How to do origami

The art of origami originates in Japan. The word itself comes from "oru", which means to fold, and "kami", which means paper. Hundreds of objects can be created using origami once a few basic techniques are mastered. Among the simplest to make are the envelope, the hat and the boat.

Making a Hat

• 1

  Fold a rectangular piece of paper in half. Fold it partially in half again, so as to make a small crease on the side where the first fold is.

• 2

  Fold the two corners inward so that the top is shaped like a triangle.

• 3

  Fold the bottom edges of the paper upward.

• 4

  Hold both sides and push them apart so that they open up into a hat.

Making a Boat

• 1

  Follow Steps 1 through 3 above.

• 2

  Bring the corners of the hat towards each other and fold over. You should have a diamond shape.

• 3

  Take one lower corner and fold it upward. Repeat for the other corner. You should now have a folded triangle.

• 4

  Open up the triangle and bring the corners together.

• 5

  Pull the corners into a square shape, then pull the outer corners, one in each hand. You have a boat.

Making an Envelope

• 1

  Fold a square sheet of paper diagonally in half so that two corners are touching.

• 2

  Turn the folded paper around so that it looks like a triangle. Take the top corner of the layer that's facing you and fold it downward so that it touches the bottom of the paper.

• 3

  Take the right hand corner and fold it to the side, it should touch the corner you folded down in step 2.

• 4

  Fold the left side over so that the left corner touches the right edge. These are the two sides of the envelope, and the bottom should be square-shaped.

• 5

  Glue the folded layers of paper together so that the bottom of the envelope is sealed. Close the envelope by folding downward the top corner that remains.