger than the paper? Each piece prints whole on its own sheet. A single piece is never split: pick bigger paper or a smaller size. More about printing

Template

cutfold

Drop a picture anywhere on the drawingTap “Add a picture” below to print your own design on this box.

Print at 100% (“actual size”), never “fit to page”, or the box comes out the wrong size.

The pleated lamp shade template, flat and folded

Pleated lamp shade 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.
Pleated lamp shade folded up from the template — the finished piece
The box it folds into.

What this template is for

An accordion-pleated shade: one long strip of even pleats, rolled into a ring and drawn in at the top by a cord through every pleat, so the bottom fans open. No cutting patterns, no glue on the pleats. LED bulbs only.

Also called accordion lamp shade · pleated paper lampshade · paper pendant lamp · origami lamp shade — all the same shape, and this is it.

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same pleated lamp shade 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 pleated lamp shade 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

  1. Type your size above, then download the PDF.
  2. Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
  3. 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 pleated lamp shade itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. PLEATS 1PLEATS 2PLEATS 3

    Fold, glue and hold

    Crease every line, alternating one way then the other like a fan, and press the folded stack hard. Thread a cord through the row of holes, glue the end tab under the first pleat to close the ring, then pull the cord until the top fits round the lamp holder and tie it. Use an LED bulb only.

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 pleated lamp shade

How is the top held in?
A cord through the row of holes, one in every pleat, pulled tight round the lamp holder and tied. The bottom is left free and fans open by itself.
Why an even number of pleats?
Pleats go one way then the other. With an odd number the last pleat would fold the same way as the first where they join, and the ring would not close evenly.
Is it safe with a bulb?
With an LED bulb only, which runs cool. A filament or halogen bulb against paper is a fire risk.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the pleated lamp shade. 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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