How to make a Chinese New Year banner
Chinese New Year Banner: try all 15 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
An Origami Tutor spring couplet strip: fold a long red strip in half along its length, cut half of each character of 立春大吉 against the fold, add a coin window at each end and one wavy cut along the open edge, then open a banner with the four characters cut right through it: Great luck as spring begins.
- You need
- Thin red paper, pencil, ruler and small sharp scissors.
- Start
- Begin with an 8 × 24 cm strip of red paper, colored side up, its long edges at the sides.
Your model is ready
Smooth the fold flat and rub out any pencil. Hang the strip upright beside a door or against a light window to read 立春大吉: Great luck as spring begins. Cut a second strip for a pair.
Step-by-step diagrams
Steps 1–6
- 1
Fold the strip in half
Bring the left long edge to the right long edge. Match the corners and press the lengthwise fold. Keep the folded edge on the left.
- 2
Cut the top coin window
Cut a small half circle out from the folded edge and back to it, near the top. This opens into a round window.
- 3
Cut the top of 立
Below the window, pencil the right half of each character against the fold, top to bottom: 立, 春, 大, 吉, each about 4 cm tall. For 立, cut the half dot and half top bar as one shape, in from the fold and back out to it.
- 4
Cut the base of 立
Cut the half bottom bar of 立 with its slanting stroke rising from it, leaning out as it goes up. Leave a strip of paper between it and the top bar.
- 5
Cut the top of 春
Cut a thin strip along the fold through all three bars of 春, with the bars and the leg spreading down and out below them, as one shape.
- 6
Cut the top of 日
Under 春's legs, cut the top bar of 日 and the upper part of its side.
Steps 7–12
- 7
Cut the middle of 日
Cut its middle bar on its own, just below the side, so a narrow bridge of paper stays at the corner.
- 8
Cut the bottom of 日
Cut its bottom bar with the lower part of its side, again leaving a bridge below the middle bar.
- 9
Cut 大
Cut 大 as one shape: the short stem along the fold, the bar, and the long leg sweeping down and out from under it.
- 10
Cut 士 of 吉
Cut the top of 吉: a thin strip along the fold through its long top bar and its shorter lower bar.
- 11
Cut the top of 口
Cut the top bar of 口 with its side, stopping the side a little above the bottom.
- 12
Cut the bottom of 口
Cut the bottom bar of 口 on its own, leaving a bridge at the corner.
Steps 13–15
- 13
Cut the bottom coin window
Cut the same small half circle near the bottom of the folded edge.
- 14
Cut the scalloped border
Start at the top of the open edge, a little in from the corner. Cut down the whole edge in twelve round bumps, from top to bottom, through both layers. Keep the strip beside the fold.
- 15
Open the strip
Open the lengthwise fold. Each half shape opens into a whole character, the coin windows into circles, and both long edges are scalloped.
- ✓
Finish
Smooth the fold flat and rub out any pencil. Hang the strip upright beside a door or against a light window to read 立春大吉: Great luck as spring begins. Cut a second strip for a pair.
Fold next
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Chinese window flower (chuanghua) ↗
An Origami Tutor window flower: fold a red square twice, make four cuts through four layers, then open a round flower with eight scalloped petals.
Fu blessing diamond cutout ↗
An Origami Tutor red diamond for Lunar New Year: cut the blessing character 福 through its centre one stroke at a time, by folding on each stroke and snipping half of it from the fold, then fold the diamond into a quarter triangle, cut a bead near each point and a round bite from each edge, then open it.
Fold-and-cut red lantern with tassel ↗
An Origami Tutor Lunar New Year lantern: fold a red square in half, cut a window and one outline through both layers, then open a flat lantern with two caps and a tassel.