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How to fold an origami rattlesnake

Fold a long strip into a slim band with a pale tip, then turn it with slanted folds: down for the neck, back and forth into three coils, and up for the tail. Pleat the rattle.

You need: A strip 7.8 cm wide and 42 cm long (from an A3 sheet), sandy brown on one side, and a black pen. Hard, 13 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Pale tip. White side up, long edges at the top and bottom. Fold the left end behind 2.6 cm: it will be the rattle.
  2. Cupboard. Fold the top and bottom edges in to meet at the middle.
  3. Fold in half. Fold the bottom half behind along the middle. Now it is a slim band; the right end is the head.
  4. Pointed snout. Fold the two corners of the head end behind, the top one a little more, so the snout comes to a blunt point.
  5. Neck down. Outside-reverse-fold the long end down on a slanted crease 3.9 cm from the head end, so the neck hangs down from the head.
  6. Top coil. Fold it to the left on a slanted crease 7.9 cm further down. That was the neck; now the coils start.
  7. Turn under. Fold it straight down on a slanted crease 4.2 cm along: the end of the top coil.
  8. Middle coil. Fold it to the right on a slanted crease just below, so it runs back under the top coil.
  9. Turn under. Fold it down again on a slanted crease 6.1 cm along, past the end of the top coil.
  10. Bottom coil. Fold it to the left just below, so the bottom coil runs under the other two.
  11. Tail up. Fold the end straight up on a slanted crease 8.1 cm along, past the coils, so the tail stands up at the back.
  12. Rattle: pleat. Fold the tip of the tail down on a crease 0.7 cm below the tip.
  13. Rattle: back up. Fold it back up on a crease 0.3 cm lower. The step it leaves is the first ring of the rattle.

Shake, rattle and coil!

Draw a beady eye, a long mouth line and a forked tongue on the head, dark diamonds along the back and rings round the rattle.

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