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How to fold an origami christmas market

A real project. Fold two stalls with snowy pointed roofs, pleated counters and string lights, a kite-folded tree with pleated tiers and a zigzag garland, a reverse-folded carousel horse, gingerbread and cocoa.

You need: 20 pieces: brown, dark blue A4, white, green, red, gold, amber, yellow, pink, pale yellow and light brown bits (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue.. Challenge, 74 steps, about 110 minutes.

Steps

  1. Stall: white band. Start with a stall: a 7.2 × 21 cm brown piece, brown side up. Fold the top edge down in front, 7.2 cm. The white band is the snowy roof and the lit window.
  2. Stall: pointed roof. Fold the two top corners behind on slants, from the top middle to 3 cm down each side. A pointed roof!
  3. Stall: counter pleat. Fold the bottom part up in front on the line shown, 1.1 cm below the white band.
  4. Stall: counter. Fold it back down, 5 mm higher. The ledge under the window is the stall's counter.
  5. Awning: new sheet. Set the stall aside. For its awning, take a 7 × 1.5 cm red strip, red side up.
  6. Awning: white hem. Fold the bottom edge up in front, 3.5 mm, for a white hem.
  7. Lights: new sheet. Set the awning aside. For the string lights, take a 6.7 × 0.8 cm amber strip, slanting down to the right.
  8. Lights: fold in half. Fold the top half behind, the long way.
  9. Lights: the dip. Fold the right half up on a level line through the middle. The lights now hang in a V.
  10. Second stall: new sheet. Set the lights aside. For the second stall, take another 7.2 × 21 cm brown piece, brown side up.
  11. Second stall: white band. Fold the top edge down in front, 7.2 cm, for the snowy roof and lit window.
  12. Second stall: pointed roof. Fold the two top corners behind on slants, from the top middle to 3 cm down each side. A pointed roof!
  13. Second stall: counter pleat. Fold the bottom part up in front on the line shown, 1.1 cm below the white band.
  14. Second stall: counter. Fold it back down, 5 mm higher. The ledge under the window is the stall's counter.
  15. Awning: new sheet. Set the stall aside. For its awning, take a 7 × 1.5 cm green strip, green side up.
  16. Awning: white hem. Fold the bottom edge up in front, 3.5 mm, for a white hem.
  17. Lights: new sheet. Set the awning aside. For the string lights, take a 6.7 × 0.8 cm amber strip, slanting down to the right.
  18. Lights: fold in half. Fold the top half behind, the long way.
  19. Lights: the dip. Fold the right half up on a level line through the middle. The lights now hang in a V.
  20. Moon: new sheet. Set the lights aside. For the moon, take a 2.6 cm pale yellow square.
  21. Moon: corners behind. Fold each corner behind, 0.8 cm along both edges, so it is an octagon.
  22. Moon: round it. Fold the eight new corners behind, 2.9 mm along both edges, so it is round.
  23. Snow: new sheet. Set the moon aside. For the snowy square, take a 29.7 × 4.9 cm white strip, lying long.
  24. Tree: new sheet. Set the snow aside. For the big tree, take a 13 cm green square, turned like a diamond.
  25. Tree: narrow it. Fold the two upper edges behind so they meet along the middle, from the top corner. A kite.
  26. Tree: square the base. Fold the bottom corner up behind, level with the widest points. A tall green triangle.
  27. Tree: pleat. Fold the top part down in front on the line shown.
  28. Tree: pleat back. Fold it back up, 4.5 mm lower. The ledge is a layer of branches.
  29. Tree: pleat higher. Pleat again higher up: fold the top part down in front on the line shown.
  30. Tree: pleat back. Fold it back up, 4.5 mm lower. The ledge is a layer of branches: a fir tree!
  31. Garland: new sheet. Set the tree aside. For the garland, take a 13.2 × 0.8 cm gold strip, slanting down to the right.
  32. Garland: fold in half. Fold the top half behind, the long way, so it is gold on both sides.
  33. Garland: first turn. Fold the rest of the strip back to the left on an upright line, so it zigzags down.
  34. Garland: second turn. Fold it back to the right on an upright line, just inside the tree's edge. It winds down the tree!
  35. Star: new sheet. Set the garland aside. For the star, take a 1.8 cm yellow square.
  36. Star: second square. Set it aside and take a second 1.8 cm yellow square, turned to a diamond. Glued on the first, they make an eight-point star.
  37. Tub: new sheet. Set the star aside. For the tree's tub, take a 3.4 × 2.4 cm red piece, red side up.
  38. Tub: taper. Fold the bottom corners behind on slants, 5 mm in at the bottom. Fold the top edge down in front, 4 mm, for a white rim.
