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A pink origami lily with four petals curling outward from a long, pale, narrow base.
The finished project.

Origami · folding only

Traditional Lily

  • Confident (level 4 of 5)
  • 35 min
  • 36 steps
  • Ages 9–14 (a guide, not a rule)
  • No scissors
  • No glue
  • No adult help needed
Start Making Print

The traditional lily is folded from the frog base, also called the lily base. You will practice the squash fold and the petal fold four times each, so by the last petal they feel easy. Turning the layers like pages lets you reach every face. Start white side up so the petals come out colored. Crease firmly and check each picture before you go on.

Before you start

You need

No square of origami paper? A bigger square, 20 cm (8 in), is easier for a first lily. No origami paper? Fold one corner of a printer sheet down to the opposite edge and tear off the extra strip to make a square. Printer paper is thicker, so use a big square.

How to place the paper before the first step
Your paper: Put the square down like a diamond, white side up, with one corner pointing up.
  • Valley fold: blue dashes. Fold toward you, like a valley.
  • Mountain fold: pink dash-dot. Fold away from you, like a mountain.
  • Crease: a thin gray line where you folded before.
  • Turn over: flip the whole model to its other side.
  • Rotate: turn the model on the table; the number says how far.

Step by step

Each step shows what to do (left) and how it should look after (right).

