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How to fold an origami sailfish

A kite with a silver belly, folded in half, its head narrowed and its tail split into a fork. Pleat a big sail like a fan, fold a thin bill, and make it leap.

You need: A 15 cm square of blue/white paper, a 13 × 15 cm dark blue sheet, a 2 × 9 cm dark strip, small scissors and glue. Hard, 20 steps, about 30 minutes.

Steps

  1. Crease the middle. White side up, fold the top corner down to the bottom corner, crease, and unfold.
  2. Fold in the head. Fold the left corner in to the middle of the paper.
  3. Make a kite. Fold the two right-hand edges in toward the middle crease, stopping a little short so a white wedge shows down the middle.
  4. Fold in half. Fold the bottom half behind along the middle crease. The fold is the silver belly, the head points left.
  5. Point the head. Fold the top front corner behind on a long slant up to the back, then the chin corner, so the head narrows to a snout.
  6. Snip the tail. Snip 5.5 cm along the belly fold from the tail point, so the tail's front and back layers come apart.
  7. Fork the tail. Fold the front layer of the tail up on a slant from the end of the snip, so it points up and back. The back layer stays: a forked tail.
  8. The bill. Set the fish aside. Take the dark strip, white side up, lying the long way across.
  9. Bill: fold in half. Fold the strip in half the long way, bottom edge up to the top.
  10. Bill: fold it thin. Fold the top edge behind on a long slant, from the top right corner down to the fold at the left end, so the bill tapers to a point.
  11. The sail. Set the bill aside too. Take the dark blue sheet, blue side up, the long side across.
  12. Sail: first pleat. Fold the right part over to the left on a crease 2.5 cm from the left edge, a little closer to it at the bottom than at the top.
  13. Sail: first pleat back. Fold it back to the right on a crease just left of that fold, 6 mm away at the top and closer at the bottom: a fan-shaped pleat.
  14. Sail: second pleat. Fold the right part over to the left again, 2.5 cm right of the last pleat, slanting the same way.
  15. Sail: second pleat back. Fold it back to the right on a crease just left of that fold, 6 mm away at the top and closer at the bottom: a fan-shaped pleat.
  16. Sail: third pleat. Fold the right part over to the left again, 2.5 cm right of the last pleat, slanting the same way.
  17. Sail: third pleat back. Fold it back to the right on a crease just left of that fold, 6 mm away at the top and closer at the bottom: a fan-shaped pleat.
  18. Sail: round the top. Fold the top front corner behind on a slant, then fold the top back corner behind on a long slant down to the back edge.
  19. Glue it together. Glue the bottom of the sail behind the fish's back, starting just behind the head. Glue the wide end of the bill behind the snout.
  20. Leap!. Tip the fish up so the bill points to the sky, as if it's leaping out of the waves.

Splash!

Draw a big round eye just behind the bill and a curved gill line behind it.

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