How does the top stay shut without glue?

It locks. Fold the two pointed END FLAPs in first, then the SLOT FLAP, then lay the TONGUE FLAP over the top and push its tongue down through the slot. The two lid flaps each reach past the middle, so they overlap, and the tongue holds the upper one down. Pull the tongue back out and it opens again as often as you like.

What sizes do I type?

Bottom length and width are the floor inside the box. Height is how tall it stands. Top length and width are the opening at the rim, which is normally bigger — that is what gives the takeout shape. If you ask for a top so much wider than the height allows, the walls would overlap when laid flat, so the tool eases the top back and tells you what it used.

Will it print on one sheet?

At the size it opens with, yes — the drawing is about 191 by 222 mm, which fits A4 and US Letter with room for the margin a home printer cannot reach. A much bigger box needs a bigger sheet or the split-across-sheets option.

Does it have a wire handle?

No — it is cut and folded from one sheet of card and nothing else. If you want to carry it by a handle, punch a hole near the top of each END wall and tie a ribbon or cord through before you close it.

Takeout Box Template — Chinese Favor Box

The takeout box template, flat and folded

Takeout 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.

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

What this template is for

The Chinese takeout carton: walls that flare out towards the top, two gable end flaps, and a lid that shuts by pushing a tongue through a slot — no glue at the top. Favours, sweets, cookies, noodle-night and New Year gifts.

Also called chinese takeout box · noodle box · oyster pail box · takeout favor box — all the same shape, and this is it.

Wedding and party favours
Chinese New Year and noodle-night gifts
Cookies, sweets and fortune cookies
Bake sales and craft fair packaging

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same takeout 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 takeout 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? Tick Split across several sheets: it tiles across as many as it needs, with overlaps and matching letters to tape together.

How to put it together

These pictures are the takeout 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
Fold the four walls up and glue each corner tab behind the end wall beside it. To close, fold both END FLAPs in, then the SLOT FLAP, then lay the TONGUE FLAP over it and push the tongue down through the slot.

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 takeout box

How does the top stay shut without glue?: It locks. Fold the two pointed END FLAPs in first, then the SLOT FLAP, then lay the TONGUE FLAP over the top and push its tongue down through the slot. The two lid flaps each reach past the middle, so they overlap, and the tongue holds the upper one down. Pull the tongue back out and it opens again as often as you like.
What sizes do I type?: Bottom length and width are the floor inside the box. Height is how tall it stands. Top length and width are the opening at the rim, which is normally bigger — that is what gives the takeout shape. If you ask for a top so much wider than the height allows, the walls would overlap when laid flat, so the tool eases the top back and tells you what it used.
Will it print on one sheet?: At the size it opens with, yes — the drawing is about 191 by 222 mm, which fits A4 and US Letter with room for the margin a home printer cannot reach. A much bigger box needs a bigger sheet or the split-across-sheets option.
Does it have a wire handle?: No — it is cut and folded from one sheet of card and nothing else. If you want to carry it by a handle, punch a hole near the top of each END wall and tie a ribbon or cord through before you close it.

Print your own design on it

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