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How to fold an origami go-kart

Cut a low orange chassis and reverse-fold its back end up into a seat. Pleat a chunky bumper, fold wheels, a steering wheel and a driver in a round helmet.

You need: Orange paper 25 × 11 cm, a grey piece 7 × 9.5 cm, black squares of 6, 5 and 2.5 cm, a black strip, blue paper, a red 4 cm square, scissors and glue. Hard, 28 steps, about 45 minutes.

Steps

  1. Edges to the middle. Start white side up, long side across. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet along the middle.
  2. Fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the middle, so the top half goes behind. Now it is a long strip, orange inside and out.
  3. Cut the nose. Cut the front top corner off on a long slant, so the nose slopes down low. Snip the front bottom corner.
  4. Seat back. Outside-reverse-fold the back 4 cm straight up, leaning back a little, wrapping it round the strip. It stands up as the seat.
  5. Bumper: new sheet. Set the chassis aside. Take the grey piece, grey side up, long side upright.
  6. Bumper: in half. Fold the bottom half behind.
  7. Bumper: pleat. Fold the left end over to the right on an upright crease 2.5 cm from it.
  8. Bumper: pleat back. Fold it back out on a crease 7 mm nearer the end. The pleat makes a chunky ridge, like a real kart bumper.
  9. Bumper: round it. Round the two left corners in small snips.
  10. Column: new sheet. Set the bumper aside. Take the black strip, white side up.
  11. Column: in half. Fold it in half the long way, so it is a thin black rod.
  12. Back wheel: new sheet. Set the column aside. Take the 6 cm black square, white side up.
  13. Back wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to meet in the middle.
  14. Back wheel: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little, so a white square shows in the middle. That's the hub.
  15. Back wheel: round it. Fold the four points of the square a little way behind, so the wheel looks round.
  16. Front wheel: new sheet. Set the back wheel aside and take the 5 cm black square, white side up.
  17. Front wheel: corners in. Fold all four corners in to the middle.
  18. Front wheel: hubcap. Fold each point back out a little for the hub.
  19. Front wheel: round it. Fold the four points behind to round it off.
  20. Helmet: new sheet. Set the wheel aside. Take the red square, red side up.
  21. Helmet: round it. Fold the four corners a little way behind, so the helmet looks round.
  22. Steering wheel: new sheet. Set the helmet aside. Take the small black square, black side up.
  23. Steering wheel: round it. Fold the four corners behind, so it is a little round steering wheel.
  24. Arm: new sheet. Set the steering wheel aside. Take a thin blue strip, white side up.
  25. Arm: in half. Fold it in half the long way, so it is a blue arm.
  26. Driver: new sheet. Set the arm aside. Take the blue rectangle, blue side up, for the driver's body.
  27. Driver: shoulders. Round both top corners in small snips, for the shoulders.
  28. Build the kart. Sit the driver in the chassis in front of the seat. Glue the bumper and column behind, the wheels on, then the helmet, steering wheel and arm.

Ready, set, go!

Draw a black visor and a white stripe on the helmet, a white middle on the steering wheel and a big number 1 on the side. Race it round a track!

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