Fortune Bat

From one A4 sheet to your paper cut

Fold, cut & unfold

Both halves of this finished design match. Use one center fold for the printable version, then open it for delicate finishing.

Start with a complete, uncut sheet. Each picture shows the paper before that step; red dashes mark only the next cuts. Keep the surrounding paper until the outside-cutting step.

1. Start with a full A4 sheet

Take one blank A4 sheet (210 x 297 mm), preferably thin colored paper. Print PDF page 1 separately at 100% and check its 50 mm line. Center the pattern on your blank sheet; do not cut off the surrounding paper yet.

2. Fold and transfer half

Keep the bat upright and fold once along the middle of its body. Trace the right wing, ear and white openings. Keep the body, wing ribs and pointed tips as separate parts to protect while cutting.

3. Cut the inside first

Cut the white wing openings and small eye openings before the outside. Start from the fold only where the opening meets it; an adult starts enclosed holes on a mat. Stop at each corner and keep the red wing ribs continuous.

4. Cut the outside contour

Cut the ear and scalloped wing outline last. Make a separate turn at each pointed tip rather than cutting across it. Leave the wing joined to the body and unfold slowly, supporting the broad wings instead of pulling their tips.

5. Unfold and refine

Open the folded paper slowly. Matching openings now appear on both sides. Lay it flat and trim only attached scraps or uneven edges. Preserve the central body, wing ribs and pointed tips. A finished opening does not need to be cut again.

Use thin paper: two layers should remain easy to control.

PDF page 1 is the clean full-size pattern; pages 2–3 show this complete sequence. A4 is the default; the Letter download uses a Letter sheet. Try a scrap first to check fragile bridges.