How to Make an Origami Samurai Hat

For a social studies unit on the Orient, it's great for elementary students to have something tangible to take home. By using a newspaper and a little tape, students can make their own origami samurai hat that they can wear. Guide them through the process by holding up your own copy of the newspaper with each origami fold.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• newspapers
• scissors
• tape

1. Prepare the newspapers in advance for the students, if you have time. Take a regular size newspaper sheet that contains four pages. Cut off one edge so that the sheet is square.

2. Orient the paper in front of you so that it looks like a diamond, not a square. Take the top point of the diamond and fold it down to the bottom point. It will now look like a triangle with the point down. Take the left point and fold it down to the bottom point. Then take the right point and also fold it down to the bottom point. The paper should look like a diamond again, with two flaps on top.

3. Fold the left flap upward, until the tip of the left flap touches the top of the diamond. Crease the left flap down; the crease will be in the middle of the diamond. Do the same with the right flap.

4. Take the left flap and fold the tip away and to the left of the diamond top so that it sticks out like a horn. Crease it down. Take the right flap and fold the tip away and to the right of the diamond top so that it sticks out like a horn. Crease it down. These will resemble the horns used to decorate samurai helmets.

5. Go to the bottom of the diamond, where you have two sheets of paper. Take the top sheet and fold the point upward, overlapping part of the horns. The point should extend one-half the distance between the bottom and the top of the horns. Crease the paper. Use the same sheet for your next fold. From the crease you just made, fold the sheet upward again–over itself–and crease it. This time the crease will be at the midway point across the diamond.

6. Take the left point on the diamond and fold it underneath the diamond about one inch. Then take the right point on the diamond and fold it underneath the diamond about one inch. Grab the bottom point of the diamond and fold the sheet behind the hat, with the crease coming at the midpoint of the diamond.

7. Tape the left point and right point of the diamond so that the origami samurai hat will stay together.

Tips & Warnings

• When using regular origami paper, it is not necessary to use tape in the final step because the paper is stiff. However, because of newspaper's flexibility, the hat will come apart if tape is not used.

Resources

• Find more origami, from the simple to the complex.

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