Iris Folding Template
Make an iris folding template at the size you want. Pick a triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon or octagon spiral, set the size and the distance between lines, and every section is numbered for you with its colour letter. The opening in the card can match the spiral, or be a circle, heart, star or one of our own Christmas shapes, from a tree to a stocking. The tool works out how wide to fold your strips and how many you need of each paper, and shows the finished card in your colours before you print. You get a true-size PDF with the template, the card front to cut and a colour preview, plus a cut file for the card blank. Free, with no sign-up and no watermark.
Nothing to upload. The template is drawn in your browser.
Finished front
Template (seen from the back)
Strips you need
Shape
Papers
Card and paper
Everything is drawn in your browser with our own code: nothing is uploaded or stored. The PDF is true size: print at 100% (Actual size) and check the 50 mm line. The silhouettes are our own drawings.
How to make an iris folding template
- Pick a spiral shape and the opening you want in the card.
- Set the opening size and the distance between lines. A smaller distance gives more, thinner strips.
- Choose how many papers and their colours, and check the finished front in the preview.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100% (Actual size). Cut the opening from the card front page.
- Tape the template face up, lay your card face down on it, and add the folded strips in number order. Cover the centre last, then turn the card over.
What you can use it for
- Handmade Christmas, birthday and thank-you cards
- A heart or star card from paper scraps and envelopes
- Classroom and club craft sessions, with the strips counted ahead
- Matching sets of cards in the same papers
- Framed iris folding pictures at a larger size
5 spiral shapes at the default size
Each row is a 90 mm opening with lines 12 mm apart and the same shape for the opening. Fold width is the width the folded strip needs to cover its largest section, rounded up with 2 mm to spare.
| Spiral | Strips | Rounds | Fold strips to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle | 15 | 5 | 14 mm |
| Square | 32 | 8 | 14 mm |
| Pentagon | 35 | 7 | 13 mm |
| Hexagon | 48 | 8 | 11 mm |
| Octagon | 80 | 10 | 9 mm |
Rounds stop before the numbers would print smaller than 3.5 pt. What is left in the middle is the centre, covered with one small piece of paper.
How the distance between lines changes a square template
| Distance between lines | Strips | Rounds | Fold strips to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mm | 60 | 15 | 8 mm |
| 8 mm | 48 | 12 | 10 mm |
| 12 mm | 32 | 8 | 14 mm |
| 16 mm | 24 | 6 | 18 mm |
| 20 mm | 16 | 4 | 22 mm |
All for a 90 mm square opening. A shorter distance gives a finer spiral that takes longer to fold.
How the template is drawn
This is the hand method, done exactly. On every edge of the shape a point is marked the same distance from its corner, and the points are joined into a smaller copy of the shape, turned a little. That repeats until the shape is too small to number.
Each new line cuts one corner off the shape before it. That corner triangle is the section its strip covers, so the strip lies with its fold on the line, and it has to be at least as wide as the triangle is tall. The tool measures every triangle to get the fold width and the strip lengths.
Numbers run round by round, side by side, and the colour letters repeat A, B, C, D, so each paper turns the same way round the spiral.
Card sizes
| Card | Front width | Front height |
|---|---|---|
| 5 × 7 in card (10 × 7 in blank) | 127 mm | 177.8 mm |
| A6 card, 105 × 148 mm (A5 blank) | 105 mm | 148 mm |
| A5 card, 148 × 210 mm (A4 blank) | 148 mm | 210 mm |
The 5 × 7 in card folds from a 10 × 7 in blank; A6 folds from A5 and A5 from A4. Leave at least 10 mm of card round the opening. For more sizes, see Paper Sizes. To add a printed message inside, use the Greeting Card Maker or the Christmas Card Template.
Tips for a neat iris fold
- Cut all the strips first and sort them into piles by letter.
- Tape only onto the card around the opening, never onto the template, so it lifts away at the end.
- Keep each folded edge right on its line: small gaps add up towards the centre.
- Patterned paper looks best with a small pattern; large prints break up into odd pieces.
- Cover the back with a second piece of card or a card insert to hide the tape.
More free printable craft tools
Making cards by hand?
Printable templates and craft tools that run in your browser: free, private, no sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
What is iris folding?
A card-making technique. Strips of folded paper are taped behind an opening in a card, following a numbered template, so they spiral in towards the centre like the iris of a camera lens.
How do I use an iris folding template?
Cut the opening in your card. Tape the template to the table, lay the card face down on top so the opening sits over the template, and lay strip 1 with its folded edge on line 1. Tape the ends to the card, then strip 2, and so on. Cover the centre with a small piece of paper, then turn the card over.
Why does the template look back to front?
You build the card from the back, so the finished front is the mirror image of the template. The template shows the opening mirrored, and the card front page shows it the right way round. For a heart or a square this makes no difference, but a stocking would otherwise point the wrong way.
What do the letters on the template mean?
Each letter is one of your papers. Every strip numbered with an A uses paper A, and so on. The table under the preview says how many strips of each paper you need and how long the longest one is.
How wide should the strips be?
Wide enough to cover the section they sit on. The tool measures every section and gives the width to fold to: for a square at the default size it is 14 mm, so cut strips 28 mm wide and fold them in half lengthwise. The folded edge faces the centre.
What paper works best?
Thin paper, so the back of the card does not get bulky. Origami paper, wrapping paper, patterned scrapbook paper and the insides of envelopes all work. Card is best kept for the card itself.
Can I make it bigger or smaller?
Yes. Set the opening size from 40 to 180 mm. The template is drawn at that size, and the PDF prints true size. A bigger opening with the same distance between lines gives more rounds of strips.
What does the distance between lines change?
Each new line starts that far from the corner of the one before. A small distance gives a slow spiral with many narrow strips; a large one gives fewer, wider strips and a bolder look.
Can I use a heart, star or Christmas shape?
Yes. Choose it under Opening in the card. The spiral is drawn large enough to cover the whole shape, so every part of the opening is filled with strips.
Is there a file for a cutting machine?
Yes. The card cut file SVG holds the open card blank, the opening in the front and the fold as a dashed line, at true size in millimetres.
Can I sell cards I make with these templates?
Yes. The designs are our own drawings: you may use them and anything you make with them, including things you sell, with no credit needed.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The template is drawn in your browser and nothing is saved.