Fun
Paper snowflake maker
Fold the paper, snip pieces out of the wedge and watch it open into a perfectly symmetrical six-pointed snowflake — then print a template to cut it from real paper.
Click around the part to cut away. Cuts across a fold line make holes in the middle of the snowflake.
Unfolded preview
Download
Printable cutting template
Needs a square of paper at least 20 cm (7.9 in) wide. Print at 100%.
Snowflake patterns · 36 designs
Easy designs have a few big cuts, good for children with safety scissors. Tricky ones have thin branches and small holes — use thin paper and small, sharp scissors. Want several on one page? The snowflake template page prints whole packs of these patterns.
Enter finishes a cut · Backspace removes the last point · Esc cancels · everything stays in your browser
Play and explore in your browser. No account needed.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the paper folded into 12 layers?
Real snowflakes have six arms, because water molecules freeze into a hexagonal lattice, and each arm is usually mirror-symmetric. Folding a square in half, then into thirds and then in half again gives a 30° wedge of 12 layers: every cut is repeated six times around the centre and mirrored within each arm. The common method of folding a square into quarters and eighths gives four or eight points, which real snowflakes never have.
How do I fold paper for a six-pointed snowflake?
Fold a square in half along the diagonal to make a triangle, with the fold at the bottom. From the middle of that folded edge, fold the right corner up so it makes a 60° angle, then fold the left corner over it, so the paper is folded into three equal parts like a cone. Fold the cone in half down its middle and cut the uneven top straight. The PDF template shows these steps with small diagrams.
What happens when a cut crosses a fold line?
A cut that touches a fold becomes a hole inside the snowflake once it is unfolded, mirrored on both sides of the fold; cuts on the right-hand fold open up along the middle of an arm, and cuts on the left-hand fold open up between two arms. A cut at the fold point makes a hole in the centre. Leave paper connecting the tip to the fold point — if a cut runs right across the wedge, that part falls away when you unfold.
What size paper do I need for the template?
The template shows the folded wedge at its real size. Small measures 7 cm from the fold point to the top and needs a square of at least 15 cm; Medium is 9.5 cm and needs 20 cm, which you can cut from an A4 or Letter sheet; Large is 13 cm and needs 27 cm. Print at 100% or Actual size and check that the 5 cm bar on the page measures 5 cm. Thin paper cuts most cleanly through 12 layers.
Can I use the SVG with a cutting machine?
The SVG contains the whole unfolded snowflake as one outline path with the holes cut out, so it can be opened in vector editors and in cutting-machine software that imports SVG files. It is traced from a high-resolution rendering and simplified, so curves become many short straight segments. Check the size after importing, and keep in mind that very thin bridges or tiny holes can be too small for a blade.
Can I get the design back later?
Designs are not stored anywhere — everything happens in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. Download the PNG or SVG to keep a picture of your snowflake, and the PDF template if you want to cut it from paper again. The patterns in the gallery are always available, and the snowflake template page prints several of them on one sheet.
About this tool
Cutting paper snowflakes is a winter classic, and this paper snowflake maker lets you do it on screen with real folding geometry. The paper is folded the traditional way for six points — in half, into thirds and in half again — so you cut a narrow wedge of 12 layers, just as you would with scissors. Every cut you make is copied into all 12 layers, which is why the result always comes out perfectly six-fold symmetric.
There are two pairs of scissors. Straight cuts places corners one click or tap at a time, which is best for sharp triangles, zigzag edges and diamonds; Freehand follows your mouse or finger for curves, hearts and rounded notches. Cutting off the tip of the wedge shapes the outer points, cuts along the folds make holes that open up inside the snowflake, and a nibble at the fold point makes a hole in the middle. Undo and redo keep experimenting painless.
Unfolding is animated in the same order as the real folds are opened: the last half-fold first, then the two thirds, and finally the first diagonal fold, each flap turning over like paper. The gallery holds 36 original snowflake patterns drawn for this page — simple ones with a few big cuts for children, stars, lacy doilies, fern-like dendrites with branches at 60° like real crystals, geometric designs and festive ones with hearts, bells, holly and snowmen — each marked Easy, Medium or Tricky. Random design makes a new one on the spot and only keeps it if the paper still holds together in one piece.
When the snowflake is finished, download it as a sharp 2048-pixel PNG or a vector SVG with a night-blue, white or transparent background, in white or coloured paper. For the real thing, the PDF template prints the folded wedge at actual size in three sizes, on A4 or US Letter, with the areas to cut away shaded grey, folding diagrams, a preview of the result and a 5 cm bar to check that it printed at the right scale.