Fold a single square of paper into a delicate origami butterfly with this mindful 13-step craft. It’s a calming way to slow down, focus the mind and create something beautiful from a single piece of paper.
Origami is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, and it’s one of the most calming crafts you can try. With just a square of paper and a little patience, you can transform a flat sheet into a delicate butterfly that looks beautiful as decor, a gift topper or a thoughtful note for a friend. Follow the 13 steps below to fold yours.
MATERIALS NEEDED
- 1 square sheet of paper (origami paper, patterned scrapbook paper, or any thin paper cut into a square)
- A flat surface for folding
- Optional: a bone folder, ruler or fingernail for sharper creases
HOW TO MAKE AN ORIGAMI BUTTERFLY STEP BY STEP
1 MAKE THE FIRST CREASES
Fold a square piece of paper in half horizontally. Unfold. Fold the square in half vertically. Unfold. You should now have a crease running through the middle of the paper both ways.
2 FOLD THE SIDES TO THE CENTRE
Fold the left and right sides to meet the central vertical crease.
3 FOLD THE TOP AND BOTTOM IN
Fold the top and bottom edges inward to meet in the central horizontal crease. Unfold.
4 CREATE A DIAGONAL CREASE
Fold along the dotted line, then unfold.
5 FORM THE BOTTOM BOAT SHAPE
Align the bottom edge with the horizontal crease in the middle of the model. At the same time, open the flaps that you created by making a crease in the previous step, pulling them apart and down until the top of the model meets the centre crease. The bottom half of the model should now look like a boat.
6 REPEAT ON THE TOP HALF
Repeat steps 4 and 5 on the top half of the model so both halves now form mirrored boat shapes.
7 BRING THE BOTTOM CORNERS TOGETHER
Fold along the dotted line to bring the corners of the bottom boat shape together.
8 FOLD THE TOP INTO A TRIANGLE
Fold the top boat shape backwards along the dotted line to create a triangle shape.
9 FOLD THE UPPER CORNERS
Fold the left and right corners of the upper layer along the dotted line.
10 FOLD THE BUTTERFLY IN HALF
Fold the butterfly in half along the dotted line.
11 SHAPE THE FIRST WING
Fold the top of the wing along the dotted line.
12 SHAPE THE SECOND WING
Repeat the fold in step 11 on the other side to create a triangular crease.
13 OPEN OUT YOUR BUTTERFLY
Open the butterfly and push the triangle you have just created through to create a mountain fold. Turn it over and admire your beautiful new origami butterfly. Take a cute snap and tag us in your photos – we’d love to see all of your creations! @teenbreatheau
This activity was originally published in Issue 49. You can get this issue here to enjoy more mindful inspiration.
