Fold a Paper Heart

A folded paper heart—or origami heart—is a cute way to decorate your personal space or show a loved one that you care. Origami hearts are pretty simple projects, usually involving only a few folds. Several techniques exist, including the simple origami heart and the lucky heart.

Steps

Folding a Simple Origami Heart

  1. Fold a square piece of paper in half diagonally. It’s easier to do this with the paper turned like a diamond. Bring the top point down so that it meets the bottom point. Crease the fold well and unfold the sheet.
    • A standard 6-inch by 6-inch (15-cm by 15-cm) square of origami paper is perfect for this process. Otherwise, you can cut a typical sheet of printer paper into a square.
  2. Fold the square diagonally in the opposite direction. Keeping the sheet oriented as a diamond, fold the left point over until it meets the right point. Crease the paper well before unfolding it back into its original shape.[1]
    • After doing this, your sheet should have two perpendicular crease marks. One should go from the top corner to the bottom, and the other should go between the side corners. The two crease marks should intersect in the center of the paper.
  3. Fold the top corner down to the center. Again, keep the sheet oriented like a diamond rather than a square. Fold the top of the sheet so that the top point meets the center of the paper, where the diagonal creases intersect. Crease the folded edge.
  4. Fold the bottom corner up to the top edge. Fold until the bottom point completely covers the folded top point. Crease the new fold. The corner should meet the center of the top edge.[1]
    • Note that there should now be a total of six points: three on the left and three on the right.
  5. Fold the right and left sides towards the center crease. Both folds should start at the middle of the sheet’s bottom edge, running parallel to the edges at the bottom corners.[1] Fold the lowest right-hand corner up so that it meets the middle of the upper edge. Repeat this fold with the lowest left-hand corner, bringing it together with the fold made on the right.
    • Crease both folds well.
    • The bottom edge should now be a point where to diagonal edges meet.
  6. Turn the heart over and fold the points. Fold the tips of the two top corners and two side corners inward. You should now have edges instead of corners, completing your heart.

Making a Lucky Heart

  1. Use a thin strip of paper. The ideal size for this strip of paper is 1 inch (2.5 cm) by 11 inches (28 cm).[2]
    • The dimensions needed for this strip of paper do not need to be exact but you should try and keep the same ratio between height and width for optimal results.
  2. Fold the bottom corner up to the top edge. Create a 45 degree valley fold, bringing the lower left corner up until it touches the upper edge of the strip. Crease this fold.
  3. Repeat this fold 5 to 7 additional times. Always bring the corner towards the opposite edge. You’ll need to alternate with each fold; your second fold will be bringing the top corner to the bottom edge while the third fold will bring the bottom corner to the top edge.[3]
    • The length of the strip should becomes notably shorter as you fold.
  4. Trim the extra length of paper. Using scissors, cut off the excess length. Leave a portion of the excess length that measures roughly half the width of the triangular folds.[2]
  5. Fold up the bottom right corner. The lower right corner should be brought up so that it meets the right edge of the folded triangle. Crease this fold.
  6. Tuck the extra section into folded triangles. Start by bringing the upper right corner down, sliding it into one of the existing layers of the folded triangle. As you push, the rest of this section should be completely tucked in, leaving you with a triangle.[2]
  7. Trim the top corners. Turn the triangle so that the longest edge is on the top. Use scissors to snip off the corners, rounding them off.
    • Note that the paper will be very thick at this point and it may be hard to cut through.
    • The longest edge should not be the newly-tucked in portion of the triangle.
  8. Push a dent into the top. Pinch the heart lightly, putting your index finger on one of the rounded corners, and your thumb on the other. Use your thumbnail to indent the middle of the top edge. This will give the edge a slight curve, completing your lucky heart.[2]

Tips

  • Note that a “valley fold” refers to a fold in which the paper is brought inward, while a “mountain fold” refers to a fold in which the paper is folded outward.

Things You'll Need

  • 6-inch by 6-inch (15-cm by 15-cm) square of paper
  • 1-inch by 11-inch (2.5-cm by 28-cm) strip of paper
  • Scissors

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://www.origamiway.com/how-to-make-a-paper-heart.shtml
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 http://www.origami-resource-center.com/lucky-heart.html
  3. ↑ http://www.origami-resource-center.com/lucky-heart.html
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