Simple Origami Sunflower Tutorial
Craft these gorgeous origami sunflowers to bring in the summer spirit! When you’re done, check out these origami Koi Fish to add to your collection. This post contains affiliate links.
HELLO SUMMER! Hello sunshine. Hello playgrounds. And an extra hearty hello to fields of blooming flowers! And windowsills. And street dividers.
Flowers are coming up everywhere and I am SO ready! I’m loving the blooms of every shape and color, but none are quite as cheery as the big yellow sunflower. Bring some of its beauty into your home (or window, or car, or desk…) with this delightful paper craft.
This origami sunflower is fun to make and simple enough for a beginner as long as they can follow some instructions. While the end product looks satisfyingly complex, it’s made of a bunch of small parts that are easy to learn how to make. Because of the repetitive nature of the origami sunflower, it’s actually a FABULOUS practice project for the non-pro.
Both beginning and experienced origami artists can really have fun with this one.
I’ve used the classic yellow and brown colors for this demonstration, but of course you can feel free to use any color combination you like. I’d love to hang up a bunch of these on the wall in different colors! I would recommend using the same color for all the petals of each flower, though.
Try it in all autumn shades – rusts, burnt orange, deeper yellows – to mimic the depth of color that is truly found in nature.
And because of the “piecemeal” nature of the origami sunflower, you can make it quite large if you’d like to! So what are you waiting for? Let’s get crafting!
What you’ll need
- Colored paper – choose something lightweight. If you don’t want to do cutting, get 3 inch origami paper for the petals and 6 inch for the leaves. The center is not origami so anything can work. You can also simply grab a package of colored copy paper.
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue
- Optional: bone folder to help sharpen some of the bulkier folds
How to make an origami sunflower
1. Prepare your paper: We used yellow for the flower petals, brown for the center, and green for the stem and leaves. For the petals, use the ruler, pencil, and scissors to make seven 3-inch squares of paper. We’re going to start by making the petals, so get one of those squares ready for the next few steps.
2. Take any one of the yellow square papers and fold it in half diagonally (corner to corner). Unfold the paper and fold it in half along the other diagonal. Unfold that so you now have creases shaped like an X.
3. Flip the paper over to the other side. Fold it in half vertically (straight edge to opposite straight edge) and unfold. Fold it in half horizontally and unfold. Now you have creases shaped like a +.
4. Flip the paper over again. Bring the vertical and horizontal creases inward and towards you, while the diagonal creases will pop outward.
5. Flatten it to form a triangle that has 2 flaps on each side with a crease going up the middle.
6. Take one of the corner flaps and fold it inward so that its closed edge lines up with the crease in the center of the triangle. The tip will stick out past the edge of the triangle.
7. Take a flap from the opposite corner and do the same thing.
8. Flip the whole thing over to the other side. It looks like a larger triangle with a smaller triangle – the tips of the flaps you just folded up – sticking out of one side.
9. Take one of those sticking out tips and fold it in half by bringing the tip up against the larger triangle.
10. Do the same thing to the other tip.
11. Fold up the bottom corner of the big triangle (the corner that is opposite from the flaps you just folded) about a centimeter.
Turn over the whole thing. The two parts in the center will be the petals that show in the finished flower, while the side parts will be used to connect them.
12. Repeat all of those steps (2-11) with the other square papers for the rest of the petals.
13. Take two of the petal pieces and join them by sliding the extra side part of one under the petal part of the other.
14. Push the two petal pieces together so that there is no gap between the center petals. Yes, there will be some triangle points sticking out from the top.
15. Flip the petals over to the other side, keeping them joined.
16. Fold the extra tips over by aligning them with the rest of the pattern. This locks the petals into place while also taking care of those extra bits of triangle.
17. Flip the whole thing back over to the front again.
18. Take a third set of petals and join it onto one of the open sides of the ones you already connected. Lock it into place just like you did with the first set (steps13-16)
19. Do this until all 7 petal pieces are connected in a round-ish flower pattern.
20. Your pattern should be holding together pretty well with the folds, but you can apply some glue to the overlapped parts for extra security.
