How to Make a Japanese Paper Lantern

Asian designs are resurging in popularity, especially in interior design. To add a Zen feeling to your home with the clean look of rice paper and the soft glow of muted light, follow these simple steps on making a Japanese paper lantern.

1. Find a mold for your lantern. Unless you are exceptionally skilled at making wire forms, you’ll need a guide.
   
   
   • If you want a rounded lantern, find an appropriately sized ball, bowl, vase, etc. to wrap the wire around.
   • If you want a polygonal lantern, either find a suitable object to wrap the wire around or make a unique mold out of scrap materials.
2. Wrap the wire around the mold. Start by wrapping the wire once around the bottom end of your form. Continue wrapping around your frame in a spiral until you get to the top.
   
   
   • Since the amount of wire you need will depend on the size of the lantern and tightness of the spirals, it may be a good idea to use wire directly off the spool instead of cutting it in advance.
   • Leave an opening at both the top and bottom of your wire frame; a totally enclosed lantern will trap heat and become a fire hazard.
   • Be sure to leave a length of free wire at either end.
3. Remove the wire frame from the mold. Be prepared to resize and reshape the frame when you’re done, as it may spring open slightly after removal.
   
   
   • Depending on the shape, you may need to pull your wire frame completely open in order to retrieve the mold. Do this gently so that you can reshape it easily when you’re done.
4. Secure each opening of your frame with wire. Where the top- and bottommost spirals end (and become extra wire), attach the extra wire to the nearest spiral in the frame to preserve the shape of the opening. You can do this either by wrapping the wire or with a soldering iron.
   
   
   • This should only use a bit of your extra wire; make sure you have some left for additional structuring.
5. Form a base for the lantern. Be sure to choose the opening that will have the lamp cord (if hanging) or lamp base (if upright) sticking through it. Your exact design will depend on the structure of the lamp you put the lantern on. Ex.:
   
   
   • If you plan to hang your lantern, run the extra wire at the top of the frame straight across the top opening, looping it once in the middle before wrapping or soldering it to the other side; when the lantern is ready to hang, you will run the lamp cord through this loop, tying a knot underneath to hold the lantern in place.
   • If your lantern will sit atop a lamp, run the extra wire at the bottom of the frame straight across the bottom opening, looping it once in the middle before wrapping or soldering it to the other side. Be sure the loop is large enough to accommodate the structure that will poke up through the bottom of the lantern.
   • Depending on the lamp, you may also need to do make structural adjustments to the opposite opening of the lantern.
6. Check for stability. Are there any weak parts in your frame?
   
   
   • If so, reinforce the frame by connecting the top and bottom openings with straight pieces of wire. (If you still have extra wire, this would be a good place to use it.) Either wrap the wires securely or solder them in place.
7. Cut paper panels. With a polygonal frame, this will be relatively simple because your paper will be roughly rectangular; with a round frame, you'll have to experiment with strips or almond-shaped panels of paper.
   
   
   • Decide how many panels you need. For a square or rectangular frame, you can either create a separate panel for each side or wrap the entire thing with one sheet
   • Cut the panels a little larger than they need to be so they can overlap.
8. Glue the first panel to the wire frame.
   
   
   • Wrap the top edge of the paper around the top opening in the wire frame and glue the paper to itself.
   • Stretching the paper taut, pull it down over the wire spirals to the bottom of the frame, where you will again wrap it around the opening and glue it.
   • Let dry completely.
9. Glue the remaining panels. From here on, you will be able to glue at least one edge of each panel to the neighboring panel.
   
   
   • Remember to wait until each panel is dry before adding another.
10. Decorate your lantern (optional). Lanterns often have characters or designs painted onto the sides. You may also want to paint your paper a solid color.
    
    

• Make sure that your frame can easily slip off of whatever you are using as a template for shape.
• If you use a strong light in your lantern, you can use thicker paper. Just keep in mind how well the paper will let the light through.
• When wrapping your spiral piece of wire, make sure you are leaving about the same amount of space between each tier.
• Make sure you are using suitable glue. It should be for paper but should not make the paper crinkle. If you are unsure whether it will warp the paper or not, test it on a scrap of the paper you will be using first, waiting for it to dry completely before examining.

• You can also use a tea light candle to light your lantern, but make sure it is mounted securely. Make sure that the flame doesn't come near the paper and that there is nothing burnable above the lantern; remember that the flame does not need to come into contact with a surface to light it on fire. Use caution if you use a candle and be sure to keep an eye on it. Never use this kind of lantern if there is wind.

• Rice or tissue paper
• Medium-gauge wire (around 20g) that is both flexible and strong
• Wire clippers
• Soldering iron
• Paper glue
• A form for your lantern
• A light
• Paint and paintbrushes to color the lamp (optional)