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How to fold an origami pony

Fold a pony head with an ear and a white fringe. Then cut a chubby body, swing its neck up, fold in a thick white mane and fold down a long white tail.

You need: 1 golden square (15 cm), a small golden square (6 cm), scissors, a ruler, glue and a black pen. Hard, 23 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Head: fold in half. Start with the small square, white side up. Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner. The fold is the jaw; the left point will be the nose.
  2. Head: the ear. Fold the right corner up on a crease from the middle of the jaw fold, so its tip stands straight up past the right edge.
  3. Head: turn over. Turn the head over. Now the nose points right and the ear is at the back.
  4. Head: white fringe. Fold the top point of the front layer down on a slant, so a white fringe falls over the face. Fold the back layer's point behind.
  5. Head: muzzle. Cut the nose point off straight up and down, 1.2 cm from the tip, for a soft square muzzle.
  6. Body: new sheet. Set the head aside. Take the big golden square, white side up, turned like a diamond.
  7. Body: fold in half. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner. The long fold at the top is the pony's back; it faces right.
  8. Body: crease the neck strip. Fold the top edge down 2.5 cm, both layers, and crease it hard.
  9. Body: open it. Unfold it. The strip above this crease on the right will be the neck.
  10. Body: crease the legs. Fold the right point over on an upright crease 1.2 cm right of the middle, and crease it. Unfold.
  11. Body: open it. Unfold it. This crease marks the back of the front legs.
  12. Body: crease the hind legs. Fold the left point over on an upright crease 1.7 cm left of the middle.
  13. Body: open it. Unfold it. This crease marks the front of the hind legs.
  14. Body: crease the rump. Fold the left point over again on an upright crease 3.6 cm left of the middle.
  15. Body: open it. Unfold it. The strip along the top left of this crease will be the tail.
  16. Body: cut the legs. Cut the bottom point off level, 5.2 cm below the top. Cut up the leg creases to 3.6 cm and 3.4 cm below the top, then across between them.
  17. Body: cut the neck. Snip along the neck crease from the right edge to 2.3 cm right of the middle. Cut the strip off 7.6 cm from the middle, and round the chest below it.
  18. Body: cut the tail. Snip along the top fold from the left point to the rump crease, and up that crease. Cut the tail strip 1.5 cm deep and 4.8 cm long. Round the thighs.
  19. Neck up. Fold the neck strip up, both layers together, on a crease from its bottom left corner, so it stands up and leans forward.
  20. Snip for the mane. Snip 1.1 cm up the slanted crease at the bottom of the neck, from its back corner.
  21. Thick mane. Fold the back edge of the front neck layer in, 6 mm wide all the way up. Its white side and the white inside of the back layer make a thick mane.
  22. Long tail. Fold each layer of the tail strip down and back on a crease from the top of the rump, the front one to the front and the back one behind, so it hangs white.
  23. Glue it together. Glue the head over the top of the neck, tipped nose-down, with the white fringe at the front.

Neigh!

Draw strands on the mane, fringe and tail, and colour the hooves dark. Add a kind eye, a nostril and a smile.

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