Origami · folding only · Growing · about 10 minutes
Flat Folded Windmill
No scissors · No glue · No adult help needed
- Square of origami paper, 150 x 150 mm (6 x 6 in)
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 up and the colored side facing up.
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1. Fold and unfold: Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner. Press, then unfold.
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2. Fold and unfold: Fold the left corner over to the right corner. Press, then unfold. The creases cross in the middle.
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3. Valley fold: Fold the top corner and the bottom corner to the middle, where the creases cross.
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4. Valley fold: Fold the left corner and the right corner to the middle too. Now you have a smaller square.
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5. Valley fold: Make the first sail: fold the point of the top flap back up with a slanted fold from its left corner. The point pokes out past the top edge.
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6. Valley fold: Fold the right flap's point out the same way, starting at its top corner. It pokes out past the right edge.
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7. Valley fold: Fold the bottom flap's point out, starting at its right corner. It pokes out past the bottom edge.
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8. Valley fold: Fold the left flap's point out, starting at its bottom corner. All four sails now turn the same way.
If something goes wrong
- The sails are different sizes. Start every sail fold exactly at a corner of the small square, and end it at the same spot on each flap.
- One sail points the wrong way. Turn the paper a quarter turn after each sail so you always fold the top flap from its left corner.
- The flaps do not meet in the middle. Unfold and line each corner up exactly with the point where the two creases cross.