How to fold a paper crane step by step, and the tradition of 1,000 cranes

TUREFF• •0

The crane is the best-known origami model in the world, and for most people it is the first model that feels like real origami. It takes a few attempts, but every step can be learned. Use a 15 cm square of thin origami paper, coloured side down, and fold on a hard table.

Part 1: the square base

Fold the square in half diagonally both ways, unfolding after each. You now have an X crease.
Turn the paper over. Fold it in half edge to edge both ways, unfolding after each. You now have a + crease as well.
Turn the paper back over. Hold it by two opposite corners and bring the creases together: the paper collapses into a smaller square, with all four corners at the bottom. This is the square base, also called the preliminary base. The open end should point towards you.

Part 2: the bird base

Take the top layer only. Fold its left and right lower edges in to meet the centre line, making a kite shape.
Fold the small top triangle down over those flaps and crease hard.
Unfold the last three folds. You now have creases that outline a kite and a triangle.
Lift the bottom corner of the top layer and swing it upwards along the horizontal crease. As you lift, the sides fold in along the existing creases. Press it flat into a long diamond. This is a petal fold.
Turn the model over and repeat steps 4 to 7 on the other side.

You now have the bird base: a long diamond with two narrow "legs" at the bottom that can separate.

Part 3: shaping the crane

On the top layer, fold the lower left and right edges into the centre line, making the legs narrower.
Turn over and repeat on the other side.
Inside reverse fold one leg upwards so it points up at an angle beside the body. This becomes the neck. Pre-creasing it first, by folding the leg up and unfolding it, makes the reverse fold easier.
Inside reverse fold the other leg up on the other side. This becomes the tail.
Inside reverse fold the tip of the neck down to make the head and beak.
Fold the wings down on each side.
Hold the wings and gently pull them apart while pressing on the centre: the body puffs out.

Common problems

Lumpy petal folds: the pre-creases in steps 4 to 6 were not sharp enough. Crease harder.
Neck and tail not symmetrical: in step 11, line the reverse fold up so both sides match before flattening.
Paper tearing at the centre: the paper may be too thick or too small. Try a larger, thinner sheet.
Uneven wings: the bird base was off-centre. Accuracy in steps 1 and 2 decides everything.

The tradition of senbazuru

In Japan, a crane has long been a symbol of long life and good fortune, and a traditional belief holds that folding a thousand cranes grants a wish. A set of a thousand cranes strung together is called senbazuru. They are given as gifts, hung at weddings, and offered to people who are ill as a wish for recovery. The tradition is known around the world because of Sadako Sasaki, who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and later developed leukaemia. In hospital she folded paper cranes, hoping for recovery. She died in 1955 at the age of 12. Accounts differ on how many cranes she folded: a popular book says she did not reach a thousand and her classmates finished them, while other accounts say she passed her goal. Her classmates and children across Japan raised money for the Children's Peace Monument in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, unveiled in 1958, which shows a girl holding up a golden crane. Strings of cranes sent from around the world are still left there, and the paper crane has become a symbol of peace.

Folding a senbazuru

If you plan a thousand cranes for a wedding or a gift, use smaller paper (7.5 cm squares are common), fold a few every day, and string them with a needle through the centre of the body, often in strands of forty or so with a bead at the end. It is a big project; many people share it with friends or family. How did your first crane turn out, and which step was hardest? Share it in the comments, or ask if a step above was unclear.