Chinese Red Envelopes

Hello! In celebration of the Lunar New Year and the Year of the Snake, I made a basic red envelope pattern for my dollies. Red envelopes usually contain money, and are given on very special events, such as the Lunar New Year. While I was studying Chinese, my instructor gave us each a red envelope, and it is something I treasure. I am now passing my pattern onto you, so that your dollies can have something special too.

Here is the pattern, with both MSD and SD sizes:



It has a handy 1" square to help you print it out to size. So handy! Before you start cutting it out, I would recommend you lightly score the edges that will be folded, in order to aid you in folding them nicely. Where are the edges that will be scored? Here is a handy diagram:



The white box in the middle marks where the folds will be, so just score along the edges of the box. Don't score the little white line that is way at the very bottom, just where the white rectangle is. The lonely line at the bottom is actually a cut line, and will be where your top flap will tuck into. You can go ahead and carefully make an incision where that lonely line is. After scoring the folds, you can then cut the envelope out. I would recommend an X-acto knife with a fresh blade and ruler to keep the lines straight.

Once you score and cut out the envelope, you can fold over the edges. Fold the sides in first so that they will be hidden inside, dab a bit of glue on their tops, and then fold the bottom panel up over the tabs, gluing it in place. Let the glue dry. The top flap can then be folded over, and the tip can be inserted into the little cut you made earlier to hold the envelope closed. Once the glue is completely dry, you can print off tiny currency from the internet and put them inside!

Here's a couple shots of my dolls holding their envelopes. These were my drafts, so I didn't glue them shut, but they hold together well without it. Here's the SD size in the hands of my Super Gem boy, who is way too old to be getting red envelopes for the New Year:



And here's one with my 50cm Obitsu holding an SD size, and my Dollzone MSD with the smaller size:



And that is it! It is a very simple pattern. If you want a nicer envelope, go ahead and modify the pattern with a pretty design. If you do something super cool, please consider posting an image of it so that I can be super jealous. Happy Lunar New Year everyone!

 

I am glad people like them.

 

Sorry, I’ll have to make them again and re-post them. Photobucket truly did eat these. D: