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How to fold an origami frilled lizard

Reverse-fold a folded strip into a bent-down head and a swung-back tail and cut striding legs. Fan-fold an orange square, snip it to points and open it into a round frill.

You need: Tan paper: a 17 x 4.2 cm strip and a 4 x 2.8 cm strip. A 9 cm orange square. Scissors, a ruler and glue. Hard, 21 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. White side up, long sides at the top and bottom. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. The fold is the lizard's back.
  2. Tail back. Outside-reverse-fold the left end back over the body on an upright crease 8 cm from the left edge. Each layer wraps round the outside.
  3. Cut the tail. Cut up the tail fold, leaving its top 1.5 cm. Cut the tail flap to a point, from the end of that cut to its tip on the top fold.
  4. Tail out. Outside-reverse-fold the tail out again on a crease from its bottom corner, so the long tail stretches out behind.
  5. Head back. Outside-reverse-fold the right end back over the body the same way, on a crease 3.1 cm from the right edge.
  6. Cut the head. Cut up the head fold, leaving its top 1.7 cm. Taper the head flap to 1.1 cm deep at its tip and snip its top corner round.
  7. Head out. Outside-reverse-fold the head out on a crease from its top corner, so it points forward and a little down.
  8. Round the body. Cut the two bottom corners of the body off in short slants.
  9. Frill: new sheet. Set the body aside. Lay the orange square coloured side up.
  10. Frill: fold in half. Fold the right edge over onto the left edge.
  11. Frill: in half again. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge: a small square, the middle of the paper at its top right corner.
  12. Frill: fan fold. Fold it in half corner to corner, on a crease from that middle corner, into a thin fan-shaped triangle. Crease all the layers hard.
  13. Frill: snip a point. Cut the wide end into a point through all the layers: from 3.6 cm along each folded side out to a point 4.5 cm from the middle corner.
  14. Frill: open. Unfold the last fold.
  15. Frill: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  16. Frill: open it out. Open it out flat: a round frill with eight points, pleated by the fan creases.
  17. Legs: new sheet. Set the frill aside. Lay the legs strip coloured side up, long sides at the top and bottom.
  18. Legs: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  19. Legs: cut them. Through both layers, cut a slant off the bottom corner at the fold, from 2.2 cm up. Cut a slant down the open edges to their bottom corner.
  20. Legs: open them. Unfold it: a hind leg and a front leg, joined at the top and splayed out.
  21. Stand it up. Glue the body on the legs, leaning up steeply, with the tail along the ground. Glue the frill behind the neck so it fans out round the head.

Run for it!

Draw ribs out to the points of the frill, a beady eye and a wide-open mouth, and long toes on the feet.

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