In a pinch, cut any rectangular piece of paper into a square if you don’t have origami paper.
Use your fingers, a ruler, or a bone folder tool to make neat, crisp creases. Making these kinds of folds is called making a valley fold.
You now have creases in the shape of an “X” and a “+” spanning your paper, dividing it into 8 triangles.
Let the paper fold naturally along the creases you made earlier. The resulting square has an open end where all 4 corners of the paper come together (facing you). It also has 2 flaps on the right and 2 flaps on the left. [5] X Research source
The resulting shape looks like a thin, vertical diamond (top layer) on top of your square base (bottom layer). Once you’ve gotten the diamond shape, flatten all of the folds and creases.
Flatten the second squash fold as well. The paper now looks like a 2-layer diamond with 2 “legs” at the bottom.
One of these pointed tabs will be the tail and one will become the head. Choose one to fold into the head (either one will work).
For the best look, fold the head down about 1 in (2. 5 cm) from the tip. Leave the pointed tab on the other side untouched (it will be the tail).
Once the wings are folded and the body is fluffed up, your crane is ready for display! Display your crane on a flat surface, like a coffee table or shelf, give it as a gift, or make 999 more and string them together to make a senbazuru.
