How to fold an origami camel trek
Fold a kite body, slit long legs and swing them into a stride, crimp the neck up, the head forward and the tail down. A dark strip crimped in the middle into a V makes the woolly double hump.
You need: 1 sandy square (15 cm), a dark brown strip (8 × 2.3 cm), scissors, glue and a black pen. Hard, 25 steps, about 40 minutes.
Steps
- Crease the middle. White side up, turned like a diamond, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner, crease and unfold.
- Kite. Fold the edges at the left point in on creases from the point to 5.6 cm above and below the middle crease. That end is the camel's neck and head.
- Narrow the other end. Fold the edges at the right point in on creases from the point to 6 cm above and below the middle crease. That end is the rump.
- Tummy corners. Fold the top and bottom corners in on creases 3.5 cm above and below the middle crease. They will be hidden inside.
- Fold in half. Fold the top half down onto the bottom half along the middle crease. The long fold on top is the back, the flat bottom is the tummy.
- Crease a strip. Fold the bottom edge up 0.8 cm, all layers together, and crease it hard. This strip gives the legs.
- Open it. Unfold the strip again.
- Slit the legs. Cut along the strip crease from the front end in 4.5 cm, and from the back end in 3.7 cm.
- Front legs: stride. Swing the front strip down on slanted creases from its inner end, the front layers one way and the back ones behind, a little apart.
- Back legs: stride. Swing the back strip down the same way, the front layers forward and the back ones behind.
- Slim the neck. Fold the bottom edge of the neck end in on a slant from the chest to near the tip, front layers forward and back ones behind.
- Neck: crease. Fold the left end over on an upright crease 6.4 cm from its tip, all layers together.
- Neck: crimp up. Fold it back on a crease slanting from the same bottom point, so the long neck reaches up and forward.
- Head: crease. Fold the top of the neck over on a crease straight across it, 2.9 cm below the tip.
- Head: crimp. Fold it back on a crease slanting from the same back point, so the head points forward.
- Blunt nose. Fold the sharp tip of the head behind a little, all layers together, so the camel has a soft, droopy nose.
- Tail: crease. Fold the rump point over on an upright crease 3.1 cm from its tip, all layers together.
- Tail: crimp. Fold it back on a crease slanting from the same top point, so the thin tail hangs down.
- Pleat the rump. Fold the rump over to the front on an upright crease just behind the back legs, all layers together.
- Pleat: fold back. Fold it back again on an upright crease 0.9 cm further forward, so the body is shorter.
- Humps: new sheet. Set the camel aside. Take the dark brown strip, coloured side up, long side across, tilted a little.
- Humps: crease. Fold the right half over on a crease straight across the middle of the strip.
- Humps: crimp. Fold it back on a crease slanting from the same bottom point, so the right half tilts up too. Now the top dips in the middle.
- Humps: round them. Fold both top outer corners behind, 1 cm along each edge, so each hump is round.
- Glue on the humps. Glue the humps behind the middle of the back, so both woolly humps stand up above it.
Two humps, long trek!
Give the camel a shiny eye, a nostril and a dark tuft on the tail.