How to Fold an Origami Tulip
Learn how to make this origami tulip just in time for Spring! When you’re done, check out this simple origami sunflower tutorial. This post contains affiliate links.
Seeing the tulips, daffodils, and crocuses starting to open up in the early Spring is so exciting. It reminds me of the excitement of finishing an origami project – you make all these seemingly random folds, and then suddenly a new shape emerges!
In this post we combine both the beauty of Spring, and crafting, with a beautiful origami tulip tutorial.
These pretty tulips are perfect for spring decor – I would love a row of these on a door or windows! If you don’t want to tape up your windows or walls, you can hang them from a garland. These paper flowers would also look great on a notebook cover or greeting card (think: Mother’s Day).
I love how origami enables you to make such a wide variety of items using only paper and your hands. In this project we also add just a bit of glue so you can add a stem and leaves to your origami tulip. You can use simple, plain colored papers for a lovely, simple look, or you can use more decorative papers for extra pizzazz.
If you only have plain paper and want some style, grab your markers and dress up that paper! The important part is to choose paper that’s easy to fold – stay away from heavyweight papers that will be too stiff and thick for the many folds involved in origami.
Even if you’re using thinner paper, you’ll probably want a tool to help you smooth down the folded edges for this project. I like to use these bone folders, but a stiff ruler will do in a pinch.
This is an intermediate type of origami project – it’s approachable enough for a beginner to try, but you’d need some extra patience for some of the later steps. I’ve broken them down for you to make this project really doable, and I really think you’ll have fun making these origami tulips!
What you need
- Colored paper, such as Origami or colored copy paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Optional: bone folder to smooth creases
How to fold an Origami tulip
1. Prepare one colored paper for the flower and another color for the stems and leaves. You’ll need a square sheet about 15×15 cm or 6×6” for the flower, a square about 11×11 cm or about 4 ½” for the leaves, and a strip of paper for the stem.
Take the flower paper and fold it diagonally. Open the fold, and then fold it diagonally the other way. Open that fold too, so you have an X shaped crease going through the center of the square.
2. Grab one corner and fold it to the center of the X crease. Smooth it down to make another crease.
3. Unfold the corner.
4. Now, fold the same corner up to the new crease you just made. Do not unfold it.
5. Take the same corner/side you just folded, and fold the paper up along the original diagonal. Now you have a triangle, but with one corner folded in.
6. Take the other corner that is sticking out from behind the folded one, and fold it in to match the first one.
7. Make sure both corners are tucked into the inside of the folded triangle.
8. Holding the paper with the longest side toward you, take the lower left corner and fold it upward until the edge meets the vertical crease in the middle of the paper.
9. Fold the right side the same way.
10. Unfold both of the sides you just folded.
11. The previous step created creases going from the bottom center up to the top sides of the triangle. Take the bottom corners and fold them up to the place where the creases reach the sides of the triangle.
12. Re-fold the diagonal creases created in steps 8-10.
13. Flip the project over to the other side.
14. Holding the project with the pointed side toward you, take the corner on the left side and fold it to the middle crease.
15. Fold the right corner to the center the same way.
16. Turn the project so the straight side is toward you. This next part is a bit tricky so pay attention!
17. Look at the square corners. The outer layer of paper is part of the triangle that you folded toward the center in steps 14-15. The inner layer of the paper is part of the background square. We’re going to grab only that inner square layer and fold it upwards.
18. Fold it until the square edge lines up with the middle crease.
19. Do the same thing to the opposite corner.
20. Take the point at the top and fold it down about 1 cm.
21. Flip the project over – there’s your tulip head!
22. Now we’ll work on the leaves. Take your other, smaller square paper.
23. Fold the square in half diagonally.
24. Take one of the open sides (the sides of the original square) and fold it up to the closed side (the diagonal fold)
25. Unfold the last fold, then fold the same way from the other side – take the other open side and fold it up to the closed side.
