2D diagram

How to make a paper lantern: cut-and-glue craft

Paper Lantern DIY: try all 21 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.

EasyAn Origami Tutor design21 steps23.4 × 15 cm · 2 paper pieces

Fold a sheet in half, cut eight slits from the fold, open it, roll it into a tube and push the ends together so the strips bow out, then glue the seam and a strip handle across the top of the paper lantern.

You need: Two colours of paper, scissors, a ruler and pencil, and a glue stick.
Start: Begin with a 23.4 × 15 cm sheet of coloured paper, the long edges at the top and bottom, and a 15 mm × 11 cm strip of another colour for the handle.
Tips: Measure the slits from the left edge, 26 mm apart, and stop each one at the same line near the open edge.
Press the folded paper firmly along the two crease lines so the strips bend where you want them.
Glue the handle ends on the inside of the rim, straight across from each other.

Finish

Your model is ready

Your paper lantern is done: eight strips bowed out between two round rims, with a handle arching over the top. Hang it from the handle. Look at the finished lantern from the side: the handle arches over the top and the strips bow out in the middle.

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21 steps · press any step to watch it in 3D

Step-by-step diagrams

Steps 1–6

1
Fold the sheet in half
Fold the sheet in half from the bottom up, so the two long edges meet and the fold is at the bottom.
2
Cut the first slit
Start at the fold, 26 mm in from the left, and cut straight up towards the open edge. Stop 22 mm short of it.
3
Cut the second slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.
4
Cut the third slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.
5
Cut the fourth slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.
6
Cut the fifth slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.

Steps 7–12

7
Cut the sixth slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.
8
Cut the seventh slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.
9
Cut the eighth slit
Cut the next slit the same way, 26 mm further along, stopping at the same distance from the open edge.
10
Crease across the slit ends
Press a crease across both layers through the ends of the slits, about 2 cm from the open edge.
11
Crease again, a quarter further
Press a second crease across both layers, a quarter of the way along the slits from the first crease.
12
Open the sheet
Open the sheet flat. The slits are one long cut across the middle.

Steps 13–18

13
Roll it into a tube
Curl the sheet round so the two short edges come towards each other, the slits running along the tube.
14
Round the tube
Bring the edges round until the tube is round and the two edges meet.
15
Overlap the edges
Lay the last strip over the first, edge to edge.
16
Push the ends together
Hold the tube by its two rims and gently push them towards each other. The strips between the slits bow outwards into a lantern shape.
17
Glue the seam
Run a line of glue along the overlapped edge and hold the rim together until it sets.
18
Bend the handle
Take the narrow strip and curl it evenly into an arch, a half circle, with its two ends pointing the same way.

Steps 19–21

19
Set the handle in the lantern
Slide one end of the arch down inside the rim, flat against the inside of a strip.
20
Glue the handle's first end
Put a dab of glue on the end of the handle and press it against the inside of the rim.
21
Glue the handle's other end
Glue the other end of the handle to the inside of the rim, straight across from the first.
✓
Finish
Your paper lantern is done: eight strips bowed out between two round rims, with a handle arching over the top. Hang it from the handle. Look at the finished lantern from the side: the handle arches over the top and the strips bow out in the middle.

Keep folding

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Paper chain ↗

Easy · 25 steps · 5 paper pieces

Glue a strip into a ring, thread the next strip through it and glue that into a ring too, and carry on: a five-link paper chain in two colours, ready to hang up.