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How to fold an origami circus

A real project. Cut and fold a red big top with white stripes and an open door, add bunting and a flag, then an elephant on a drum, a seal balancing a ball and a sawdust ring. It all stands up.

You need: 9 pieces: 15 cm red square, plus purple, yellow, green, blue, grey, orange, slate and tan (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, black and white pens.. Challenge, 59 steps, about 60 minutes.

Steps

  1. Big top: fold in half. Start with the big top: a 15 cm red square, red side up. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  2. Big top: in half again. Fold the right edge back over onto the left fold.
  3. Big top: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way, to a narrow stack about 1.9 cm wide. Crease hard.
  4. Big top: snip the strips. Cut up both folded sides of the stack, from the bottom to halfway up (7.5 cm).
  5. Big top: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  6. Big top: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  7. Big top: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. The bottom half is now eight loose strips.
  8. Big top: white stripes. Fold the 2nd, 4th, 5th and 7th strips up onto the front, along the end of the cuts. Their white side makes the stripes.
  9. Big top: fold the rest behind. Fold the other four strips up behind. Now red and white stripes run right up the tent.
  10. Big top: cut the roof. Cut the top into a pointed roof: from the top middle, straight down to 3.5 cm below the top at each side.
  11. Big top: slit the door. Cut up the middle crease from the bottom edge, 2.7 cm, through all the layers.
  12. Big top: open the door. Fold each door flap behind, from the top of the slit down to 1.2 cm along the bottom. The door is tied open.
  13. Doorway: new sheet. Set the big top aside. For the dark inside of the tent, take a 3 cm square of dark purple paper.
  14. Bunting: new sheet. Set it aside. For the bunting, take a 15 × 2.5 cm yellow strip, yellow side up, lying long.
  15. Bunting: the cord. Fold the top edge down onto the front by 5 mm. The white strip is the cord the flags hang from.
  16. Bunting: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  17. Bunting: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold.
  18. Bunting: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way, to a little stack about 1.9 cm wide.
  19. Bunting: cut the flags. Cut a V off the bottom: from each side just under the white cord, down to the middle of the bottom edge.
  20. Bunting: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  21. Bunting: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  22. Bunting: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Eight pointed flags hang from the cord.
  23. Flag: new sheet. Set the bunting aside. For the flag, take a 4 × 5.5 cm green piece, green side up, standing tall.
  24. Flag: roll the pole. Fold the left edge over onto the front by 4 mm.
  25. Flag: roll it again. Fold the folded strip over once more. The white pole runs down the left side.
  26. Flag: cut the pennant. Snip along the pole's folded left edge from the bottom up 3 cm, and cut the loose green off there. Then cut the top into a point.
  27. Put the big top together. Glue the flag's pole behind the peak, the dark square behind the door and the bunting's cord along the line where the roof meets the walls.
  28. Drum: new sheet. Set the big top aside. For the drum, take a 5.2 × 5 cm blue piece, blue side up, long side across.
  29. Drum: white rims. Fold the top and bottom edges onto the front by 6 mm. The white strips are the drum's rims.
  30. Drum: round the bottom. Fold the two bottom corners behind by 5 mm, so the drum looks round.
  31. Elephant: new sheet. Set the drum aside. For the elephant, take a 9 × 7.5 cm grey piece, white side up, long side across.
  32. Elephant: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge. The fold on top is the elephant's back.
  33. Elephant: in half again. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  34. Elephant: cut the legs. Cut a slant off the bottom corner at the fold: 2 cm up, 1.6 cm along. Snip the other bottom corner, and round the top corner off too.
  35. Elephant: open it. Open the last fold. Four thick legs stand under a round body.
  36. Elephant: fold the trunk strip. Fold the right end over onto the front by 1 cm.
  37. Elephant: free the trunk. Cut along this fold from the bottom, stopping 8 mm below the top.
  38. Elephant: open the strip. Fold the strip back out flat. It hangs loose from the head.
  39. Elephant: raise the trunk. Fold the loose strip up onto the front, on a slant from the end of the cut. The trunk curls up in a circus salute!
  40. Elephant: curl the trunk. Fold the tip of the trunk over onto the front on a slant, about 1 cm from the end, so it curls forward.
  41. Ball: new sheet. Set the elephant aside. For the ball, take a 2.5 cm orange square, orange side up.
  42. Ball: corners behind. Fold each corner behind, 7 mm along both edges. You get an octagon.
  43. Ball: round it. Fold all eight new corners behind, just 2 mm each, so the ball is round.
  44. Seal: new sheet. Set the ball aside. For the seal, take an 8 cm dark grey square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  45. Seal: crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  46. Seal: make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  47. Seal: long diamond. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease too, making a long diamond with a point at each end.
  48. Seal: blunt the nose. Fold the top point down about 1.5 cm. This end will be the seal's nose.
  49. Seal: fold in half. Fold the left half behind the right half.
  50. Seal: lay it down. Turn it so the long fold is at the bottom and the blunt nose points left.
  51. Seal: head back. Fold the front end over onto the body, toward you, on a crease from the bottom edge just in front of the hump, leaning a little forward.
  52. Seal: head up. Fold it forward again on a crease from the same spot that stands almost straight up, so the head sticks up at a slant.
  53. Seal: snip the tail. Cut along the bottom fold from the tail point, about 3.5 cm in, so the tail splits into a front and a back layer.
  54. Seal: fan the flippers. Fold the front layer of the tail up at a slant from the end of the cut. Fold the back layer up behind, just a little.
  55. Ring: new sheet. Set the seal aside. Last, the ring: a 29 × 4.5 cm tan strip, tan side up, lying long.
  56. Ring: white edge. Fold the top edge down onto the front by 6 mm. The white line is the edge of the circus ring.
  57. Ring: stiffen it. Fold the bottom edge up behind by 1 cm, so the strip is strong enough to stand.
  58. Build the circus. Glue the big top behind the ring, its bottom on the white line. Glue the drum and elephant on the left, and the seal on the right with the ball on its nose.
  59. Stand it up. Bend the ring gently towards you on both sides of the big top, and stand the whole circus up on the table.

Roll up, roll up!

Draw the elephant's eye and big ear with white toenails, the seal's eye, nose and whiskers, white lacing on the drum and stripes on the ball.

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