Creativity in every crease
Origami heart
Fold one square of duo-coloured paper into a heart in twelve steps.
- Super easy
- 12 steps
- About 10 minutes
- 1 square sheet
Paper: One 6 × 6 in (15 × 15 cm) square of duo-coloured Kami.
Your heart is ready!
12
folds from flat square to heart
2
creases you make before folding
15cm
square duo-coloured Kami works best
0
cuts, glue or tape needed
Before you fold
Every diagram uses the same three marks. Learn them once and the rest of the page reads itself.
Dashed line
Fold along here. The line disappears inside the model once folded.
Curved arrow
Which way the paper travels. A double-headed arrow means fold it, then unfold.
Solid arrows
Push here with your fingers while the layers move apart.
Colour and white
Colour is the front of the sheet, white is the back.
Work on a hard, flat table and press each crease with your thumbnail. Sharp creases are what keep the heart's corners crisp.
Fold your heart
Step 1 of 12
Step 01
Crease the paper vertically
Start with the white side facing up. Fold the paper in half vertically, then unfold it to leave a centre crease.
You should seeA single crease down the middle of the square, the sheet flat again.
Step 02
Crease it horizontally
Fold the paper in half horizontally, then unfold again.
You should seeTwo creases crossing at the centre of the square.
Step 03
Fold the bottom edge up
Fold the bottom edge up so it meets the horizontal centre crease.
You should seeA rectangle three quarters as tall as the square, its bottom quarter folded up.
Step 04
Turn the paper over
Turn the paper over, left to right.
You should seeThe coloured side of the folded band now facing you along the bottom.
Step 05
Fold the bottom edges in
Fold the bottom edges diagonally upward so they meet the vertical centre crease.
You should seeA point forming at the bottom centre, with two diagonal edges running up to the sides.
Step 06
Turn the paper over
Turn the paper over again.
You should seeA wide coloured band across the top and a downward point below it.
Step 07
Fold the top edges to the centre
Fold the top left edge diagonally downward to meet the vertical centre crease. Repeat on the right side.
You should seeA diamond, with both top edges now meeting along the centre.
Step 08
Fold the top flap down
Fold the top flap down, leaving the white triangles at the sides unfolded. Keep folding while gently lifting those triangles so they do not crease.
You should seeThe top point brought down to the bottom, a white triangle still free at each side.
Step 09
Fold the white triangles in
Fold the white triangles inward along the lines where the white side and the coloured side meet.
You should seeStraight sides where the white triangles used to stick out.
Step 10
Fold the four top corners down
Fold all four top corners downward to meet the crease you made in step 8.
You should seeA flat top edge with the corners tucked down against it.
Step 11
Blunt the two peaks
Fold the top two corners down along the dotted lines. There are no exact reference points, so fold them the way you like.
You should seeTwo rounded lobes instead of two sharp peaks.
Step 12
Turn the model over
Turn the model over to see the finished heart.
You should seeA clean coloured heart with no folded edges showing on the front.
Use the arrow keys to move between steps
Step 1 of 12: Crease the paper vertically
Your heart is ready!
Turn the model over and the two folded corners become the heart's rounded top.
The finished heart shows its coloured side, with the white side hidden behind the folded corners.
- If the lobes look uneven
- check that step 7 folded both top edges to the same centre crease.
- If it tears at step 8
- lift the white triangles gently as the flap comes down instead of forcing the fold.
- To make it a card
- press it flat under a book for an hour, then glue the back to folded paper.