Miniaturizing Origami Paper Cranes

The paper crane. Probably the most well known origami crease pattern out there. One day I decided to miniaturize it and see how small I could go. I learnt some valuable tips and tricks along the way that will help you miniaturize your origami cranes, too. In addition, I simplified the steps immensely to allow even the absolute beginner to effortlessly enter the wonderful hobby of origami.

If at any point you feel stuck you can look at the provided video clips and use them as a reference.

I am a 7th Grade student at the Maria von Linden Gymnasium in Germany.

• Origami Paper (15cm x 15cm / 6in x 6in)
• Scissors/Precision Paper trimmer

Wash your hands. It may seem silly, but oil and grease can greatly reduce the quality of your folds, make folds harder to see, and cause the small delicate paper to rip easily. You might find that you can fold regular sized cranes just fine, but once you use smaller paper, it's really beneficial to have clean hands.

Important: If you are new to origami I recommend skipping this step for your first try and using regular paper. Then you can scale the paper down.

To make smaller paper cranes, you don't have to buy smaller paper. Instead you can split the paper up into smaller squares. There are two ways to do this:

Method 1

• Fold the paper in half (edge to edge not corner to corner)
• Unfold
• Fold the paper in half again but on the axis perpendicular to the first
• Unfold
• Cut along the lines with scissors or a precision paper trimmer

Method 2

• Measure out half of an edge and make a point there
• Repeat for all edges
• Connect the points opposite to each other
• Cut through the lines using scissors or a precision paper trimmer

• Fold the paper in half corner to corner
• Unfold
• Turn the paper 90 degrees
• Fold it in half corner to corner again
• Unfold and turn over

• Fold the paper in half edge to edge
• Unfold
• Turn the paper 90 degrees
• Fold it in half again edge to edge
• Unfold
• Turn the paper 45 degrees

• Simultaneously, bring both side-corners to the bottom corner and bring the top corner down as well
• Flatten
• (Tip) When folding smaller cranes, you can use the flat side of a knife or scissor to flatten the square base as opposed to using you fingers

• Rotate your paper so that the open side of the square base faces you (It should already face you by just double check it)
• Fold the bottom right edge (only fold one flap not both) to the middle line as seen in the picture
• Repeat for the bottom left edge
• Turn over and repeat the last two steps for the other side
• Fold the top corner down
• (Tip) When folding smaller cranes, go over all the crease with the blunt end of a knife or scissor and flatten using the same technique as in Step 4
• Unfold all creases done in this step

Now it's going to get difficult so take your time and don't rush. The animation can also be used a reference

• Orient the paper so that the open side of the square base faces you
• Hold the top triangle flat with your hand
• Grab the topmost layer of paper on the bottom corner and slowly bring it up
• Slowly let the paper fold into a boat shape and continue bringing the corner over
• Let the paper follow the pre-creased folds
• Eventually you'll have the corner folded all the way to the top
• Flatten
• (Tip) When folding smaller cranes you can press down on the whole origami model with something flat (like a metal sheet or flat side of a knife). This will reinforce the folds
• Repeat everything on the other side

• Next, fold the bottom right edge (only one flap not both flaps) to the center
• Repeat for the bottom left edge and both edges on the other side
• (Tip) If you are folding small paper cranes, use the same technique as in Step 6 to flatten and reinforce the folds
• Move the top-most right flap to the left
• Turn over and repeat

• Fold the bottom corner (only fold one flap) all the way to the top corner (This will make your tail)
• Repeat on the other side
• Fold the top corner (the one you just folded up) back down a little (This will make your head)
• Move the top-most right-most flap to the left
• Turn over and repeat

• Fold both top-most flaps down to create the wings

• Pull the tail down a bit to suit your liking
• Pull the head down a bit as well
• Make the changes permanent by flattening the bottom part of your crane
• There should be a small flap in the "pocket" of the head
• Grab this flap and pull it out
• Flatten the head

The more cranes you make the better you get. Eventually you can decide to make you paper smaller. Then once you have mastered the smaller cranes, make them even smaller. How small can you go? Challenge your fingers and eyes! Or, alternatively, supersize them!