DIY Witch Hat that GLOWS! 🦇 Free SVG

Looking for DIY witch hat décor for Halloween that’s fun to make and looks amazing when finished? This 3D paper lantern might be just the thing.

Cut the free SVG from cardstock and vellum with your Cricut machine then put the lantern together piece by piece.

It glows beautifully when you place a battery-powered light inside. It makes a wonderful table centerpiece, but you can also display it on a shelf, mantel, or windowsill to add a spooky glow to your Halloween decorations.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through every step of the witch hat craft process — from downloading the free design to assembling the project — so you can make your own glowing witch hat lantern at home.

Video tutorial for DIY witch hat lantern

Watch the video below to see how to make this light-up craft project. Keep scrolling for a written tutorial.

Materials list for slot-together witch hat project

Here is a list of the materials that you will need to make this craft project.

Please note that some of the links included in this article are affiliate links, which means that if you click through and make a purchase I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). You can read my full disclosure at the bottom of the page.

• Cricut Machine
• Light blue Cricut cutting mat
• Coloured Card – I used black and purple glitter
• Craft glue (I like Bearly Art Glue and Collall All Purpose Glue)
• 3D foam pads
• Translucent vellum, tracing paper or similar
• Sticky tape
• Lights to go inside the lantern such as submersible lights, battery powered tea lights or fairy lights with small battery packs

When choosing your cardstock, the thickness doesn’t matter too much, but your lantern will be sturdier with thicker card. Aim for cardstock around 220-270gsm / 80-100lb.

What lights work best inside the lanterns?

Never use a real flame/candle as your lantern will catch fire!!

Instead, choose battery powered lights.

As you are putting the light in an enclosed space with the walls made from cardstock, it is essential that you choose lights that do NOT get warm during use.

Option 1: Battery powered tea lights

The lanterns have been designed to perfectly fit a battery powered tealight inside. This is a nice option to add, especially if you choose one with a flickering effect.

However, they do not give off much light, so the other lighting options below may be more effective.

Find battery powered tea lights on Amazon

Option 2: Submersible LED lights

This is my favourite lighting option. These tiny little lights come with a remote control to change the colour. You can even make your own disco light show by having them flash or fade through all the different colours!

Find submersible lights on Amazon

Option 3: Fairy lights

Putting a string of fairy lights inside the lanterns gives the brightest overall effect.

However, as they are quite large and take up lots of room, you can see the edges of the strings of lights when you look at the lanterns from certain angles, so it is perhaps not the neatest of options.

Choose lights with small battery packs and make sure you unravel/unwrap the lights from the battery pack before using them, for safety reasons.

Find fairy lights on Amazon

DIY Halloween lantern instructions

This tutorial was made using Design Space version 9.34.32, filmed in September 2025. Later versions may look different.

Step 1) Download the free file & unzip the downloaded folder

Want to skip the upload process? This project is available on my Design Space profile already set up ready to cut, but you’ll need the Cricut Access subscription to be able to cut it for free. Click here to open the Project in Design Space. Don’t have Cricut Access? Use the download box below instead for a 100% free version.

Before you upload the SVGs to Design Space, you need to unzip the download folder that they come in.

• How to unzip a folder on Windows computer
• How to unzip a folder on a Mac
• How to unzip a folder on an iPad/iPhone
• How to unzip a folder on an Android device

After unzipping, upload the SVG file(s) into your cutting machine software.

Not sure how to use cut files with your type of machine? The following links lead to videos on how to open cut files in:

• Cricut Design Space
• Silhouette Studio
• CanvasWorkspace (for ScanNCut machines)

The download folder also contains printable PDF versions of the templates for hand cutting.

Step 2) Upload the SVG file into Design Space

If you are using Cricut Design Space, start a new project and then click the “Upload” button on the left of the screen.

You can then either click “Browse” to find the file on your computer, or drag-and-drop it.

Upload the file called svg-01-lantern-witch-hat-craftwithsarah.svg

This is how it should look after you have selected the file:

Don’t worry if the image preview appears blurry – it will show in full quality once it’s inserted onto your project.

Press “Upload” on the next screen.

After uploading, the lantern design should be automatically inserted onto your Canvas.

In June 2025, Cricut introduced a feature where you get a “pop out” bar of similar images when you Upload a design. To hide this bar (to give you more space for designing!), click the arrow that’s about half way down the page.

