Print-only · not scored
Cake pan practice sheets: wrap-around border templates
Quick answer
Pick your pan size and side height, download the PDF and print it at 100%. Tape the pages into one strip (66.3 cm for an 8 in pan), wrap it round the outside of the pan, cover it with parchment or acetate and pipe each border row on a real curved, upright side.
Flat sheets teach the move, but a cake's side is curved and vertical: the bag angle, your wrist and gravity all change. These strips put the same shells, stars and ruffles from our flat practice sheets round a real pan, at true size.
These wrap sheets are for practice only and are not scored. There are no corner squares, and a photo of a curved pan cannot be lined up with the template. To get a score, pipe a flat practice sheet.
Make your wrap sheet
66.3 cm strip (63.8 cm round the pan + 2.5 cm overlap) × 7.6 cm tall, on 3 landscape A4 pages.
Built on your device when you press download. Print at 100% ("actual size"), not "fit to page".
The printed pages
- Page 1 of 3
- Page 2 of 3
- Page 3 of 3
What you pipe
Each row reuses a stroke from one of our flat sheets, with the same tip, bead size, spacing and squeeze rhythm.
| # | Row | Tip | Bead | Squeeze rhythm | Cue | Flat sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shell border | 21 | 11 mm, every 10 mm | squeeze → ease → pull | Squeeze and let the icing fan out, ease off, then pull away to make the tail. | Shell border |
| 2 | Reverse shells | 21 | 11 mm, every 10 mm | squeeze → ease → pull | Pipe one shell leaning left, the next leaning right, and keep the tails tucked in. | Reverse shells |
| 3 | Star border | 21 | 10 mm | squeeze → stop → lift | Hold the bag straight up, squeeze, stop squeezing, then lift straight up. | Stars |
How to use a cake pan practice sheet
Print every page at 100% ("actual size"), landscape. Check that the bar on each page measures exactly 10 cm.
Cut along the dashed lines: the top and bottom edges of the strip, the left edge of every page after page 1, and the end of the last page.
Lay each page over the grey glue tab of the page before. Line up its cut edge with the solid join line and the + marks, then glue or tape.
Wrap the strip round the outside of the pan, printed side out, top edge level with the rim. Tuck the hatched overlap under the start and tape it.
Cover the strip with parchment or a clear acetate sheet, tape it at the back, and pipe each row along the grey shapes, following the arrows.
Scrape the icing off and pipe again. These wrap sheets are for practice only: they are not scored.
Tips for piping on the side
- Sit the pan on a turntable at chest height, or upside down on a smaller tin, so you can see the side straight on.
- Turn the pan, not your body: keep the bag in the same place and rotate a little after every few shells or stars.
- Gravity pulls icing down on a vertical side. Use a slightly stiffer buttercream than for flat practice and hold the bag closer.
- Pipe the bottom border with the bag at about 45° to the side, tip just touching the base line, as you would on a real cake.
Learn the move flat first: the shell border, stars and ruffle border sheets can be scored from one photo, so you can see what to fix before you move to the pan.