How to make a Chinese lantern

Not only do these DIY lanterns look impressive, they're easier than you think to make, and they'll look so effective hung around your home while you tuck into some tasty Chinese food!

So if you want to get involved with the festivities with a fun craft project, we've found this easy tutorial from the Craft Factory on how to make your very own DIY Chinese lanterns.

You will need:

Square piece of plain paper (as large or as small as you like)

Ruler

Pen and pencil

Scissors

Coloured paper (red is a traditional colour)

Drawing pin

Gold tassels and thread

Instructions

1. Fold the paper diagonally in half and diagonally in half again so you have a small triangle shape.

2. Open it back up so you have the paper folded in 1 half (diagonally) and fold one corner from the middle over the centre and fold the top of the triangle over that fold to create an arrow-like shape.

3. Use a ruler to make a line down the middle of your folded shape. Either side of the line, draw two flowing lines to make a petal shape.

4. Use scissors to cut around the petal before unfolding your petal to make a flower.

5. Place your flower on top of your coloured paper and draw around the flower using a pencil, making sure you draw a circle around each point of the petal.

6. Cut out your petal shape from the colours paper, not forgetting to include the circles when you cut.

7. Take your pen and make a dot in the centre of the flower and in each circle shape at the end of the petals.

8. Use a drawing pin to pierce a hole where you marked dots with the pen. Then, thread your gold tassels through the middle hole and secure with a knot before cutting off any excess thread.

9. Curve each petal shape into the centre using your fingers, then use your gold thread to thread each petal together, weaving the thread through all the petal holes to create a lantern shape.

10. Pull the thread tight and make a knot - you are now ready to hang this up!

Craft supplies for your Chinese lanterns

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