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How to fold an origami peacock fan

Pleat a green rectangle into a ridged fan with three pairs of radial pleats. Fold a blue swan-style body with reverse-folded neck and head, and set it in front.

You need: A 19 × 9.5 cm green rectangle for the tail, a 13 cm blue square for the body, glue and a black pen. Hard, 17 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Tail: round the top. Green side up, long edge at the bottom. Fold both top corners behind, on lines that make the top of the tail nearly round.
  2. Tail: pleat 1. Valley-fold each side over on a line from the bottom middle point, as shown. The outer parts flip over towards the middle.
  3. Tail: pleat 1 back. Fold each flap back out on a line a little nearer the middle, leaving a narrow pleat along each fold.
  4. Tail: pleat 2. Valley-fold each side over again on the next lines from the bottom middle point, folding all the layers together.
  5. Tail: pleat 2 back. Fold each flap back out on a line a little nearer the middle, leaving a narrow pleat along each fold.
  6. Tail: pleat 3. Valley-fold each side over again on the next lines from the bottom middle point, folding all the layers together.
  7. Tail: pleat 3 back. Fold each flap back out on a line a little nearer the middle. The last pleats stand as ridges and the tail is now a narrower fan.
  8. Body: new sheet. Set the tail aside. Take the blue square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  9. Body: make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the up-and-down middle line.
  10. Body: turn it over. Flip the kite over.
  11. Body: narrow it. Fold the lower edges to the middle line again, making a long thin point.
  12. Body: point up. Fold the long point up so its tip meets the top corner. This will be the neck.
  13. Body: fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half down the middle, the neck on the outside.
  14. Body: lay it down. Turn it so the fold is at the bottom and the neck points right.
  15. Body: lift the neck. Outside-reverse-fold the neck so it stands up tall, starting the crease at the bottom right corner.
  16. Body: fold the head. Outside-reverse-fold the tip of the neck so it points forward. This is the small head and beak.
  17. Glue on the tail. Glue the fan behind the body, its pleated corner hidden behind the back, so the tail spreads up like a big half wheel.

Showing off!

Draw an eye on the head, a little crest of three dotted stalks, and a dark eye spot near the end of every feather.

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