Tool
Paper snowflake templates
Print a square with the fold lines and the cuts already drawn on it, fold it, cut away the grey and unfold a snowflake. Every set number is a different design, six-pointed like real snow or the easier four, simple enough for small hands or fine enough for sharp scissors.
Medium: more cuts, still quick.
Any number from 1 to 999,999; the same number always prints the same snowflakes. Today’s set is the same for everyone and changes at midnight.
1 snowflake, 6 points, medium cuts, on a 194 mm (7.6 in) square: set 1.
Fold, cut, unfold
- Print at 100% (Actual size) and cut out the square along the thin line.
- Fold it in half along the line marked 1, with the print on the outside.
- For six points, fold the half in thirds along the two lines marked 2, one side to the front and the other to the back. For four points, fold in half again along line 2.
- Fold in half once more along the line marked 3. The pattern is now on both faces of a narrow wedge.
- Cut away everything grey, through all the layers at once, and unfold carefully.
The pattern is printed on every wedge of the square, so the sheet shows the whole snowflake before you cut, and whichever way the folds land, a printed wedge is on top. Press the folds flat with a fingernail: twelve layers of paper spring open otherwise, and the cuts drift.
Why it always holds together
A hand-drawn pattern can cut a snowflake in two: one cut from each folded edge that meet in the middle, and the tip falls off. Here no cut reaches more than 42% of the way across the wedge, so a strip down its middle is never touched, and paper is always left between two cuts on the same edge. Whatever the set number, the snowflake unfolds in one piece. For more to cut out and hang up, the printable shapes draw stars, hearts and snowman-sized circles at any size, and the printable letters make the banner.
Keeps these settings in the link. Useful for moving from a phone to the computer with the printer on it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I make a paper snowflake from the template?
Print the page at 100%, cut out the square, and fold it along the dashed lines in the order of their numbers, keeping the print on the outside: in half along line 1, in thirds along the lines marked 2, and in half again along line 3. You now hold a narrow wedge with the pattern on it. Cut away everything grey, through all the layers, and unfold. The steps are printed under the square as well.
Why are real snowflakes six-pointed, and how do I fold that?
Ice crystals grow in a hexagonal lattice, so a snowflake has six arms. To get six from a square, the half-folded sheet has to be folded in thirds, which is the hard part by eye; the template prints the two lines to fold along, 60 degrees apart, so the thirds come out even. The four-point option is the easier fold children usually learn first, in half three times, and makes a star with four or eight tips.
What paper and scissors work best?
Ordinary 80 g/m2 (20 lb) printer paper. A six-point snowflake is cut through twelve layers, so thinner paper is easier still and card is too thick. Small pointed scissors reach the fine cuts; for children, choose Simple, which keeps the cuts few and large, or the four-point fold, which is eight layers instead of twelve.
Will the printed lines show on the finished snowflake?
Only faintly, on one side. Everything grey is cut away; what stays on the paper is the thin outline along the cut edges and the dashed fold lines. Hang the snowflake with the blank side facing the room, or tape it to a window print side to the glass.
How big is the snowflake, and can I print two on a page?
One to a page, the square is as wide as the sheet allows: about 19 cm on A4 and 20 cm (7.8 in) on US Letter, and the snowflake a little less. Two to a page gives two squares of about 13 cm (5.2 in), each a different snowflake. Up to six pages can be printed at once, every snowflake different.
Can I print the same snowflake again?
Yes. Every snowflake has a set number, printed at the foot of the page. The same number, points and difficulty always draw the same snowflake, so a whole class can cut the one design, and the link under Share opens it again. Press Random set, or the arrows, for another.
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