Origami Star
Origami is the Japanese art of paper folding, and there are a myriad of things which can be made using this ancient art. An origami star is one such thing, and it is fairly simple for something so beautiful. To make an origami star, all one really needs is origami paper and a pair of scissors. A pencil may also be needed for setting the creases. Making origami stars is a great, fun activity for children, craft classes, and even for adults. One you have mastered the technique, it’s a blast experimenting with stars of different sizes and using them for decorative purposes. How do you make an origami star?
Required Materials
- Origami paper
Required Tools
- A pair of scissors
Instructions
- Get some origami paper – This can be bought at Asian stationery store, some craft stores, or online. If it is difficult to get origami paper, just about any paper will do: printer paper, gift-wrap paper and even newspaper.
- Cut a strip that is about ½ inch wide and 11 inches long. A letter-sized sheet is 11 inches long, so it should be easy to cut it into ½ inch strips.
- Tie a knot at the end of the paper strip. A good way to form the knot is hold the paper at about a quarter of its length, and wrap the short part around your finger.
- Pull at the remaining short part of the paper (the tail of the knot) and flatten the knot, until a pentagon (five-sided shape) is formed. Use a pencil to define the creases, if necessary.
- Tuck in the tail of the knot, and then begin folding the strip of paper around the pentagon. Follow the shape of the pentagon – the easiest way is to move the pentagon itself, so the strip will wrap naturally around it.
- Keep folding- tightly and carefully- until you get to the end of the strip, then tuck the end into the nearest fold. The finished product should be a flat pentagon.
- Form the star shape by pressing it at the centre of each side of the pentagon. This is the hardest step, and must be done with care. Hold the pentagon between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and, using a finger (or fingernail) on the other hand, press in halfway between two pentagon points. Do this for the other sides of the pentagon and that’s it – you have just made an origami star!
- Make some more!
Tips and Warnings
- When children are making stars, cut the strips for them beforehand. It is not safe for them to be handling scissors, especially in a group setting.
- See to it that the side of the paper you want as the star pattern is the side that shows when folding.
- If the pentagon is not wrapped tightly enough, instead of denting neatly, it might bend.
- To make bigger – or smaller – stars, experiment with different paper lengths and widths.