Free Japanese paper cutting templates

Kirie, kirigami and what these templates are

Japanese has more than one word for cut paper. Kirie means cut picture: an image cut from a single sheet. Kirigami means cut paper, and it is the word that travelled: in the West it has come to mean paper that is folded and then cut, as a variation on origami. This set has both. Eleven designs are pictures and roundels in the manner of kirie, where the lines of the picture must all join or the sheet falls apart, which is why most of them sit inside a ring or a border that the picture touches. Two are fold-and-cut designs: a cherry blossom and the hemp leaf pattern, asanoha.

The templates are new drawings made by code in the manner of the craft. They are not copies or tracings of any artist’s work, of a print or of a historic piece, and they carry no written characters. The two roundels borrow the bold, simple look of mon, the emblems Japanese families use as crests, but both were invented for this set and neither is taken from a family’s crest.

Paper, size and cutting

Every file is 100 mm on its longer side, and each template page lists the narrowest strip of paper at that size. It runs from 1.4 mm on the fan with cherry blossom to 3.5 mm on the folded cherry blossom. Black paper of 80 to 120 gsm on a pale backing gives the strong contrast these pictures are drawn for. On a cutting machine use a light-grip mat and a sharp blade, and cut the fan with cherry blossom at 160 mm or more. With a knife, cut the small inside shapes first and the frame last, so the sheet stays stiff while you work.

A cut picture can be backed with colour. Glue the finished sheet to white paper, or lay pieces of coloured paper behind single openings, such as red behind the sun and pink behind the blossoms, before you mount it.

How to open the files

• Cricut Design Space: choose Upload, pick the SVG, and add it to the canvas. Set the width you want; the shape is already welded.
• Silhouette Studio: Designer Edition and above open the SVG. The free Basic Edition does not, so open the DXF instead.
• LightBurn, xTool Creative Space and Glowforge: import the SVG, then set the layer to cut, score or engrave.
• Inkscape, Illustrator and Affinity: open the SVG. It is a plain filled path, so you can recolour it, add a stroke or combine it with your own work.
• Printing or sublimation: use the PNG, which has a transparent background.

Each design page lists the file’s narrowest part at seven sizes, so you can tell whether it will survive at the size you plan to cut.

Questions