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How to fold an origami giraffe

A sheet folded into a long tent with a flap at each end. One cut gives it a back and a front leg on each side, outside reverse folds lift the neck and drop the tail, and it stands up on its four legs.

You need: 1 sheet of A4 or Letter paper, yellow on one side, scissors, a ruler and a brown pen. Hard, 15 steps, about 20 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold the back end over. Lay the sheet sideways, yellow side up. Fold the left end over to the right, creasing 5 cm from the edge. This flap becomes the tail.
  2. Fold the front end over. Fold the right end over to the left, on top, creasing 7.6 cm from the left fold (17.1 cm from the right edge). This flap becomes the neck.
  3. Fold in half. Fold the top half behind, onto the back, so both flaps stay outside. The fold along the top is the giraffe's back.
  4. Cut the neck. Swing the neck flap out to the right. Snip up its fold from the bottom to 3 cm below the top, then cut to 2 cm below the top, 13.5 cm out. Cut off the rest.
  5. Cut the tail. Lay the neck strip back. Swing the tail flap out to the left, snip up its fold to 1 cm below the top, trim it to a 1 cm strip along the top fold and lay it back.
  6. Mark the legs. Fold the bottom edges up together, creasing 3.5 cm below the top fold. Everything under this crease will be legs.
  7. Open it again. Unfold the bottom strip, leaving the leg crease.
  8. Fold the back over. Fold the back end over to the front, creasing straight down 3.8 cm from the tail fold. The neck and tail strips fold along; those creases flatten out later.
  9. Cut out the legs. Below the leg crease, cut away the paper within 2.3 cm of the fold, through all the layers, leaving a 1.5 cm leg at the end.
  10. Open it out. Unfold the back end again. The tent now has a back leg and a front leg on each side.
  11. Pull up the neck. Outside-reverse-fold the neck flap up around the body so it stands tall, leaning forward. Start the crease at the bottom of the flap.
  12. Fold the head. Fold the top of the neck forward and down, both layers together, creasing from 3.5 cm below the tip at the back of the neck, so the head hangs nose-down.
  13. Drop the tail. Outside-reverse-fold the tail strip down around the body, so it hangs from the top of the back. Start the crease at the back end of the top fold.
  14. Shape the head. Trim the back edge of the head from 1.3 cm below its fold to 4 mm in at the nose end, and snip off the front corner of the nose, so the head tapers.
  15. Stand it up. Stand the giraffe on its four feet and ease the two sides of the body a little apart, so it balances. Pinch the neck layers together.

So tall!

Draw brown patches all over its body and neck, an eye on each side of the head, two little horns on top, and a tuft at the end of the tail.

How to display it

  1. Stand it on a shelf or windowsill. If it tips, ease the sides of the body further apart.
  2. Fold a second one with a shorter neck flap as a baby to stand beside it.

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