  39. Pole: new sheet. Set the tub aside. For the carousel pole, take a 1.4 × 13.4 cm gold strip, standing tall.
  40. Pole: fold in half. Fold the left half behind, the long way. The carousel horse will ride on it.
  41. Horse: new sheet. Set the pole aside. For the carousel horse, take a 10.5 cm pink square, turned like a diamond, white side up. Fold it like the Horse model.
  42. Horse: 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.
  43. Horse: 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.
  44. Horse: open it. Unfold it back into the triangle.
  45. Horse: crease the hind legs. Fold the left point over on an upright crease 2.1 cm left of the middle crease. This crease marks the front of the hind legs.
  46. Horse: open it. Unfold it again.
  47. Horse: neck back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body, on an upright crease 1 cm right of the middle crease. Each layer wraps round the outside.
  48. Horse: cut the legs. Cut the bottom point off level, 4.2 cm below the top fold. Cut up both leg creases to 1.8 cm below the top, and straight across between them.
  49. Horse: cut the neck. Cut up the neck fold to 1.6 cm below the top. From there cut the neck flaps to 1 cm deep at their tip, and snip the tip off square 7 mm in.
  50. Horse: lift the neck. Outside-reverse-fold the neck up on a crease from its bottom corner, so it stands up and leans forward over the front legs.
  51. Horse: snip the folds. Cut along the neck's back fold to the nose, and 7 mm down the crease at its base. Cut 3.5 cm along the top fold from the left point.
  52. Horse: mane out. Fold the back edge of each neck layer out, 7 mm wide at the base and tapering to nothing 1.8 cm from the nose, so a white mane shows.
  53. Horse: head back. Fold the top 1.8 cm of each neck layer back over the mane, on a crease from the top of the mane slanting down to the front edge.
  54. Horse: head out. Fold the head back up on a crease from the same corner, so it points forward and down. Glue the two head layers together.
  55. Horse: 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.
  56. Horse: shape the rump. Cut up the tail crease from below, leaving its top 1 cm. Cut the rump from there, curving in to the back of the hind hooves. Trim the tail slimmer.
  57. Saddle: new sheet. Set the horse aside. For the saddle, take a 2 × 1.3 cm red piece.
  58. Saddle: round it. Fold the bottom corners behind, 5 mm along each edge.
  59. Gingerbread: new sheet. Set the saddle aside. For the gingerbread man, take a 4.6 cm brown square, brown side up.
  60. Gingerbread: crease. Fold the left edge over to the right edge.
  61. Gingerbread: open. Unfold it, so a crease runs down the middle.
  62. Gingerbread: sides behind. Fold the left and right edges behind to meet at the middle crease.
  63. Gingerbread: snip. Snip down both side folds from the top, a bit over a third of the way. Snip up the middle crease from the bottom, about a quarter of the way.
  64. Gingerbread: arms. At the back, fold the top of each side flap out on a slant from the end of the snip, so it sticks out sideways as an arm.
  65. Gingerbread: legs. Cut a narrow V out of the bottom from the end of the snip, for two legs. Snip the corners off the head, hands and feet so he looks soft.
  66. Handle: new sheet. Set the gingerbread man aside. For the mug handle, take a 5.2 × 1.2 cm red strip, lying long.
  67. Handle: fold in half. Fold the bottom half behind, the long way.
  68. Handle: bend down. Fold the left part down on a 45° slant, 1.5 cm from the right end.
  69. Handle: bend back. Fold the end to the right on a 45° slant, 2.2 cm lower. A square loop: the handle!
  70. Mug: new sheet. Set the handle aside. For the hot cocoa mug, take a 3.8 × 4.6 cm red piece, red side up.
  71. Mug: cream on top. Fold the top edge down in front, 7 mm: whipped cream. Fold the bottom corners behind, 5 mm, to round the base.
  72. Night sky: new sheet. Set the mug aside. Last, the night sky: a dark blue A4 sheet, blue side up, lying long. The whole market is glued on it.
  73. Build the market. Glue the parts onto the sky in the order you made them: stalls, moon, snow, tree, then the carousel horse, gingerbread man and cocoa in front.
  74. Stand it up. Bend the sky gently towards you just right of the tree, and stand the whole market up on the table.

Merry and bright!

Draw planks, treats in the windows and the horse's eye. Add white falling snow, bulbs, tree lights, icing, marshmallows, steam and pole stripes.

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