How to Cut Hearts Like an Accordion
Paper chain designs range from simple to complex. The secret to continuity in paper chains is spacing your mountain folds and valley folds equally. This creates an accordion in which all sections are equal. Making a heart paper chain is as simple as folding a strip of paper into equal parts and successfully drawing and cutting out half of a heart. Use as long a strip of paper as you can successfully cut through.
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Instructions
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Fold your paper in half length-wise, then fold length-wise again. Unfold and cut on each crease to create four equal strips. Set three strips aside and work with only one strip to make your paper chain.
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Orient your paper strip horizontally in front of you.
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Fold the left edge of the strip over to the right edge, crease, and unfold. This is known as a valley fold, because when the paper is unfolded, the crease goes downward toward the tabletop.
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Fold the left edge of the paper strip to the center valley fold, crease and unfold. Fold the right edge of the strip to the center valley fold, crease and unfold. You now have three equally spaced valley folds in your paper strip and the paper is divided equally into quarters.
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Create a mountain fold at the center of each quarter of the paper strip. Fold the left edge underneath the strip just to the left-most valley fold. Crease and unfold. Fold the left-most valley fold underneath the strip to the center valley fold, crease and unfold. Fold the right edge under the paper strip to the right-most valley fold, crease and unfold. Fold the right-most valley fold under the strip to the center valley fold, crease and unfold. You now have eight equal sections in your paper strip, and there are alternating mountain and valley folds separating the sections. This is a reliable way to make an equally-spaced accordion fold.
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Compress your paper strip by folding each section over or under the next, using your pre-made folds as a guide. The right edge should be on top and on the right side of your compressed strip.
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Draw half of a heart on the top section of your paper strip. Make sure the bottom of the heart ends exactly at the bottom left corner. Ensure that the round part of the heart overlaps the right edge and runs along the right edge for about half the height of the paper strip. This part connects one heart to the other.
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Cut along the lines of your heart, but do not cut the part that runs along the right edge. Cut up from the bottom left corner and stop where the heart reaches the edge. Cut over the hump of the heart and back down to the center of the heart. Make sure you do not cut along the right edge of the paper.
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Unfold. This is your completed heart paper chain. Repeat with the remaining three paper strips if desired.
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References
- Photo Credit Creatas/Creatas/Getty Images