26. Unfold the last fold.
27. Find the place where the last two creases cross each other. Fold up the corner on the left so that the lines of the right side crease line up with each other and the new fold goes through the same crossed spot.
28. Fold the left point in half along its middle crease.
29. After you folded the left point in half, there is a flat side sticking out on bottom (marked in orange in the picture.) Fold this flat side up to meet the edge of the last folded part (marked in white).
30. Fold the right point in half along its middle crease.
31. Unfold the last fold and notice a small loose triangle flap on the right side.
32. Tuck that triangle flap into the pocket in the center of the left part.
33. Cut a rectangular piece of paper to make the stem.
34. Fold the stem over 3 times to make it stronger.
35. Slide the stem into the middle of the origami leaves. Stick them together with glue.
36. Glue the flower to the top of the stem to complete your origami tulip!
How to Fold an Origami Tulip
Materials
- Colored paper, such as Origami or colored copy paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Optional: bone folder to smooth creases
Instructions
1. Prepare one colored paper for the flower and another color for the stems and leaves. You’ll need a square sheet about 15x15 cm or 6x6” for the flower, a square about 11x11 cm or about 4 ½” for the leaves, and a strip of paper for the stem.
Take the flower paper and fold it diagonally. Open the fold, and then fold it diagonally the other way. Open that fold too, so you have an X shaped crease going through the center of the square.
2. Grab one corner and fold it to the center of the X crease. Smooth it down to make another crease.
3. Unfold the corner.
4. Now, fold the same corner up to the new crease you just made. Do not unfold it.
5. Take the same corner/side you just folded, and fold the paper up along the original diagonal. Now you have a triangle, but with one corner folded in.
6. Take the other corner that is sticking out from behind the folded one, and fold it in to match the first one.
7. Make sure both corners are tucked into the inside of the folded triangle.
8. Holding the paper with the longest side toward you, take the lower left corner and fold it upward until the edge meets the vertical crease in the middle of the paper.
9. Fold the right side the same way.
10. Unfold both of the sides you just folded.
11. The previous step created creases going from the bottom center up to the top sides of the triangle. Take the bottom corners and fold them up to the place where the creases reach the sides of the triangle.
12. Re-fold the diagonal creases created in steps 8-10.
13. Flip the project over to the other side.
14. Holding the project with the pointed side toward you, take the corner on the left side and fold it to the middle crease.
15. Fold the right corner to the center the same way.
16. Turn the project so the straight side is toward you. This next part is a bit tricky so pay attention!
17. Look at the square corners. The outer layer of paper is part of the triangle that you folded toward the center in steps 14-15. The inner layer of the paper is part of the background square. We’re going to grab only that inner square layer and fold it upwards.
18. Fold it until the square edge lines up with the middle crease.
19. Do the same thing to the opposite corner.
20. Take the point at the top and fold it down about 1 cm.
21. Flip the project over - there’s your tulip head!
22. Now we’ll work on the leaves. Take your other, smaller square paper.
23. Fold the square in half diagonally.
24. Take one of the open sides (the sides of the original square) and fold it up to the closed side (the diagonal fold)
25. Unfold the last fold, then fold the same way from the other side - take the other open side and fold it up to the closed side.
26. Unfold the last fold.
27. Find the place where the last two creases cross each other. Fold up the corner on the left so that the lines of the right side crease line up with each other and the new fold goes through the same crossed spot.
28. Fold the left point in half along its middle crease.
29. After you folded the left point in half, there is a flat side sticking out on bottom (marked in orange in the picture.) Fold this flat side up to meet the edge of the last folded part (marked in white).
30. Fold the right point in half along its middle crease.
31. Unfold the last fold and notice a small loose triangle flap on the right side.
32. Tuck that triangle flap into the pocket in the center of the left part.
33. Cut a rectangular piece of paper to make the stem.
34. Fold the stem over 3 times to make it stronger.
35. Slide the stem into the middle of the origami leaves. Stick them together with glue.
36. Glue the flower to the top of the stem to complete your origami tulip!
