How to Fold a Paper Star

Folding a Five-Point Star

Choose paper to start with. Any sort of paper will work, though you may want to start with something sturdier like printer paper. Then you can move on to more decorative paper which is more prone to rip. You can start with either a square-sized or letter-sized (8.5” x 11”) to make your star. The result will be the same.

Fold your paper in half. If you’re using a square, fold along the middle so two opposite edges meet one another. For the letter-sized paper, fold it “hot dog,” or along the vertical axis so that the two longer edges meet one another.

Mark a point on the edge. For your folded square piece of paper, make a mark (a dot, dash, or “x”) on the left side (one of the shorter sides) ⅓ of the way from the top edge. For the letter-sized paper, you’ll make a mark on the middle of the left edge (again one of the shorter edges). Regardless of which size of paper you’re using, you’ll use this mark to coordinate your folds.

Fold so the bottom right corner meets the mark. Crease the paper well once you’ve made the fold. This fold should create two smaller triangles within the figure, along the left edge, one above and below where the corner has met the mark.

Fold this bottom triangle towards the center. Take the bottom left corner and fold it over the diagonal edge of the lower triangle made by the previous fold. What you should have now is the same figure as you ended up with in the previous step, but with the lower left triangle flipped over its diagonal edge.

Fold the rightmost corner to meet the mark. The rightmost edge should now be running alongside the leftmost edge. What should left will look a bit like an ice cream cone; a long acute triangle with a right triangle on top (if using letter-sized paper). If you used a square piece, the long acute triangle will be topped by multiple figures.

Trim a wedge off the triangle. For those who started with a square, trim the long acute triangle to make it equilateral triangle (with equally sized edges). Those who began with a letter-sized piece of paper, cut from the midpoint of the right edge of the long triangle up to the top left corner or the triangle.

Unfold the wedge. The piece trimmed off in the previous step will form your star. Unfold it gently to avoid ripping the paper. Left should be a five-point star with a slight 3D effect from its folds.

Folding an Origami “Lucky Star”

Begin with a strip of paper. Start with a letter-sized piece of paper and trim a strip a half inch wide. Lay it flat, vertically, on a table in front of you. Avoid thinner paper like gift wrap or wax paper as this method will require a bit more handling of the star.

Make a knot and flatten it. At the top of the strip, make a knot by creating a loop and drawing the end through; only devote the last inch or two of the strip to this knot. Measure first with a ruler before knotting. Make the loop by curling the strip behind itself, pass over the front to the right and around the back and through the loop made. Tighten (gently) and leave only about a ¼-inch tag out of the loop. Once the knot is made, flatten it gently with your hand. Once done, tuck the tag end into the pocket formed by the knot. This should form a small pentagon at the end of the strip.

Fold the strip along the edge of the pentagon. First fold the strip over the edge of the pentagon which it meets. The result should be a smaller strip with the same pentagon atop it. After every fold, a different edge of the pentagon will meet the strip. Continuing folding in this way until there’s only a short bit left, about ½ an inch. Tuck this short strip into one of the creases of the pentagon.

Gently pinch the corners of the pentagon. Using your thumb and index finger, pinch each of the five corners of the pentagon. These will narrow the edges into points, creating your “lucky star.” Once all the corners are pinched, you should have your star.

Folding a Four-Sided “Ninja Star”

Start with a square piece of paper. If you’ve only got letter-sized paper (8.5”x11”) available, you can make it into a square with folds and a pair of scissors. With the paper laying vertically in front of you, fold the bottom right corner towards the top left of the paper until it forms a triangle. What was the bottom edge should now be flush with the left edge; there should remain a rectangle on top of the triangle formed. Cut this rectangle off with scissors.

Fold the square in half. Crease the fold well and open it up once you’ve folded it. Use the remaining crease line as a marker and cut along this line, making two rectangles from the square. These two rectangles will be manipulated exactly the same, but mirrored. Eventually each rectangle will come to form two points of the star. For a more distinct finished star, use two different colored pieces of paper to make two rectangles to continue on from this step.

Fold twice more. First fold each rectangle “hot dog” style along the vertical side (meeting the two longer sides). Fold them again in half “hamburger” style, having either short edge meet.’ Unfold this last fold to have two thin rectangles with a visible crease line horizontally through the middle.

Fold into right angles. Take the lower half of the left triangle and fold it to the right, forming an “L” with a right angle. Do the same to the right rectangle, but fold it to the left, creating a “J.” Then do the same to the unfolded sides of both rectangles, folding them to face opposite the already folded portions. Each rectangle should end up as two squares connected by a slanted rectangle.

Fold each square into a triangle. For each square (four total) on the two figures, fold them in half to make a triangle each. Fold them such that the corners folded in towards the slant face towards one another. Once all squares have been folded into triangles, you should be to flip the figure lengthwise and have it look the same.

Fold these triangles in towards the connecting rectangle. Along the edge which meets the slanted rectangle, fold the triangles to make a right angle. Fold them to be perpendicular with the surface you’re using, with the slanted rectangle lying flat. Fold them flat to make the crease very distinct.

Flip the right figure and place atop the left. After the last step, your two figures should remain mirror images of one another. Flip the right one upside down so that its folds point towards the surface you’re using. This flipped figure should look like two isosceles triangles. Then place this flipped figure on top of the left one. There should now be an idea of what the star will come to look like; each triangle forms a point of the star.

Begin tucking. First, fold the right triangle of the lower piece (the one on bottom) under the top triangle of the top piece. Then do the same with the left triangle of the lower piece and the triangle closest you on the top piece. The two triangles just folded should form the top and bottom points of the star. Once completed, flip the whole thing over.

Tuck the remaining triangles. Fold them both towards the center of the star, tucking them under the folds formed in the last step. Once both have been folded, what remains should be your ninja star.