Here it is. Another origami Christmas tree tutorial. WARNING – Photo Heavy Tutorial Ahead!
I remember when I was younger and every Christmas my mum would be tasked with the job of making table top centre pieces for the dining tables at school. For weeks before Christmas, I would be watching Art Attack and reading library books (google? I think NOT) trying to come up with a new and exciting idea. Usually the finished pieces included the usage of toilet roll tubes, oranges, or gold spray paint… sometimes all three! But boy, oh boy, we never had anything quite as exciting as these Origami Christmas trees. And they would look AWESOME on school dining room tables, wouldn’t they?
So give it a go. I love the finished structure, and you can decorate them with buttons, glitter glue, and tinsel too. You may even be able to find mini baubles for your tree. Here’s how you can make your own.
You will need to make at least four layers to your tree, and this means you will need four squares. I have chosen 3 inches, 4 inches, 5 inches and 6 inches squared. The fold is exactly the same for all four, but to begin i recommend starting with the biggest square as this will be easier, and then work your way down to the smallest square.
Take the largest square and fold in half with the pattern on the outside
Open out, turn 90 degrees and fold in half again.
Open out the paper again, flip over so the pattern is facing upwards, and then fold diagonally in half.
Open out, turn 90 degress and fold in half diagonally again.
Your paper should look like this now.
Fold in the paper along the very first crease that you made, which was folding it in half to make a rectangle. With the pattern on the outside and the fold at the top, hold each top corner between your forefingers & thumbs
Gently bring these corners downwards and towards each other, and let the paper fold naturally into a shape that resembles the flight of a dart.
Flatten the paper so you have two flaps on the left and two on the right.
Lay flat on a table, and lift the top flap of the bottom section up so the bottom point meets the top point.
To look like this…
Whilst using your left hand to hold the left side down, lift the right hand half of the paper up and over, as if you are turning the page in a book.
Repeat folding the bottom flap up.
Turn the whole thing over and repeat until all four sections have been folded in half. The paper will now look like this.
Now, the bit that is tricky to explain! Fold down one of the flaps again and you will see a vertical crease and a horizontal crease. Imagine these form a clock, so you have a 12 o’clock crease, a 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock crease.
You want to make a fold half way between the 3 o’clock crease and the 6 o’clock crease. The easiest way to do this is to fold the bottom flap up so the six o’clock crease touches the 3 o’clock crease. Pinch and crease the fold.
When you do this, you will have a small folded triangle sticking down – the one that i am pinching in my left hand.
Fold this up and tuck in between the next section of the folded paper.
Repeat with the next section, folding the 6 o’clock crease to meet the 3 o’clock crease, pinching to make a mid way crease, then tucking up underneath the next flap. Continue until all four sections are done. This is the last flap.
This bit takes practice. You need to carefully, gently yet firmly hold the structure, and tuck the tip of the triangular flap into the slot. (Sorry for the blurry picture)
Once the tip is in, gently ease in the rest of the flap. The finished piece should look like this.
And when you turn it around the right way, it start to take shape. Repeat all the above steps with your three other pieces of paper, and then assemble like this. Ease the point of the larger pyramid into the underneath of the smaller one.
Pop all four on top of each other, and hey presto – a Christmas Tree!!
And if you are feeling very adverturous, you can even use a lollypop stick or coffee stirrer as a tree trunk, and you can plant your Christmas Trees.
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial, and please leave me a comment if you like it, or indeed if you need further clarification. I’ve enjoyed showing you how to make them, so i just can wait to see what you make!
Merry Christmas!
x
This is fantastic. A brilliant tutorial too. I may have a practice run at one of these tomorrow when the girls are at school! I will let you know how I get on – I am not known for my patience š
I love origami! Used to be pretty decent at it, but not so much anymore. Thanks for showing this tutorial! Fun stuff!! š
OH I love this. I am always looking for things to make while I am at work to give to the girls… ( I own a Curves for women) this is so so perfect!!! I love it. I made just one layer out of scrap, I went step by step and it went beautifully. The clock decription was perfect. I do have to work on making my folds a tad more square. I am sure after I make a few dozen they will be much better… Thank you so very much… lovely job.
cyn