Origami folds & bases
A handful of moves builds almost every traditional model. Learn what each one is, how to fold it cleanly and where you’ll meet it.
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How to read origami diagrams
Dashed lines, dash-dot lines, arrows and symbols — decoded.
Valley fold
A valley fold is a fold where the paper bends toward you, so the crease sinks down like a valley with the two sides rising on either side of it.
Learn it →Mountain fold
A mountain fold is a fold where the paper bends away from you, so the crease rises toward you like a ridge.
Learn it →Crease (fold and unfold)
A crease, or fold-and-unfold, is a fold that you make firmly and then open again so the line stays in the paper as a guide for later steps.
Learn it →Squash fold
A squash fold is a move where you open a flap and press it flat into a new, symmetrical shape, usually along an existing crease.
Learn it →Petal fold
A petal fold is a move where you lift one layer of a point upward while its sides fold inward, producing a long, narrow diamond.
Learn it →Inside reverse fold
An inside reverse fold is a move where a point is pushed inside itself between its layers, reversing the direction of the crease.
Learn it →Outside reverse fold
An outside reverse fold is a move where the layers of a point are wrapped around the outside of the model, reversing the crease in the opposite way to an inside reverse fold.
Learn it →Rabbit ear
A rabbit ear is a move where two edges of a triangular flap are folded inward at the same time, so the paper between them stands up as a thin point that is then laid to one side.
Learn it →Pleat
A pleat is a pair of neighboring folds, one valley and one mountain, that creates a zigzag step in the paper.
Learn it →Preliminary base (square base)
The preliminary base, also called the square base, is a traditional starting shape in which a square collapses into a smaller square with four flaps and all the open corners at one end.
Learn it →Waterbomb base
The waterbomb base is a traditional starting shape in which a square collapses into a triangle with two flaps on each side.
Learn it →Bird base
The bird base is a traditional starting shape made by petal folding both sides of a preliminary base, giving a long diamond with two narrow flaps at the top and two split flaps at the bottom.
Learn it →Blintz fold
A blintz fold is the move of folding all four corners of a square in to its center point, producing a smaller square rotated 45 degrees.
Learn it →Turn over and rotate symbols
The turn over and rotate symbols are diagram marks that tell you either to flip the paper to show its other side or to spin it flat on the table without flipping.
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