How to Make a Paper Birthday Crown That Fits

A paper birthday crown only works if it stays on, and that depends on measuring before cutting. The crown itself is simple: a long strip of cardstock with a shaped top edge, bent into a ring. The care goes into getting the length right and choosing a closure that can be adjusted on the day.

This version is drawn by hand, takes about half an hour, and closes with a slot and tab instead of glue, so it can be loosened, tightened and stored flat afterward.

What you need

• Two sheets of cardstock, about 65 lb cover (176 gsm), in the crown color
• A strip of plain paper for measuring, and scraps in two or three contrast colors
• Pencil, ruler and scissors
• Glue stick and double-sided tape
• A strip of felt or soft paper tape for the lining (optional)
• Ribbon and a hole punch, if you prefer a ribbon tie

Lighter cardstock is the comfortable choice here. Heavy board is stiff on the forehead and tends to spring the closure open.

Measure the head and cut the strip

1. Tape plain paper strips together until you have a band about 26 in (66 cm) long. Wrap it around the head where the crown will sit, just above the ears, and mark where the end meets the band.
2. Add 1 in (2.5 cm) to that mark for the overlap. This is the length of the crown strip.
3. Cut two strips of cardstock 4 in (10 cm) tall along the length of the sheets. One letter sheet is only 11 in (28 cm) long, so nearly every crown needs two strips joined.
4. Overlap the two strips by 1/2 in (12 mm) and join them with double-sided tape. Trim the joined strip to the measured length.
5. Rule a light pencil line 1.5 in (4 cm) up from the bottom edge. Below the line is the band; above it is the space for the points.

Place the join where a point will rise above it rather than in a dip,. A join that falls in a dip is the weakest spot on the crown and bends there first.

Three point styles

Marking each point with a ruler is slow and the errors add up. Folding is quicker: take the plain measuring strip, trim it to the crown length, and fold it in half three times. Unfolded, it has eight equal sections. Lay it along the top of the cardstock and copy each crease as a small pencil tick.

• Zigzag points: the ticks are the dips. Mark the middle of each section on the top edge, then rule straight lines from each dip on the band line up to the neighboring middles.
• Scallops: use the same ticks, but trace around a jar lid or a large coin to draw a rounded hump over each section instead of a point.
• One tall center point: trim the whole strip down to about 2 in (5 cm) tall, leaving a single triangle at the middle that rises to the full 4 in (10 cm). This style suits a narrow, simple crown.

Leave the last 1.5 in (4 cm) at each end as plain band so there is room for the closure. Cut the shaped edge with scissors, turning the cardstock at each dip rather than forcing the blades around the corner, which tears the paper. The guide on how to cut, score and fold paper has more on clean inside corners.

Decorate the crown flat

Decorate before bending the strip into a ring. Three additions do most of the work:

• A contrast band: glue a strip about 3/4 in (2 cm) tall along the base. It also hides the join between the two cardstock strips.
• Paper gems: punch or cut circles about 3/4 in (2 cm) across and glue one on each point. A smaller circle in a lighter color on top makes each one look faceted.
• Stars: cut small five-point stars and place them along the band between the gems.

Use a glue stick, and stop the decoration short of both ends of the strip.

Make it adjustable with a slot and tab

Glue fixes the size for good, and a paper measurement is rarely exact. A slot and tab can be reset.

1. At one end of the band, about 1 in (2.5 cm) in, draw a vertical slot 1 in (2.5 cm) tall, centered on the band’s height. Fold the end back at that line and snip from the fold, or have an adult cut the slot with a craft knife on a cutting mat.
2. At the other end, cut two notches opposite each other, one down from the top edge of the band and one up from the bottom edge, about 1 in (2.5 cm) from the end. Each notch is about 1/4 in (6 mm) deep. The end is now a tab with a narrow neck.
3. Curve the strip into a ring, bend the tab slightly and feed it through the slot from the outside, as the arrow in the picture shows. The notches hook over the ends of the slot and hold.

For more range, cut a second slot 1/2 in (12 mm) further along. If you prefer a ribbon tie, punch a hole in each end, knot a 10 in (25 cm) ribbon through each and tie a bow at the back.

Comfort and fit

Stick the lining flush with the bottom edge on the inside only, so it does not show.

A mini crown and other uses

The same steps at a smaller scale make a decoration. Cut a strip about 2 in (5 cm) tall and 8 in (20 cm) long, shape the top edge, and tape it into a ring to stand at a place setting or on top of a jar centerpiece.

Guests who are not wearing the crown can have paper cone party hats in the same colors. Blank crown strips, cut ahead of time, also suit a birthday party craft station, where each guest decorates one flat.