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How to fold an origami sloth

Fold two V-shaped pairs of long limbs and hook their claws over with outside reverse folds, a round body, a furry head with a pale face, and a pleated branch with a twig.

You need: 2 brown strips (3.5 × 24 cm), a brown rectangle (15 × 9 cm), a brown square (10 cm), a dark brown strip (5 × 25.5 cm), scissors, glue. Hard, 23 steps, about 40 minutes.

Steps

  1. Arms: in half. Take a brown strip, white side up, standing tall. Fold it in half lengthwise, so it is brown on both sides.
  2. Arms: fold a V. Fold the bottom half up on a crease 11 cm from the top that slants a little, so the two arms open into a narrow V.
  3. Arms: point the claws. Cut both ends into points, 2 cm back along each edge.
  4. Arms: hook the claws. Outside-reverse-fold both tips down on one level crease 2.5 cm from the top, so the pale insides show as curved claws.
  5. Legs: new sheet. Set the arms aside. Take the other brown strip, white side up, standing tall.
  6. Legs: in half. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, so it is brown on both sides.
  7. Legs: fold a V. Fold the bottom half up on a crease 11 cm from the top that slants a little, so the two legs open into a narrow V.
  8. Legs: point the claws. Cut both ends into points, 2 cm back along each edge.
  9. Legs: hook the claws. Outside-reverse-fold both tips down on one level crease 2.5 cm from the top, so the pale insides show as curved claws.
  10. Body: new sheet. Set the legs aside. Take the brown rectangle, brown side up, lying wide.
  11. Body: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 3.5 cm in along each edge, so the body is a fat oval.
  12. Body: snip it round. Snip a little off each of the eight corners, 1 cm along each edge, so the body is smooth and round.
  13. Head: new sheet. Set the body aside. Take the brown square, white side up.
  14. Head: furry sides. Fold the left and right edges in 1.2 cm, so brown fur shows down both sides.
  15. Head: furry cap. Fold the top edge down 2 cm. The white left in the middle is the sloth's pale face.
  16. Head: round it. Fold all four corners behind, 2 cm in along each edge, so the head is round.
  17. Branch: new sheet. Set the head aside. Take the dark brown strip, white side up, lying wide.
  18. Branch: in half. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge.
  19. Branch: in half again. Fold the top edge down to the bottom fold, so you have a stick about 1.2 cm thick.
  20. Branch: pleat a knot. Fold the right end over to the left on an upright crease 4.5 cm from the end.
  21. Branch: and back. Fold it back to the right 5 mm further left. The little step is a knot in the branch.
  22. Branch: a twig. Fold the left end up on a crease slanting down to the right, about 4 cm from the end, so a twig points up.
  23. Glue it together. Glue the arms and legs on the front of the branch, claws hooked over the top. Glue the body over their bottom ends and the head on the left end.

Just hanging around

Draw a dark stripe slanting down through each eye with a shiny dot, a dark nose and a sleepy smile. Split each pale tip into two claws.

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