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Fold Technique↕ | Difficulty Level↕ | Dimensional Effect↕ | Origin / Tradition↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Valley Fold | Beginner | 2D — paper folds toward you | Universal, all origami traditions | The most fundamental fold in all paper crafting — paper is folded toward you creating a valley shape when viewed from the side, represented by dashed lines in origami diagrams, every paper airplane, every greeting card, every origami crane begins with a valley fold, the atom of paper folding |
Mountain Fold | Beginner | 2D — paper folds away from you | Universal, all origami traditions | The valley fold's twin — paper folds away from you creating a ridge like a mountain when viewed from the side, represented by dot-dash lines in diagrams, valley and mountain are yin and yang of origami, understanding when to use each is the first step from casual folder to deliberate artist |
Squash Fold | Intermediate | 3D — flap opens and flattens | Japanese origami, fundamental technique | A flap is opened along a crease line and flattened symmetrically — transforms a flat edge into a diamond shape, essential for making the preliminary base and bird base, the first fold that makes beginners feel like they're really doing origami, surprisingly satisfying when the paper pops flat |
Petal Fold | Intermediate-Advanced | 3D — complex flap manipulation | Japanese origami (crane base) | A multi-step fold where edges are lifted upward while the base point folds toward you — creates the long points needed for crane wings, legs, and tails, the critical move in transforming a bird base into a crane, mastering it is the gateway to intermediate origami, named for the petal-like shape it creates |
Reverse Fold (Inside & Outside) | Intermediate | 3D — point reverses direction | Japanese origami | A point is pushed inside or wrapped outside a model to change its direction — the inside reverse fold creates a crane's head and tail by tucking the point inward, the outside reverse fold wraps paper around itself, essential for creating animal heads, beaks, feet, and any feature that changes angle |
Sink Fold | Advanced | 3D — point collapses inward | Japanese origami, complex models | An entire point is pushed inside the model and flattened — one of the most difficult traditional folds because existing creases must be reversed simultaneously while the paper is three-dimensional, the fold that separates intermediate folders from advanced, some models require open sinks that test patience and paper |
Crimp Fold | Intermediate | 3D — creates a zigzag | Japanese origami, insect and animal models | Two reverse folds made simultaneously create a zigzag step in a limb or body — essential for creating the articulated legs of insects, the corrugated bodies of caterpillars, and the accordion-like pleats of complex models, adds dimensionality and realism to animal designs |
Pleat Fold | Beginner-Intermediate | 2D/3D — alternating parallel folds | Universal, decorative crafts | Alternating mountain and valley folds create accordion-like pleats — the technique behind paper fans, bellows, decorative borders, and tessellations, industrial applications include car air filters and solar panel deployment in space, the simplest fold pattern that creates mechanical function from flat paper |
Wet Folding | Advanced | 3D — sculptural curves | Akira Yoshizawa (Japan), 1950s | Dampening thick paper before folding to create soft organic curves instead of hard creases — invented by the father of modern origami Akira Yoshizawa, transforms geometric paper folding into sculpture, a wet-folded elephant looks alive compared to the angular version, requires special heavy paper and artistic judgment |
Tessellation Folding | Advanced | 2D/3D — repeating geometric patterns | Modern origami art, 1960s onward | Folding a single flat sheet into interlocking geometric patterns that tile infinitely — creates stunning light-and-shadow effects when backlit, mathematically related to crystal structures, Eric Gjerde and Joel Cooper elevated tessellations into fine art, each piece uses dozens of precisely aligned valley and mountain folds |
Box Pleat Grid | Advanced | 3D — creates complex 3D bases | Modern complex origami, 1990s | Pre-creasing a grid of squares across the entire sheet before collapsing it into a base — the foundation technique for super-complex models with many limbs, allows mathematical planning of exactly where each feature will emerge from the paper, Robert Lang's insects and Neal Elias's figures rely on this technique |
Rabbit Ear Fold | Intermediate | 3D — triangular flap stands up | Japanese origami | Three creases meet at a point creating a triangular flap that stands perpendicular to the paper — named because the result looks like a rabbit's ear, essential for creating narrow points and limbs from wider flaps, the building block for turning a flat triangle into a three-dimensional appendage |
Swivel Fold | Intermediate-Advanced | 3D — paper rotates around a point | Modern origami design | Paper pivots around a fixed point while a flap swings into a new position — creates asymmetric shapes and allows paper to flow around corners, essential for complex animal models where limbs need to emerge at odd angles, the fold that gives designers freedom to break symmetry |
Curved Fold (Ruled Surface) | Advanced | 3D — smooth mathematical surfaces | Mathematical paper folding, 1920s-present | Folding along curved lines rather than straight ones to create elegant three-dimensional ruled surfaces — produces hyperbolic paraboloids, cones, and flowing organic shapes impossible with straight folds alone, David Huffman pioneered curved-crease origami, bridges mathematics, art, and engineering design |
Modular Unit Fold (Sonobe) | Intermediate | 3D — multiple units interlock | Japanese modular origami, 1960s | Identical simple units folded from separate sheets that interlock without glue to form polyhedra and geometric sculptures — the Sonobe unit is the most famous, six make a cube and thirty make an icosahedron, the collaborative art where many hands fold simple pieces that combine into impossible-looking structures |
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