BoxTemplate

Dodecahedron Lantern Template

A twelve-sided dodecahedron lantern with a window in every face and a hole in one for the cord. Hang it over an LED bulb or fill it with fairy lights.

Polyhedron lantern — 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 polyhedron lantern template, flat and folded

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

What this template is for

A twelve-sided dodecahedron lantern with a window in every face and a hole in one for the cord. Hang it over an LED bulb or fill it with fairy lights.

Also called dodecahedron lantern · geometric paper lantern · polyhedron lamp · geometric pendant shade — all the same shape, and this is it.

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same polyhedron 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 polyhedron 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

  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 polyhedron lantern 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. HALF ONEHALF TWO

    Fold, glue and hold

    Cut every window and the cord hole first; tape tissue or vellum behind the windows for a glow. Crease every pentagon edge. Close each half into a bowl by gluing the tabs in its notches. Each half then has five rim tabs: set the halves rim to rim, points into notches, so every rim edge meets one tab, fold the tabs in and glue. LED light 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 polyhedron lantern

Does every edge have a tab?
Every join has exactly one: each half closes into a bowl by the tabs in its five notches, and the halves join by ten rim tabs, five on each, on edges the other half leaves bare.
How big does it come out?
Edge length is the setting. At the 42 mm it opens with the lantern is about 94 mm across between opposite faces.
Will it print at home?
Yes — at the size it opens with, on two A4 or US Letter sheets, one half on each.

Print your own design on it

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

Templates like this one

All decor templates · See all 74 templates · For Canva · For Cricut · For Etsy sellers · Getting it printed

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