Cut out a piece of brown paper a little larger than the center of the origami sunflower.
21. Glue the brown paper to the back of the sunflower, covering the center.
22. Cut a piece of green paper into a 6-inch square.
23. Fold it in half diagonally, then unfold.
24. Fold it diagonally the other way, leaving it folded.
25. Hold the triangle with its largest side down/toward you and the crease going up the middle. Take one of the corners opposite the middle crease and bring it downward, folding the edge of the triangle to the middle crease while the corner sticks out at the bottom. Repeat with the other corner.
26. Take one of those corners sticking out at the bottom, and fold it upward and to the side by about 45 degrees or less.
27. Repeat on the other side.
28. Glue the origami flower onto the tip of the green piece.
I love how adding that simple leaf pattern makes the whole thing pop, don’t you? It’s pretty basic but it brings so much more life to the original flower design!
DIY Origami Sunflower
Materials
- Colored paper - choose something lightweight.
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue
- Optional: bone folder to help sharpen some of the bulkier folds
Instructions
1. Take any one of the yellow square papers and fold it in half diagonally (corner to corner). Unfold the paper and fold it in half along the other diagonal. Unfold that so you now have creases shaped like an X.
2. Flip the paper over to the other side. Fold it in half vertically (straight edge to opposite straight edge) and unfold. Fold it in half horizontally and unfold. Now you have creases shaped like a +.
3.Flip the paper over again. Bring the vertical and horizontal creases inward and towards you, while the diagonal creases will pop outward.
4. Flatten it to form a triangle that has 2 flaps on each side with a crease going up the middle.
5. Take one of the corner flaps and fold it inward so that its closed edge lines up with the crease in the center of the triangle. The tip will stick out past the edge of the triangle.
6. Take a flap from the opposite corner and do the same thing.
7. Flip the whole thing over to the other side. It looks like a larger triangle with a smaller triangle - the tips of the flaps you just folded up - sticking out of one side.
8. Take one of those sticking out tips and fold it in half by bringing the tip up against the larger triangle.
9. Do the same thing to the other tip.
10. Fold up the bottom corner of the big triangle (the corner that is opposite from the flaps you just folded) about a centimeter.
Turn over the whole thing. The two parts in the center will be the petals that show in the finished flower, while the side parts will be used to connect them.
11. Repeat all of those steps (2-11) with the other square papers for the rest of the petals.
12. Take two of the petal pieces and join them by sliding the extra side part of one under the petal part of the other.
13. Push the two petal pieces together so that there is no gap between the center petals. Yes, there will be some triangle points sticking out from the top.
14. Flip the petals over to the other side, keeping them joined.
15. Fold the extra tips over by aligning them with the rest of the pattern. This locks the petals into place while also taking care of those extra bits of triangle.
16. Flip the whole thing back over to the front again.
17. Take a third set of petals and join it onto one of the open sides of the ones you already connected. Lock it into place just like you did with the first set (steps13-16)
18. Do this until all 7 petal pieces are connected in a round-ish flower pattern.
19. Your pattern should be holding together pretty well with the folds, but you can apply some glue to the overlapped parts for extra security.
Cut out a piece of brown paper a little larger than the center of the origami sunflower.
20. Glue the brown paper to the back of the sunflower, covering the center.
21. Cut a piece of green paper into a 6-inch square.
22. Fold it in half diagonally, then unfold.
23. Fold it diagonally the other way, leaving it folded.
24. Hold the triangle with its largest side down/toward you and the crease going up the middle. Take one of the corners opposite the middle crease and bring it downward, folding the edge of the triangle to the middle crease while the corner sticks out at the bottom. Repeat with the other corner.
25. Take one of those corners sticking out at the bottom, and fold it upward and to the side by about 45 degrees or less.
25. Repeat on the other side.
27. Glue the origami flower onto the tip of the green piece.
