Why did my top size change?

Past a certain slope the four walls overlap each other when laid out flat, so no template exists. The generator eases the taper back to the steepest shape that still works and tells you what it used.

Can the top be smaller than the bottom?

Yes. Enter a smaller top size and the walls lean inwards instead, which gives a plant-pot shape.

Only with a food-safe liner or greaseproof paper. Plain card is not a food-contact material.

Tapered Tub Template — Free Popcorn & Chip Box, Any Size

The tapered tub template, flat and folded

Tapered tub template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size — The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.

Tapered tub folded up from the template — the finished box — The finished tapered tub, made from it.

What this template is for

Straight-sided box that opens out towards the top — chip boxes, popcorn boxes, plant pot covers, nesting storage.

Also called nestable tray · tapered carton · chip box · popcorn box — all the same shape, and this is it.

The same box as the nestable tray. It cuts the identical dieline — the only difference is how you type the size: here you give the top opening directly; there you give a draft angle and it works the opening out, and tells you how far a stack grows per tray.

Chip, fries and popcorn boxes
Plant pot covers and planters
Nesting storage boxes
Market and food stall packaging

Making a tapered tub that stands up and stacks

Which card

Use card between 250 and 350 gsm (about 0.3 to 0.45 mm). The walls lean outwards, so each one is held only along its bottom crease and its two glue tabs; thin paper bows inwards as soon as anything is put in it. A cereal-box weight card is about right for chips and popcorn, and the grey back of the card can face inwards.

Getting the shape right

The two numbers that set the look are the bottom and the top. A top about 40 mm wider than the bottom each way, as it opens, gives the classic chip-box flare. Push the top much wider and, past a certain slope, the four walls would overlap when laid out flat; the tool then eases the taper back to the steepest shape that can still be cut from one sheet, and says what it used.

Make the top smaller than the bottom and the walls lean in instead: a plant-pot cover or a desk tidy that is hard to knock over.

Stacking

Because the top is larger than the base, empty tubs of the same size nest inside one another. That makes them easy to store: fold a batch, stack them, and they take little more room than one.

Mistakes to avoid

Gluing the tabs outside the walls. They go behind the neighbouring wall, inside the tub, or the corners gape.
Leaving the glue wet when you fill it. Let the tabs dry upright for ten minutes first.
Putting greasy or wet food straight onto plain card. Line it with greaseproof paper; ordinary craft card is not made for direct food contact.

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same tapered tub at the same size — only the format changes.

PDF printing at home: Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate: Upload, lock it in place and design your tapered tub on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity: Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters: Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.

Getting it printed properly →

Printing it

Type your size above, then download the PDF.
Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
Too big for the paper? Pick your paper size and leave Fit the pieces to the page ticked: each piece gets its own place on a sheet and the PDF comes out with every page in it, nothing cut in half and nothing to tape.

How to put it together

These pictures are the tapered tub itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.
Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.
Fold, glue and hold
Fold the four walls up; the two long walls carry the tabs. Glue each tab behind the neighbouring wall.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let it dry before you use it.

Questions about the tapered tub

Why did my top size change?: Past a certain slope the four walls overlap each other when laid out flat, so no template exists. The generator eases the taper back to the steepest shape that still works and tells you what it used.
Can the top be smaller than the bottom?: Yes. Enter a smaller top size and the walls lean inwards instead, which gives a plant-pot shape.
Will it hold food?: Only with a food-safe liner or greaseproof paper. Plain card is not a food-contact material.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the tapered tub. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.

Templates like this one

Ready-made settings: Trapezoid box

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