Origami · folding only · Starter · about 7 minutes
Flat Whale
No scissors · No glue · No adult help needed
- Square of origami paper, 150 x 150 mm (6 x 6 in)
- Black marker or pencil for the eye
Blue dashes: valley fold (toward you). Pink dash-dot: mountain fold (away from you). Thick line with scissors: cut. Yellow: glue.
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Start. Put the square down like a diamond, with one corner pointing to each side and the white side facing up.
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1. Fold and unfold: Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner, then unfold it. Now there is a crease across the middle.
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2. Valley fold: Fold the top left edge down so it lies along the middle crease.
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3. Valley fold: Fold the bottom left edge up to the middle crease too. This shape is called a kite.
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4. Mountain fold: Fold the white corner on the right behind the paper. The fold goes from one side corner to the other.
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5. Mountain fold: Fold the bottom half behind along the middle crease.
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6. Mountain fold: Fold the top corner of the head behind, just a little, to round the head.
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7. Valley fold: Fold the thin end up on the slanted line to make the tail.
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8. Draw: Draw an eye and a smile on the big head. Your whale is ready to swim!
If something goes wrong
- The two kite flaps overlap or leave a gap in the middle. Each edge should lie exactly on the middle crease. Unfold and line the edge up with the crease, then press from the left point outward.
- The whale will not stay folded in half. Press the middle fold hard with your fingernail, or put the whale under a book for a minute.
- The tail is too small or points the wrong way. Unfold the tail and fold it again closer to the head, with the fold line slanting back toward the thin end.