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How to fold an origami baby dragon

Fold a pear-shaped body with a pleated white belly, cut a horned head with a pleated snout, and cut notched bat wings by creasing first. Add a bent tail and a flame.

You need: A 15 cm purple square, a 10.5 cm purple square, an 18 × 15 cm lilac sheet, a 4.5 cm orange square, a 3 × 12 cm purple strip, scissors, glue, black and white pens. Hard, 29 steps, about 45 minutes.

Steps

  1. Body: fold up the belly. Purple side up, turned like a diamond. Fold the bottom corner up 5.7 cm, so a white triangle shows: the belly.
  2. Belly: pleat it. Fold the belly's point down on a level crease 3 cm above the bottom edge.
  3. Belly: fold it back up. Fold the point back up on a crease 6 mm lower. A little step crosses the belly, like a dragon's belly scales.
  4. Body: plump it. Fold the left and right corners behind on slants, 3.4 cm from the middle at the top and 6.4 cm at the bottom, for a pear shape.
  5. Body: fold the top. Fold the top point behind on a level crease 9.4 cm above the bottom edge.
  6. Head: new sheet. Set the body aside. Take the 10.5 cm purple square, purple side up.
  7. Head: crease the brow. Purple side up. Fold the top edge down on a level crease 1.8 cm below it.
  8. Head: open it. Unfold it again. The horns will be cut from the strip above this crease.
  9. Head: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  10. Head: cut the horn. Snip the crease beside the fold. Above it, cut a horn 1.1 cm from the fold: up to a 7 mm top, then down. Snip the crease on out, round the far corners.
  11. Head: open it out. Unfold the middle fold: a round face with two little pointed horns.
  12. Head: pleat the snout. Fold the bottom edge up on a level crease 1.9 cm above it.
  13. Head: fold it back down. Fold it back down on a crease 6 mm higher. The step across the face is the top of the snout.
  14. Wings: new sheet. Set the head aside. Take the lilac sheet, long side level, lilac side up.
  15. Wings: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge. The fold is the middle of the back.
  16. Wings: crease a line. Fold the right edge over on an upright crease 5 cm from the middle fold.
  17. Wings: open it. Unfold that last fold. The crease lets you cut a notch in the wing's edge.
  18. Wings: cut the wing. Cut a curved top from the fold up to the far top corner. Cut the bottom: tip to the crease 3.4 cm down, snip up the crease, then down to the fold.
  19. Wings: open them. Unfold it: a pair of pointed bat wings with a notch in each.
  20. Flame: new sheet. Set the wings aside. Take the orange square, orange side up.
  21. Flame: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  22. Flame: cut it. Cut a curve from the top of the fold out and round to the bottom, 5 mm from the fold, like half a teardrop.
  23. Flame: open it. Unfold it: a little flame.
  24. Tail: new sheet. Set the flame aside. Take the purple strip, long side level, white side up.
  25. Tail: fold in half. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge.
  26. Tail: taper it. Cut a long slant off the bottom edge, from 3 cm in down to 9 mm wide at the right end, so the tail gets thinner.
  27. Tail: bend the end up. Fold the last 3.75 cm straight up on a slanted crease, so the tail curls up.
  28. Tail: cut the point. Snip the top of the bent end to a point, two small slants meeting in the middle.
  29. Put her together. Glue the wings behind the body's shoulders and the tail behind its side. Glue the head on top and the flame at the corner of the mouth.

Tiny but fierce!

Draw big shiny eyes, nostrils, a happy mouth and little claws. Add a white middle to the flame and a line along each wing.

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