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How to fold an origami centaur

Fold the unicorn's horse body from one triangle, but stand its neck straight up as the rider. Fold the arm out of the front layer, cut a small head and glue a crimped bow in the hand.

You need: A 15 cm square, chestnut brown on one side, a 3 × 9 cm dark brown strip for the bow, small scissors, a ruler, glue and a black pen. Hard, 20 steps, about 40 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner. The long fold at the top is the horse's back.
  2. Crease the middle. Fold the triangle in half, right point onto the left point, and crease it hard. This crease marks the back of the front legs.
  3. Open it. Unfold it back into the triangle.
  4. Crease the hind legs. Fold the left point over on an upright crease 3 cm left of the middle crease. This crease marks the front of the hind legs.
  5. Open it. Unfold it again.
  6. Rider back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body, on an upright crease 1.5 cm right of the middle crease. Each layer wraps round the outside.
  7. Cut the legs. Cut the bottom point off level, 6 cm below the top fold. Cut up both leg creases to 2.5 cm below the top, and straight across between them.
  8. Cut the rider. Cut up the reversed fold to 1.6 cm below the top. Cut its flaps to a strip 1.3 cm deep at the tip, and snip the tip off square 0.5 cm in.
  9. Stand him up. Outside-reverse-fold the strip up on a crease from its bottom corner, so it stands almost straight up over the front legs.
  10. Snip the folds. Cut down the rider's back fold from the top, stopping 2.6 cm above the horse's back. Cut 5 cm along the top fold from the left point.
  11. Arm out. Fold the front layer's top forward on a crease slanting up from the end of the cut, so it sticks straight out as a white arm.
  12. Round the head. The back layer left standing is the head. Cut its top off 1.2 cm below the tip, then snip off both top corners so it is rounded.
  13. Tail down. Fold each layer of the left point down and back on a crease from the end of the cut, so it hangs as a white tail.
  14. Shape the rump. Cut up the tail crease from below, leaving its top 1.5 cm. Cut the rump from there, curving in to the back of the hind hooves. Trim the tail slimmer.
  15. Bow: new strip. Set the centaur aside. Lay the dark brown strip upright, brown side up.
  16. Bow: in half. Fold the right half behind onto the left half.
  17. Bow: a thin stick. Fold the right half behind again, making a stick 0.75 cm wide. Glue the layers flat.
  18. Bow: ends over. Fold each end of the stick over onto it, on a level crease 2 cm from the end.
  19. Bow: ends back. Fold each end back out on a crease 0.4 cm nearer the middle, slanting so the ends lean left. The little crimps bend the stick into a bow.
  20. Glue on the bow. Glue the middle of the bow over the end of the arm, its ends bending back toward the rider.

Take aim!

Draw an eye and dark hair on the back of the head. Stand your centaur on a shelf, bow raised toward the sky.

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