All models

How to fold an origami jet ski

Cut a red hull with a sharp bow, reverse-fold a black strip into handlebars, fold and snip a spiky spray, and pleat blue waves to ride on.

You need: Red paper 21 × 10 cm, a black strip 7 × 3 cm, a black scrap, a light blue piece 11 × 9.5 cm, a blue strip 34 × 7 cm, scissors and glue. Hard, 21 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. Start white side up, long side across. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge, so the hull is red on both sides with the fold along the bottom.
  2. Cut the hull. Cut a long slant from the fold up to a sharp point at the front, then slope the deck down to meet it. Cut the back on a slight slant.
  3. Seat: new sheet. Set the hull aside. Take the black scrap for the seat.
  4. Seat: shape it. Snip the back top corner round, and cut the front on a slant so the seat rises to the handlebar.
  5. Handlebar: new sheet. Set the seat aside. Take the black strip, white side up.
  6. Handlebar: edges in. Fold both long edges in to meet along the middle.
  7. Handlebar: in half. Mountain-fold it in half the long way. Now it is a thin post, black inside and out.
  8. Handlebar: grip. Outside-reverse-fold the top 2.5 cm back, wrapping it round the post, so it points to the seat. That's the handlebar grip.
  9. Spray: new sheet. Set the handlebar aside. Take the light blue piece, long side across.
  10. Spray: in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  11. Spray: in half again. Fold the right edges back over onto the left fold.
  12. Spray: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way, into a narrow stack. Crease it hard.
  13. Spray: snip. Cut through the whole stack on a slant, from the top left corner down to 4 cm below the top on the right.
  14. Spray: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  15. Spray: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  16. Spray: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. The top is now a row of sharp splashes.
  17. Spray: fan it. Cut both sides on a slant, from just under the splashes down to a narrow foot, so the spray fans out like a jet of water.
  18. Waves: new sheet. Set the spray aside. Take the long blue strip, blue side up.
  19. Waves: fold up. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 4.5 cm below the top edge.
  20. Waves: fold back down. Fold it back down on a crease 1 cm higher, making a pleat. The ledge looks like a rolling wave.
  21. Launch it. Glue the spray behind the waves, leaning back from the stern. Sit the hull on top of the waves, with the seat and handlebar on the deck.

Splash!

Draw a white stripe along the hull, a black jet at the back and white foam on the waves. Whoosh it across the bath!

What to fold next