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How to fold an origami treehouse

A real project. Pleat and cut a plank hut, add a red roof, a door and a flag, then a forked trunk, a scalloped treetop, a rope ladder, a swing, a bird and grass. Glue it into one standing scene.

You need: 11 pieces: tan, dark brown, yellow, red, light brown, brown, green, pale tan, blue, light green (sizes in steps). Scissors, glue, black pen, white gel pen.. Challenge, 62 steps, about 60 minutes.

Steps

  1. Hut: fold in half. Start with the hut walls: a 7 × 8.6 cm tan piece, tan side up, standing tall. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  2. Hut: cut the gable. Cut through both layers from the top of the fold down to 2.5 cm below the top on the open side. This makes the pointed gable.
  3. Hut: open it. Open the walls out flat again. Now the hut has a pointed top.
  4. Hut: first plank pleat. Fold the bottom edge up, creasing 4.2 cm below the gable's corners. The white side shows for now.
  5. Hut: fold it back down. Fold the flap back down 4 mm higher. The pleat leaves a ledge right across the wall, like the edge of a plank.
  6. Hut: second plank pleat. Fold the bottom edge up again, creasing 1.5 cm below the first ledge.
  7. Hut: and back down. Fold this flap back down 4 mm higher too. Two ledges now run across the wall like planks.
  8. Door: new sheet. Set the walls aside. For the door, take a 1.8 × 3 cm dark brown piece, brown side up, standing tall.
  9. Door: round the top. Snip a small corner off each top corner of the door, 5 mm each way, so its top is rounded.
  10. Flag: new sheet. Set the door aside. For the flag, take a 3 × 2 cm yellow piece, yellow side up, long side across.
  11. Flag: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  12. Flag: cut the swallowtail. At the right end, cut a slant from the fold 6 mm in, out to the end a little above the bottom.
  13. Flag: open it. Open the flag again. A V notch makes the end flutter like a swallow's tail.
  14. Roof: new sheet. Set the flag aside. For the roof, take an 11 × 1.6 cm red strip, white side up. Lay it slanting, high on the right.
  15. Roof: fold in half lengthwise. Fold the lower long edge up onto the upper long edge. Now the strip is red on both sides.
  16. Roof: bend the ridge. Fold the upper end down across a level crease 5.2 cm from the left end, so the two halves make a pointed roof.
  17. Put the hut together. Glue the roof over the gable, its folded edges on the slopes. Glue the door on the bottom edge, left of middle, and the flag 2.6 cm above the ridge.
  18. Swing: new sheet. Set the hut aside. For the swing rope, take a 1 × 22 cm light brown strip, white side up, standing tall.
  19. Swing: fold in half lengthwise. Fold the left long edge over onto the right one. The rope is now 5 mm wide and brown on both sides.
  20. Swing: turn the corner. 9.6 cm from the top, fold the rest of the rope over to the right on a slant, so it runs straight across.
  21. Swing: turn it up. 4.5 cm along, fold the end up on a slant the same way, so it runs straight up. The rope makes a U.
  22. Seat: new sheet. Set the rope aside. For the seat, take a 4.8 × 2 cm brown piece, white side up, long side across.
  23. Seat: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge, for a strong 1 cm brown plank.
  24. Seat: snip the corners. Snip a tiny corner, 3 mm each way, off all four corners of the plank.
  25. Trunk: new sheet. Set the seat aside. For the tree trunk, take an 8 × 15 cm brown piece, brown side up, standing tall.
  26. Trunk: fold in half. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge.
  27. Trunk: cut the fork. Cut from the open top corner to 1.5 cm from the fold at the bottom. Then cut from 6 cm down the fold up to the top, 2 cm from the fold.
  28. Trunk: open it. Open it out. The trunk is narrow at the foot and splits into two thick branches: a fork to hold the hut.
  29. Treetop: new sheet. Set the trunk aside. For the treetop, take a 15 cm green square, green side up.
  30. Treetop: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge.
  31. Treetop: in half again. Fold the left edge over onto the right edge. The corner where the two folds meet is the middle of the treetop.
  32. Treetop: fold to a wedge. Fold it in half on the slant, from the middle corner, so the left fold lies along the top fold. Crease hard.
  33. Treetop: cut a scallop. Cut across the wide end in a low bump: 6.5 cm from the middle along both folds, rising to 7.5 cm out in between.
  34. Treetop: open the slant. Unfold the slanted fold.
  35. Treetop: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  36. Treetop: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Eight round leafy scallops go all the way round the treetop.
  37. Ladder: new sheet. Set the treetop aside. For the rope ladder, take a 2.4 × 9 cm pale tan strip, tan side up, standing tall.
  38. Ladder: fold in half lengthwise. Fold the left long edge over onto the right one.
  39. Ladder: fold in half. Fold the bottom end up onto the top end.
  40. Ladder: in half again. Fold the top ends back down onto the bottom fold.
  41. Ladder: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way, to a small stack 1.2 × 1.1 cm. Crease hard.
  42. Ladder: snip the gaps. On the lengthwise fold, snip the top and bottom corners off on a slant: 8 mm along the folded ends, 3 mm down the lengthwise fold.
  43. Ladder: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  44. Ladder: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  45. Ladder: open the middle. Unfold the first fold across.
  46. Ladder: open flat. Unfold the lengthwise fold too. Seven gaps open down the middle, with rungs between them and a rail on each side.
  47. Bird: new sheet. Set the ladder aside. For the bird, take a 4 cm blue square, white side up.
  48. Bird: fold in half. Fold the top edge down onto the bottom edge. The fold on top is the bird's back.
  49. Bird: cut the shape. Cut through both layers: a pointed beak at the right top, a round belly underneath and a pointed tail at the left.
  50. Bird: lift a wing. Fold just the front layer's belly up on a slant, so a little white wing lies on the bird's side.
  51. Grass: new sheet. Set the bird aside. Last, the grass: a 24 × 3.5 cm light green strip, green side up, lying long.
  52. Grass: fold in half. Fold the left end over onto the right end.
  53. Grass: in half again. Fold the right end back over onto the left fold.
  54. Grass: and again. Fold it in half once more the same way.
  55. Grass: once more. And once more, to a narrow stack 1.5 cm wide. Crease hard.
  56. Grass: cut the tufts. Cut the top to a sharp point: from 8 mm up each side to the middle of the top edge.
  57. Grass: open it. Unfold the last fold.
  58. Grass: open again. Unfold the next fold.
  59. Grass: and again. Unfold the next fold.
  60. Grass: open flat. Unfold the first fold too. Sixteen pointed blades of grass stand in a row.
  61. Build the treehouse. Glue the trunk behind the grass, the treetop over its fork and the hut in front. Hang the ladder under the door, the swing from the treetop, the bird on the seat.
  62. Stand it up. Bend both ends of the grass gently towards you, 3 cm from each end, and stand the whole treehouse up on the table.

Welcome up!

With a white gel pen, draw a window, a round attic window and a door knob. Draw plank lines, a flag pole, bark on the trunk and the bird's eye.

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