Origami Petal Fold

The origami petal fold is an essential origami technique used to create pointed shapes, making it perfect for flowers, birds, and other intricate designs.

This fold is a key step in classic models like the paper crane, adding structure and detail to your creations.

Once you’ve mastered the petal fold, you’ll unlock even more exciting origami possibilities. Let’s break it down step by step!

The petal fold is a fundamental technique in origami, often used to create elegant, pointed structures.

It involves a combination of valley folds and mountain folds, along with a bit of paper manipulation to lift and reshape parts of a model.

This fold is most commonly seen in traditional designs like the paper crane, where it helps shape the wings and body.

You’ll also find it in many flower models and animal figures.

Since the petal fold builds on the square base, it’s a great next step once you’re comfortable with basic folds.

If you’re new to origami, check out our collection of easy origami for beginners for foundational techniques before diving into this one. Now, let’s go step by step to create a perfect petal fold.

Skill Level

★★☆☆☆ (Easy)

Materials Needed

1 square sheet of origami paper

Instructions

Step 1: Start with the color you want on the outside facing down.

Step 2: Fold the bottom edge up to meet the top edge.

Step 3: Unfold previous step.

Step 4: Fold the left edge to meet the right edge.

Step 5: Unfold previous step.

Step 6: Flip your paper over and arrange it so it sits like a diamond shape as shown.

Step 7: Fold the bottom point up to meet the top point.

Step 8: Unfold previous step.

Step 9: Fold the left point to meet the right point.

Step 10: Unfold previous step.

Step 11: Flip your paper over from left to right (make sure it still sits like a diamond shape).

Step 12: Hold both the left and right points as shown and gently push in the centre where all the creases meet. Then bring the corners inward and toward the bottom point. You will find the paper starts to collapse on itself to form a square.

Step 13: Fold the bottom right diagonal edge (top layer only) towards the left to meet the middle crease.

Step 14: Repeat previous step for the bottom left diagonal edge.

Step 15: Fold the top point down along the top edge of the flaps you just made.

Step 16: Unfold previous three steps.

Step 17: Fold the bottom point (top layer only) up along the creases you just made.

Step 18: Continue to lift the point up and at the same time, push the sides in along the creases you made before. Then flatten everything along the existing creases. Completed petal fold.

Common Uses

The petal fold is a crucial step in many popular origami models, including:

• Paper Crane – One of the most well-known origami designs, using petal folds to shape its wings.
• Origami Lily Flower – A classic and elegant floral design that relies on multiple petal folds to form its shape.

Related Folds

Once you’ve mastered the petal fold, try these next:

• Bird Base – A base that uses multiple petal folds to form bird-shaped models.
• Rabbit Ear Fold – A fold that creates sharp, triangular shapes, often used for animal ears and legs.
• Blintz Fold – A technique where all four corners of a square are folded to the center.

Helpful Origami Tips

If you're curious to learn more about origami, you might like to look at our basic guides on how to make some common origami folds.

Start with the valley fold and mountain fold—these are the foundation of most origami models.

Once you're comfortable, you might like to try the petal fold for 3D shapes, and explore the bird base and square base for more complex designs.

The water bomb base is also great for creating inflatable or geometric models, like this inflatable origami rabbit.