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How to fold an origami crowned crane

A long diamond folded in half, with strips freed for the neck and legs and outside reverse folds for the neck and head. A little gold square pleated into a fan makes the crown.

You need: 1 square sheet, 15 × 15 cm, grey on one side, and a 3 cm gold square; scissors, glue, a black pen and a white pen. Hard, 23 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Turn it. White side up. Turn the square so a corner points up, like a diamond.
  2. Crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner over to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  3. Make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  4. Narrow the top. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease too, making a long diamond.
  5. Fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the centre crease, so the flaps stay on the outside.
  6. Lay it down. Turn it so the fold runs along the bottom and the point that was at the bottom is on the right.
  7. Crease a strip. Fold the bottom edge up 7 mm along its whole length, through all the layers, and crease it hard.
  8. Open it. Unfold the strip again.
  9. Free the neck and legs. Cut along the crease from the right end to 1.5 cm behind the peak, and from the left end to 2.4 cm behind the peak. Snip the left strip along the bottom fold as far.
  10. Shape the body. Fold the long point above the neck behind on an upright crease 2.6 cm in front of the peak. Fold the tail point behind 6.5 cm behind the peak.
  11. Round the breast. Fold the body's top front corner behind, from 2.8 cm up its front edge to 1.2 cm behind the peak.
  12. Neck back. Outside-reverse-fold the neck strip back over itself on an upright crease 3 cm in front of the peak, so it points back along the body.
  13. Neck up. Outside-reverse-fold it up from the bottom of that crease, so the neck stands almost straight.
  14. Head. 5.2 cm up, outside-reverse-fold the rest forward and a little down: the head with a short bill.
  15. Legs down. Fold the front leg strip down from the end of its cut. Fold the back one down behind, leaning a little back.
  16. Fold the feet. Fold the last 1 cm of each leg forward along the ground: the front foot over the front, the back foot behind.
  17. Crown: new sheet. Set the crane aside. Take the gold square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  18. Crown: triangle. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner.
  19. Crown: left pleat in. Fold the left corner in on a crease from the bottom point, leaning a little left.
  20. Crown: left pleat out. Fold it back out from the bottom point, a little further right. A ridge fans up from the point.
  21. Crown: right pleat in. Fold the right corner in on a crease from the bottom point, leaning a little right.
  22. Crown: right pleat out. Fold it back out, a little further left. The gold fan is done.
  23. Crown it. Glue the crane over the fan, the fan's point behind the back of the head, so the golden crown stands up.

Hail the queen!

Draw a small white cheek patch with a black eye in it.

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