Skip to content
Hingesmith
Studio
Open Studio

Santa Hat living-hinge box

A floppy hat with a pom-pom. Secret Santa gifts, office party favors.

Floppy hat with a pom-pom. The wall is one strip of plywood with a living hinge cut into it, so the whole outline wraps from a flat sheet. Set the size in millimetres, pick a hinge pattern and a lid, watch it fold in 3D, then export the cut file for your laser.

Open the Santa Hat in the Studio See Pro pricing

Pro shape: preview and fold it free, export from $9 a month or $149 once.

Santa Hat box: a 3D render of the laser-cut living-hinge box in Baltic birch with its scored lid drawing

At the suggested size

178 × 150 × 80 mm on 3 mm plywood

These numbers come from the same engine that makes your file, built at the size the Studio suggests with the Straight Lattice hinge. Change the size, stock or pattern and they update live.

parts
6
on 2 sheets of 420 × 297 mm
of cutting
24.3 m
707 hinge cuts
wall length
570 mm
in 2 strips that butt-joint
tightest bend
R10 mm
rounded to suit 3 mm stock
hinge load
87%
of the safe twist limit
lid art
Scored
a matching line drawing on the lid
Santa Hat lid as the laser sees it: red cut outline and blue scored lid art
The lid, as the laser sees it. Red is the cut, blue is the scored lid art. Turn lid art off in the Assembly tab for a plain lid.
Three lids

Drop-in, Snap-lock, Magnetic Lip. Every lid works with every shape.

Three stocks

3 mm, 4 mm, 6 mm. Hinge spacing and corner radii follow the thickness.

Kerf-compensated

Tabs grow and slots shrink by half your kerf, so parts press-fit without sanding.

Hinge patterns

Hinges that suit a santa hat

Any of the 21 patterns works on this shape; the cut spacing adapts to each curve of the wall. These four suit the Christmas and winter collection. Each link opens the Santa Hat with that hinge.

Lantern cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
LanternPro
Moroccan lantern trellis
Braid cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
BraidPro
Three-strand plait
Chevron cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
ChevronPro
Nested V stripes
Diamond Lattice cut layout: red cut lines and blue score lines
Diamond LatticePro
Mirrored Vs form diamonds

Lantern: A Moroccan lantern trellis of pointed cells. Candle and tea-light gift boxes, Eid and Diwali gifts, boho décor.

Before you cut

From file to finished box

Import the SVG at 1:1, give the blue layer a light score pass and the red layer a full cut, score first, then cut. The guides cover settings by machine and material, assembly, and selling what you make.

More like this

Christmas and winter, and neighbours

Pine Tree lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Pine TreePro
Two-tier pine
Bell lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
BellPro
Domed crown, flared mouth
Ornament lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
OrnamentPro
Bauble with cap and loop
Snowman lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
SnowmanPro
Three snowballs and a top hat
Gingerbread Man lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Gingerbread ManPro
Arms out, legs apart
Mitten lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
MittenPro
Thumb and cuff
Stocking lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
StockingPro
Boot with a cuff
Gift Box lid: red cut line with its scored lid art in blue
Gift BoxPro
Present with a bow
All shapes in Christmas and winter Browse all 100 shapes

Questions about the santa hat box

Is the Santa Hat box free to export?

You can design it, change every setting and fold it in 3D for free. Exporting its cut file needs Pro: $9 per month, $59 per year, $149 one-time. The Rounded Box, Curved Cylinder and Hexagon export free, so you can test your laser settings before you buy.

What size can a santa hat box be?

Anything from 60 to 400 mm across and 30 to 250 mm tall; the suggested size is 178 × 150 mm. Picking the shape keeps your current scale and applies its proportions, then you can set the width and length to the millimetre. Curves need a minimum radius for the hinge to bend (8 mm on 3 mm stock, 10 mm on 4 mm, 15 mm on 6 mm), and the studio warns you if a size is too small for your stock.

Which lasers and software can cut it?

Any laser whose software imports SVG or DXF at 1:1 in millimetres: LightBurn (Omtech, Monport, Ortur, Atomstack, Creality, K40 and most CO₂ and diode machines), xTool Creative Space, Glowforge (SVG), LaserGRBL and Inkscape. The file has a red cut layer, a blue score layer for the lid art and fold marks, and a black sheet boundary.

What material should I cut it from?

3, 4 or 6 mm flat sheet stock. Baltic birch plywood bends best; poplar plywood and MDF work for gentler curves. The hinge spacing is sized for the thickness you pick, and the free bend test strip tells you how far your particular sheet will go.

Can I sell santa hat boxes I make with it?

Yes. Boxes you cut from your exports are yours to sell, on Etsy, at fairs or anywhere else. What you may not do is resell or share the cut files themselves as a template.

Fold a santa hat box in your browser

No account, no download to install. The design opens ready to size.

Open the Studio