If the design doesn’t get inserted onto your Canvas, it will show under “Uploads” in your “Recently Uploaded Images”. Click on it and then press “Add to Canvas” to put it onto your Project.

Step 3) Prepare the project for cutting

The entire size of the lantern should be 14 inches wide and 24 inches tall.

If not, resize the design to match those measurements.

You may see a red exclamation mark in the layers panel, with an error message stating the file is too large to cut.

If so, click the design then press the “Ungroup” button and the error will disappear.

The witch hat SVG loads in ready to cut, so you don’t need to make any further changes.

Step 4) Cut the project

Most of the design will be cut from cardstock, but there are some exceptions.

The bright blue shapes that appear at the bottom of the file should be cut from a translucent material such as vellum, tracing paper or butcher paper.

If you don’t have anything semi-transparent then a full transparent material such as acetate or the cover of an old Cricut mat would work too, but it won’t be quite as effective as you will see the light mechanisms inside the lantern.

Click “Make” to begin the cut process.

You can change the paper size with the dropdowns on the left of the screen. You need to change it for every colour.

You can drag-and-drop the pieces on the screen to move them about to take up less space on your cardstock.

Make sure that no pieces overlap, otherwise they won’t cut out correctly.

I use the “Vellum” setting to cut my tracing paper. Be careful when taking it off your Cricut mat as the tiny triangle cutouts along the bottoms can cause them to tear. It’s easier to remove them from the top side that doesn’t have the triangle cutouts.

Step 5) Stick the window panels together

I used Bearly Art Glue to stick the project together.

It’s SO good because it doesn’t “warp” or bend the cardstock like some glues do. You can use as much of it as you want and the card stays perfect – and it dries perfectly clear too!

Collall All-Purpose Glue is another great one to use for cardstock, although it’s a solvent glue so it has a bit of a smell to it.

Turn the window panels upside down so you are looking at the bottom side.

Carefully add a small amount of glue around the edges and glue the vellum pieces to the backs.

Use glue or foam squares to stick the spider cutouts on the front of the window panels.

Fold the tabs along the bottom outwards towards you.

Step 6) Stick the base together

Glue the circular decorative piece onto the main black base.

Step 7) Assemble the lantern structure

The main body of the hat is made from three tall triangular pieces that slot together.

Start with the piece that has a slit at the bottom.

Take the second piece (the one with a slit at the top and bottom) and slot it into the first.

Hold those two pieces flat against each other and slide the third lantern structure piece into the middle.

You’ll now have a six-sided structure that is freestanding.

Take the smallest of the two circles and slot it into the top of the lantern structure.

The small slits in the side of the circle will go into the slits in the top of the lantern.

This part can be a bit fiddly, so go slowly and be careful not to tear the cardstock.

Slot the larger circle into the bottom of the lantern structure.

The sides “hook” in, sort of like a clothes hanger. This locks the structure together and makes it strong.

At the very bottom of the hat are several small tabs. Push each one through the slits in the base to attach the top of the hat to the bottom. Then fold them over.

Depending on your cardstock, the folded tabs may stay in place on their own. If they don’t, add a little piece of tape to hold them.

Step 8) Finish the lantern

Slot five of the six side panels into the lantern.

The rounded tabs go into the top of the lantern and the bottom tabs thread through the remaining holes. Again, you may need tape to secure them.

Add your light inside, turn it on, then put in the final side panel.

The side panels can easily be unhooked to turn the light off.

Your DIY witch hat craft project is now finished!

100+ additional lantern designs

If you like this eagle lantern, check out these other 3D papercraft luminary designs for over 100 more projects.

Here is a small selection of the lantern designs available:

The lanterns shown above are available to purchase for $5 USD each. If there are several projects you’re interested in, you could save money by joining Papercraft Porch.

For just $20, you can download up to TEN lanterns (or other types of design) every month!

That’s 10 lanterns… for the price of 4!!

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Turn off the room lights and watch your witch hat lantern glow. The spiderwebs and vellum panels create a spooky, magical effect.

This lantern makes a wonderful Halloween decoration for your home. Try making a few and placing them on your mantel, dining table, or windowsill for a festive display.

This witch hat lantern is easier than it looks. With just cardstock, vellum, glue, and a battery-powered light, you can make a decoration that feels special and handmade.

Happy crafting,
Sarah x