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.

To make one, lift part of the paper, bring it over the rest along the marked line, line up the edges or corners the diagram shows, then press the crease flat from the middle outward. In diagrams a valley fold is drawn as a dashed line, usually with an arrow showing which way the paper travels.

The most common mistake is creasing before the edges are aligned. Hold the points in place with one finger, check them, and only then run a fingernail along the fold. Creasing from the center outward also stops the paper from shifting.

How to fold a valley fold, step by step

1
Lay the paper on a hard, flat table with the side the diagram shows facing up. Folding in the air or on your lap makes every crease less accurate.
2
Find where the fold goes: a dashed line on the diagram, or the two points the step asks you to bring together, such as corner to corner or edge to edge.
3
Lift the moving part of the paper and carry it over the rest toward its target, keeping it flat rather than rolling it.
4
Line up the edges or corners exactly and pin them in place with one fingertip.
5
Press the fold down in the middle first, then smooth outward to each end.
6
Sharpen the crease by running a fingernail along its full length.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

The edges don’t quite meet
Check the alignment before you press, not after. Once the crease is made, pressing harder only locks the error in, so unfold, line the points up again and refold.
The crease is soft or wavy
Press from the center outward and finish with a fingernail. Soft creases let the paper drift in later steps, and the error grows with every fold.
The flap ended up behind the model
That is a mountain fold. A valley fold always brings the paper toward you and over the top, so unfold and send the flap the other way.

When you’ll use it

Almost every step of almost every model is a valley fold, so it is worth getting good at it before anything else. Easy models such as the Paper Cup and the Fox Face use nothing else. In harder models it is still the building block: a pleat is a valley fold followed by a fold back the other way, and the creases you collapse into bases begin as valley folds made and unfolded. Accuracy matters more than speed. If your finished models look slightly crooked, the cause is almost always a few valley folds whose corners did not quite meet, not the difficult moves later on.

Practice it on these models

Advanced15 min · 19 steps

Paper Crane

The origami crane is the traditional Japanese orizuru, a bird with spread wings folded from a single square without cuts or glue. It is an advanced model: expect about 15 minutes for your first one, mostly spent learning the petal fold and inside reverse fold.

Easy5 min · 10 steps

Paper Boat

The origami paper boat is a classic folded from a rectangular sheet, passing through a paper hat on the way to a small boat that really floats. It is an easy model that most children and adults finish in about five minutes.

Easy3 min · 6 steps

Lucky Star

An origami lucky star is a tiny, puffy five-pointed star made by knotting a long paper strip into a pentagon and wrapping it. It is easy and takes about three minutes, though the final puffing step needs a light touch.

Easy5 min · 8 steps

Origami Heart

The origami heart is a flat, symmetrical heart shape folded from one square, ideal for slipping into a card or envelope. It is an easy model that takes around five minutes and uses only simple valley and mountain folds.

Valley fold: questions

How is a valley fold drawn in origami diagrams?+

As a dashed line where the crease will be, usually with a curved arrow showing which part of the paper moves and where it lands. In our animations you can watch the flap travel toward you before you fold it yourself.

What is the difference between a valley fold and a mountain fold?+

They are the same fold seen from opposite sides. A valley fold leaves a dip facing you; a mountain fold leaves a ridge. Turn a valley-folded sheet over and the crease becomes a mountain fold.