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How to fold an origami ram

Fold a deep kite body, slit four legs, fold the ends and corners behind into a round fleece and pleat it twice. Add a folded dark head and a strip folded into a spiral horn.

You need: 1 oatmeal square (15 cm), a dark brown square (7.5 cm), a tan strip (2 × 10.5 cm), scissors, glue and a black and a white pen. Hard, 30 steps, about 45 minutes.

Steps

  1. Turn it. Put the big square white side up and turn it so a corner points up, like a diamond.
  2. Crease the middle. White side up, turned like a diamond, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner, crease and unfold.
  3. Kite. Fold the edges at the left point in on creases from the point to 8.6 cm above and below the middle crease. That end is the ram's chest.
  4. Narrow the tail end. Fold the edges at the right point in on creases from the point to 8.6 cm above and below the middle crease. That end is the rump.
  5. Tummy corners. Fold the top and bottom corners in on creases 4.5 cm above and below the middle crease. They will be hidden inside.
  6. Fold in half. Fold the top half down onto the bottom half along the middle crease. The long fold on top is the back, the flat bottom is the tummy.
  7. Crease a strip. Fold the bottom edge up 0.9 cm, all layers together, and crease it hard. This strip gives the legs.
  8. Open it. Unfold the strip again.
  9. Slit the legs. Cut along the strip crease from the front end in 3.5 cm, and from the back end in 3.5 cm.
  10. Front legs. Swing the front strip down on slanted creases from its inner end, the front layers forward and the back ones behind, a little apart.
  11. Back legs. Swing the back strip down the same way. Now the ram stands on four legs.
  12. Blunt the ends. Fold both points behind on upright creases 6 cm either side of the middle, all layers together.
  13. Round the fleece. Fold both top corners behind on slants, 1.8 cm along each edge, so the woolly body is round.
  14. Fleece pleat 1: fold over. Fold the back part of the body over to the front on an upright crease just in front of the back legs, all layers together.
  15. Fleece pleat 1: fold back. Fold it back again on an upright crease 0.5 cm further forward. The pleat makes the body shorter and sturdier.
  16. Fleece pleat 2: fold over. Fold the back part of the body over to the front on an upright crease just behind the front legs, all layers together.
  17. Fleece pleat 2: fold back. Fold it back again on an upright crease 0.5 cm further forward. The pleat makes the body shorter and sturdier.
  18. Horn: new sheet. Take the tan strip, white side up, standing upright. It becomes the curly horn.
  19. Horn: fold in half. Fold the strip in half the long way, left edge onto the right edge, so it is tan on both sides.
  20. Horn: taper it. Fold the open edge behind on a slant from the bottom corner, so the strip narrows to 0.5 cm at the top.
  21. Horn: curl 1. Fold the top of the strip over on a slanted crease 2.3 cm up, so it turns down a little.
  22. Horn: curl 2. Fold the end over again the same way, 2 cm further along, so the horn keeps curling round.
  23. Horn: curl 3. Fold the end over again the same way, 1.7 cm further along, so the horn keeps curling round.
  24. Horn: curl 4. Fold the end over again the same way, 1.5 cm further along, so the horn keeps curling round.
  25. Horn: curl 5. Fold the tip over once more the same way. The horn now curls round in a spiral.
  26. Head: new sheet. Take the dark brown square, white side up, turned like a diamond with its points tipped down to the left.
  27. Head: kite. Fold the edges at the lower left point in on creases from the point to 2.6 cm either side of the middle. That point is the snout.
  28. Head: in half. Fold the top half down onto the bottom half along the middle. Now the head is a dark wedge.
  29. Head: blunt it. Fold the sharp snout tip behind a little, and the back point behind a lot, all layers together, so the face is a blunt wedge.
  30. Put it together. Glue the head over the front of the body so it juts out in front, then glue the horn on the side of the head so it curls round the cheek.

Baa, ram!

Give the dark face a white eye with a black middle and a white nostril, and draw little curls of wool over the body.

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