3D shape templatesCube net
Cube template
A single cube net printed large on one page, with solid cut lines, dashed folds and grey glue tabs. It suits classroom geometry, gift packaging and small crafts for children and adults.
- Set it up your way
- Print or PDF, Letter or A4
- Free, no sign-up
On this page
A cube has six identical square faces, and a flat net of it is the quickest way to see how those faces connect. This page prints one cube net you can cut out, fold and glue into a small hollow box.
What prints
The page is titled "Cube Template" and carries one instruction line: cut along the solid lines, fold every dashed line, then put glue on the grey tabs and press each one inside the matching edge. The net is drawn in the middle of the page. Four squares run in a column, and one more square sits on each side of the second square in that column.
Seven grey glue tabs ring the outside. The two side squares each have a tab on their top and bottom edges, and the last square in the column has a tab on its left, right and bottom edges. A small key at the bottom of the page shows the three line styles: a solid line for cut, a dashed line for fold, and a grey block for glue tab. The sheet has no name or date line.
The settings
- Shape: Cube (this page opens on it). The same control switches to gift box, square pyramid, triangular prism, cylinder or cone.
- Size: Small, Medium or Large. They scale the net to 75%, 100% and 120% of the medium drawing. If a large net would run past the page, it is shrunk to fit.
- Dice spots on the faces: a toggle that appears for the cube only. Turn it on and you get the dice template instead.
Cutting and folding tips
Print at actual size or 100% so the squares stay square. Choose heavy card, roughly 65 to 110 lb, if the cube will be handled a lot; plain paper folds fine for a quick classroom model. Run a ruler and a dull pen or butter knife along each dashed line before you fold, which gives a crisp edge.
Cut only the outer outline and the slits between neighboring tabs, never the dashed lines. Fold all edges the same way, away from the printed side if you want the lines hidden inside the box. Glue the tabs one at a time and leave the last square open until the others have set.
Children should use blunt-tip scissors, and an adult should help with the glue and any knife work.
Worked example: a classroom cube for a volume lesson
Ms. Ortiz has twenty-four fourth graders and wants every student to hold a cube while she talks about faces, edges and corners. She prints the Medium cube on card stock, one per student, and has them write a letter on each square before cutting. A student labels the column A, B, C, D and the side squares E and F.
After folding, the class checks which letters meet at an edge. Each pair counts as one of twelve edges. Students find that A and C never touch, which leads to opposite faces. Later, the same cubes become the stacking blocks for a base-times-height activity, and the sheet on surface area and volume gives them numbers to work with.
Next steps
Try the pyramid template for a different solid, or the gift box template when you want a box that opens.