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Origami Techniques

Understanding the Diagrams

By making this simple flower bud you will familiarize yourself with basic origami diagram conventions:

• Valley fold

• Mountain fold

• Follow this spot

• Rotate symbol

• Fold and unfold arrow

• Fold in front arrow

• Fold behind arrow

Step 1. Begin with a square piece of paper, plain side up if you are using origami paper. Fold the paper in half, bottom corner to the top corner, and then unfold. Here you see what the valley fold (dashed line) is and what the fold and unfold arrow looks like. Next, notice the rotate symbol next to the diagram. This means that you must position your paper to look like step 2 before making the next fold.

Step 2. You have rotated your paper so that the crease made in step 1 is running from the top corner to the bottom corner. Now, as indicated by the fold in front arrow, lift up the bottom corner to make a fold, but do not lift it all the way to the top. See the X, “follow this spot,” at the bottom corner. You need to look ahead to step 3 to see where the X should go.

Step 3. Fold up the left and right sides. Here, there is no X on the left and right sides. Even without the X, it is a good habit to look ahead to the next step, so you will be able to see what the paper should look like.

Step 4. Fold the bottom corner to the back. Here you will see the mountain fold indication (a broken dashed line) and the fold behind arrow.

Step 5. Now you have the finished flower bud! Make several tiny buds from two-inch square papers and paste them onto the front of a handmade card, or save them to decorate another project.

Practice Neat Folding

Neatness is important when you are folding. This simple exercise will help you practice matching edges—a straightforward task, but a common problem for many beginners who do not realize how important it is.

Step 1. Begin with a square of paper, plain side facing up. Fold it in half, corner to corner, and then unfold. Be sure to match the corners and the edges of the square carefully before you press the paper flat to “commit” the crease.

Step 2. Fold the two bottom edges to meet at the crease in the center, leaving approximately a one-millimeter gap between the two folded flap edges (to facilitate the fold in step 3). For neatness, fold only one side at a time, but be sure that the edges of the paper align with the crease exactly before you press the paper flat. This shape is often called the “Kite Base.” Many origami designs begin from this basic shape.