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How to fold an origami wren

A long diamond folded in half. Pleats stand the tail straight up and lift the neck, and an outside reverse fold turns the head and beak forward.

You need: 1 square sheet, 15 × 15 cm, brown on one side; a black pen and a white pen. Hard, 12 steps, about 25 minutes.

Steps

  1. Turn it. White side up. Turn the square so a corner points up, like a diamond.
  2. Crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner over to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  3. Make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  4. Narrow the top. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease too, making a long diamond.
  5. Fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the centre crease, so the flaps stay on the outside.
  6. Lay it down. Turn it so the fold runs along the bottom and the point that was at the bottom is on the right.
  7. Blunt the tail. Fold the tip of the left point behind on an upright crease 1.5 cm from the tip.
  8. Tail: fold in. Fold the left part over to the right on a crease from the bottom, 2.6 cm behind the peak, leaning a little to the left.
  9. Tail: fold out. Fold it back to the left from the same point, on a crease leaning well to the right. The tail now stands straight up.
  10. Neck: fold in. Fold the right point over to the left on a crease from the bottom, 5 cm in front of the peak, leaning a little to the right.
  11. Neck: fold out. Fold it back to the right from the same point, on a crease leaning a little to the left. The point stands up.
  12. Head. 1.3 cm below the tip, outside-reverse-fold the tip forward. It makes the round head and a thin beak.

Tiny but loud!

Draw a black eye with a pale stripe above it, and a few dark bars across the tail.

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