In 2024 I designed a modular dragon lantern for Lunar New Year, with interchangeable panels so it could be reused year after year. The lantern was designed so the panels can be swapped out for different Chinese Zodiac animals, allowing the same structure to evolve year after year.
✂️ Jump to video tutorial
• Dragon Lantern Video Tutorial
This interchangeable system was first expanded with my Snake panel in 2025, and it continues with the Horse panel featured here for the Year of the Horse 2026. Each zodiac animal is designed to work with the original Dragon Lantern base, allowing you to refresh your lantern for each Lunar New Year while keeping the same core structure.
✨ Need the Dragon Lantern Base?
The Horse Lantern panel is designed to be used with the original Dragon Lantern base. If you don’t already have the Dragon Lantern, you’ll need it to assemble a complete lantern.
👉 Get the Dragon Lantern on Etsy
👉 Get the Dragon Lantern from my Blog Shop
If you’ve already purchased my Dragon Lantern SVG, you only need this Horse panel to create a complete Horse lantern. The base structure and assembly remain the same — simply swap in the Horse panels.
✨ Horse Lantern Panel
If you already own the Dragon Lantern, you can use this Horse panel to create a Horse lantern for Lunar New Year 2026.
👉 Horse Lantern Panel on Etsy
👉 Horse Lantern Panel from my Blog Shop
Also available:
The Snake Lantern panel from the previous Lunar New Year is designed to work with the same Dragon Lantern base.
👉 Snake Lantern Panel on Etsy
👉 Snake Lantern Panel from my Blog Shop
For full assembly instructions, you can refer to my Dragon Lantern tutorial video below. When assembling your Horse lantern, simply substitute the Horse panels wherever the dragon or Chinese knot panels appear in the tutorial.
✻✻✻ Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I’m trying to avoid having ads on my site so if it’s a product you were planning on purchasing anyway, please consider purchasing through my links. I really appreciate your support ! ✻✻✻
Materials
Dragon Lantern SVG
Horse Lantern Panel SVG
Cutting Machine
65lb Red Cardstock Paper
Gold Paper (Please see my dragon lantern tutorial for more information on types of gold papers)
OR Origami Gold Paper #1
OR Origami Gold Paper #2
OR Kodamaa Gold Cardstock Paper
Double Sided Tape
Tacky Glue
Small Paint Brush
Dragon Lantern Video Tutorial
I hope you enjoy creating this traditional lantern design for Lunar New Year! Follow me on Instagram and Pinterest @chaivdesign for daily inspiration and sneak peeks of new projects. Thank you so much for supporting my work!