  1. Step 1: fold and unfold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 1 result Result
    Step 1 of 36 Fold and unfold Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. Crease well, then unfold.
  2. Step 2: fold and unfold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 2 result Result
    Step 2 of 36 Fold and unfold Fold the left corner over to the right corner. Crease, then unfold.
  3. Step 3: turn over, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 3 result Result
    Step 3 of 36 Turn over Turn the paper over so the colored side is up.
  4. Step 4: fold and unfold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 4 result Result
    Step 4 of 36 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. Step 5: fold and unfold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 5 result Result
    Step 5 of 36 Fold and unfold Fold in half the other way: lower right edge to upper left edge. Crease, then unfold.
  6. Step 6: push, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 6 result Result
    Step 6 of 36 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. Step 7: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 7 result Result
    Step 7 of 36 Squash fold Keep going until the top, left and right corners all lie on the bottom corner. Press flat. This is a square base, white on the outside.
  8. Step 8: open, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 8 result Result
    Step 8 of 36 Open Squash fold, part 1: lift the left flap until it stands straight up. Put a finger inside and open it a little. (Zoomed in: the square base is drawn bigger from here on, open end down.)
  9. Step 9: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 9 result Result
    Step 9 of 36 Squash fold Squash fold, part 2: press the folded top edge of the flap down onto the center line, so the flap spreads evenly to both sides. Press flat.
  10. Step 10: turn over, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 10 result Result
    Step 10 of 36 Turn over Turn the paper over from side to side.
  11. Step 11: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 11 result Result
    Step 11 of 36 Squash fold Squash the left flap on this side the same way: lift it, open it, and press its folded edge onto the center line.
  12. Step 12: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 12 result Result
    Step 12 of 36 Valley fold Turn one layer: fold the top layer on the left over to the right, like turning a page.
  13. Step 13: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 13 result Result
    Step 13 of 36 Squash fold Now an unsquashed flap is on the left. Squash it the same way.
  14. Step 14: turn over, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 14 result Result
    Step 14 of 36 Turn over Turn the paper over again.
  15. Step 15: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 15 result Result
    Step 15 of 36 Valley fold Fold the top layer on the left over to the right, like a page.
  16. Step 16: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 16 result Result
    Step 16 of 36 Squash fold Squash the last flap the same way. This is the frog base, also called the lily base.
  17. Step 17: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 17 result Result
    Step 17 of 36 Valley fold Turn one layer from right to left. Now the front is a smooth kite with no split at the bottom.
  18. Step 18: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 18 result Result
    Step 18 of 36 Valley fold Fold the lower edges of the top layer in to the center line.
  19. Step 19: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 19 result Result
    Step 19 of 36 Valley fold Fold the top triangle down over the flaps, along the line joining their top corners. Crease firmly.
  20. Step 20: unfold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 20 result Result
    Step 20 of 36 Unfold Unfold the top triangle and both side flaps. You now have three new creases.
  21. Step 21: pull, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 21 result Result
    Step 21 of 36 Pull Petal fold, part 1: lift the bottom corner of the top layer and swing it up on the flat crease. The sides fold in on the slanted creases.
  22. Step 22: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 22 result Result
    Step 22 of 36 Squash fold Petal fold, part 2: keep lifting until the corner reaches the top point. Press the sides flat so their edges meet on the center line.
  23. Step 23: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 23 result Result
    Step 23 of 36 Valley fold Fold the petal back down. Its sides stay folded in, so the bottom of this face is now narrow.
  24. Step 24: turn over, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 24 result Result
    Step 24 of 36 Turn over Turn the paper over.
  25. Step 25: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 25 result Result
    Step 25 of 36 Valley fold Turn one layer from right to left, like a page. Another smooth kite is on top.
  26. Step 26: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 26 result Result
    Step 26 of 36 Squash fold Petal fold this kite the same way (make the three creases, then lift the corner up). Then fold the petal back down.
  27. Step 27: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 27 result Result
    Step 27 of 36 Valley fold Turn two layers from left to right together, like turning two pages. A smooth kite is on top.
  28. Step 28: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 28 result Result
    Step 28 of 36 Squash fold Petal fold this kite too, then fold its petal back down.
  29. Step 29: turn over, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 29 result Result
    Step 29 of 36 Turn over Turn the paper over once more.
  30. Step 30: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 30 result Result
    Step 30 of 36 Valley fold Turn two layers from left to right to find the last smooth kite.
  31. Step 31: squash fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 31 result Result
    Step 31 of 36 Squash fold Petal fold the last kite and fold its petal back down. All four corners of the square are now narrow petals.
  32. Step 32: rotate, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 32 result Result
    Step 32 of 36 Rotate Turn the model around so the petal points are at the top and the closed point is at the bottom.
  33. Step 33: valley fold, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 33 result Result
    Step 33 of 36 Valley fold Fold the lower edges of the top layer in to the center line, starting at the bottom point. This makes the base of the lily thin.
  34. Step 34: turn over, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 34 result Result
    Step 34 of 36 Turn over Narrow the other three faces the same way. Turn over for the back face, then turn two layers at a time to reach each inside face.
  35. Step 35: open, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 35 result Result
    Step 35 of 36 Open Fold the four petals down and out, one at a time, so they spread evenly around the thin base. Four small points stay standing between them.
  36. Step 36: curl, shown on the paper Do this
    Step 36 result Result
    Step 36 of 36 Curl Curl each petal: roll its tip outward around a pencil, then slide the pencil out. Your lily is ready!
A pink origami lily with four petals curling outward from a long, pale, narrow base.

You made it!

Yours may look a little different. That is part of making things by hand.

Print the steps

If something goes wrong

The square base will not fold flat.

Make the corner-to-corner creases white side up and the edge-to-edge creases colored side up, and crease them all sharply.

A squash fold comes out lopsided.

Open it again and line the folded edge up exactly with the center line before you press. Both sides of the new kite should match.

You cannot find a smooth kite to petal fold.

Turn one layer at a time like a page until the front kite has no split at the bottom. Keep four layers on each side when you can.

The petal fold wrinkles at the sides.

Make the three creases very sharp first, and lift only the top layer. Let the sides fold in on their own creases.

The petals uncurl.

Roll each tip around the pencil a little more tightly and hold it for a few seconds before you slide the pencil out.

Helpful hints

  • Crease every fold with your fingernail: the lily depends on sharp creases.
  • Every squash and every petal fold is the same move. If one looks wrong, compare it with the one you already made.
  • When a step says "top layer", lift just that layer with a fingertip before you fold.

The traditional origami lily (also called the iris), folded from the frog base, which is also called the lily base. Diagrams drawn for PlayOwl.

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