DIY Red Pockets

Hi everyone!

Last month, I had to attend a friend's wedding and I could not find any red pockets at home or anywhere near where I live. Then I thought maybe I should make my own red pocket. If you encounter similar situations in the future, hopefully by the end of this post you will know how to make your own red pockets!


Preview:



For those who are a little confused at the moment, I will briefly explain the relationship between red pockets and weddings, as well as with  Chinese New Year (CNY) / Lunar New Year.


Red pockets to CNY is like Christmas presents to Christmas! The only difference is that red pockets recipients need to be unmarried. Generally, married couples will give red pockets (with money in them) to the younger generation / kids during CNY to symbolize luck. So basically they are for relatives who are younger than the married couple and aren't married. The red pockets will be distributed when they are visiting the married couple's house during CNY.


Apart from its popularity during the CNY, it is also a Chinese tradition to give red pockets as gifts for newlyweds. This is probably the only exception where you can give red pockets although you are still not married. It is a very similar concept to giving gift cards. Chinese parents sometimes give red pockets for their kids as birthday presents too! 

This photo will give you an idea of how traditional red pockets look like:

Image source: Zopim

Red pockets these days:

Image source: Matisse Design

Image source: Bapenerd

Image source: Herworldplus

I really like the Chloe's red pockets. They are technically not even red, but they look so sleek! 

Alrighty, now I am going to show you how I DIY-ed my 'red' pockets.

Materials:
1. Origami paper (1 piece of paper makes 1 red pocket). I got a packet that has 4 different patterns (see below);
2. A pair of scissors, a ruler, a pencil, and a double-sided tape;
3. Stickers / decorations as you wish.

Instructions:

1. Take a piece of the origami and lay it flat on a surface (with the blank side facing up);

2. Measure about 1/3 from the right and fold it vertically inwards to the left;


3. Fold the left side of the origami vertically inwards to the right. Make sure that it overlaps a little bit to the folded side on the right to allow for glueing space, but don't glue them together just yet;


4. Reopen the folded origami, you will have a piece of paper with 2 vertical folded lines;

On each of the folded line, measure 7 cm and mark the ends with a pencil. Mark them on the same height and join these marks to form 2 horizontal lines. Once you have done this, you will notice that you have a rectangular shape right in the middle (7 cm x +-5 cm) for the body of the red envelope;

5. Trace a half-circle shape on top of the first horizontal line, using the inner edge of the double-sided tape to create a fuller half-circle. Repeat the same step underneath the second horizontal line. But this time try using the outer edge of the double-sided tape to make a flatter circle.


6. Cut along the lines that you drew, and glue them all to form a small envelope, except the top half-circle.


7. Cut approximately 5 cm length near the opening of the envelope to create a slit for the envelope 'lid' to be tucked into; 


8. Add stickers / decorations to personalise the red pockets.

Voila! Congratulations on making your first ever red pockets. Once you get a hang of it, you can start making more and creating other designs.





Here is the youtube tutorial:


Personal tips:

1. Instead of using origami papers, you may opt for gift-wrapping papers. You may need to measure and cut the width and length of the gift-wrap paper based on your preference;
2. If you are using a paper glue instead of a double-sided tape like me, you may use a cup or bowl to draw the half-circle for the red pocket opening;
3. Be creative. You may place the stickers on the other side of the red pockets (unlike mine - I placed the stickers at the back of the pockets).

If you are going to try this, let me know how you go. I am interested to see them! So tag me on instagram and add a hashtag "ALTFDIY4" or "ALTFDIY" which stands for "a little too free DIY".

If you are interested to see other DIY posts, don't forget to follow my social media to get more updates on my new projects:
Instagram: @fragilekuromi
Youtube: alittletoofree
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GOOD LUCK!


<3,

Evans

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