The tetra pack template, flat and folded
What this template is for
A tetrahedron made from a single flat tube, sealed at right angles top and bottom. One rectangle, four triangular faces.
Also called tetrahedron box · tetra-pak style pack · triangular pouch — all the same shape, and this is it.
- Party favours and sweet packs
- Maths and geometry teaching models
- Tea and sample packaging
- Hanging decorations
How to use this template
All four downloads are the same tetra pack 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 tetra pack 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.
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 tetra pack itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.
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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.
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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.
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Fold, glue and hold
Score the four diagonals first and fold each one both ways — they are the edges of the four faces, and the shape will not form without them. Then glue the long seam into a tube, flatten and seal one end, and flatten the other end at ninety degrees to the first.
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 tetra pack
- How does one rectangle become a tetrahedron?
- Glue the long seam to make a flat tube. Seal one end, then turn the other end ninety degrees to the first and seal that. The two seals become opposite edges of the tetrahedron, lying at right angles to each other, and the tube is forced into four triangular faces.
- What is the edge length?
- The length of one edge of the finished tetrahedron. All six edges are the same on a regular one.
- What are the diagonal lines for?
- They are the edges where the four faces meet, and they are the whole reason the flat sheet takes the shape. Score all four and fold each one in both directions before you glue anything — the seals sit at right angles to one another, so the creases have to run diagonally rather than straight across.
- How do I seal the ends?
- Glue, staple or a strip of tape all work. The seal band is the flat strip at each end of the rectangle.
Print your own design on it
Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the tetra pack. 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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