Origami · folding only · Confident · about 30 minutes

Traditional Crane

No scissors · No glue · No adult help needed

Square of origami paper, 150 x 150 mm (6 x 6 in)

Finished

Blue dashes: valley fold (toward you). Pink dash-dot: mountain fold (away from you). Thick line with scissors: cut. Yellow: glue.

Start. Put the square down like a diamond, colored side up, with one corner pointing up.
1. Fold and unfold: Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. Crease well, then unfold.
2. Fold and unfold: Fold the left corner over to the right corner. Crease, then unfold.
3. Turn over: Turn the paper over so the white side is up.
4. Fold and unfold: Fold the paper in half edge to edge: bring the lower left edge up to the upper right edge. Crease, then unfold.
5. Fold and unfold: Fold in half the other way: lower right edge to upper left edge. Crease, then unfold.
6. Push: Push the left and right corners in toward the middle. The creases fold by themselves and the top corner tips down toward you.
7. Squash fold: Keep going until the top, left and right corners all lie on the bottom corner. Press flat. This is a square base.
8. Valley fold: Fold the lower edges of the top layer in to the center line. The open end stays at the bottom.
9. Valley fold: Fold the top triangle down over the flaps, along the line joining their top corners.
10. Unfold: Unfold the top triangle and both side flaps. You now have three new creases.
11. Pull: Petal fold, part 1: lift the bottom corner of the top layer and swing it up on the horizontal crease. The sides start to fold in.
12. Squash fold: Petal fold, part 2: keep lifting until the corner points up, then press the sides flat so their edges meet on the center line.
13. Turn over: Turn the paper over from side to side.
14. Fold and unfold: Make the same three creases on this side: fold both lower edges to the center line and unfold, then fold the top triangle down and unfold.
15. Squash fold: Petal fold this side too: lift the bottom corner up and press the sides in. This long diamond is a bird base.
16. Valley fold: The two bottom points are the legs. Fold the lower edges of the top layer in to the center line to make them thin.
17. Turn over: Turn the paper over again, from side to side.
18. Valley fold: Fold the lower edges in to the center line on this side too. Both legs are now thin.
19. Fold and unfold: Fold the left leg up along the slanted line, crease and unfold. Do the same with the right leg.
20. Inside reverse fold: Inside-reverse fold, part 1: open the layers of the left leg a little and push the leg up between them, along the creases.
21. Squash fold: Inside-reverse fold, part 2: close the layers and press flat. The leg now points up: this is the neck.
22. Inside reverse fold: Inside-reverse fold the right leg the same way. Open its layers and push it up along the creases.
23. Squash fold: Close the layers and press flat. This point is the tail.
24. Fold and unfold: Near the tip of the neck, fold the tip down along a slanted line. Crease and unfold.
25. Inside reverse fold: Inside-reverse fold the tip: open the neck a little, push the tip down inside on the crease, and press flat. This is the head.
26. Valley fold: Fold the front wing down along the line joining the bottoms of the neck and tail.
27. Mountain fold: Fold the back wing down behind, the same way.
28. Pull: Hold the crane under its body and gently lift both wings up and out. Your crane is ready to fly!

If something goes wrong

The square base will not fold flat. Check the creases: the two corner-to-corner folds are made colored side up, the two edge-to-edge folds white side up. Crease them all sharply and try again.
The petal fold tears or wrinkles at the sides. Make the three creases (two side folds and the top fold) very sharp first, and lift only the top layer. Let the sides fold in on their own creases.
The neck or tail will not go up inside. Pre-crease the slanted line firmly in both directions, then open the leg wider before you push it up.
The two halves of the bird base do not match. The second petal fold should land exactly on top of the first. Unfold it and line the corners up again.