Instructions on How to Make Paper Fans

Paper fans are made using accordian folds.

Paper fans are simple paper crafts for young children. Often, folding a paper fan is something children will teach each other how to make, especially on a hot day in a stuffy classroom. To make a basic paper fan, all that is needed is plain, or recycled, paper.

Things You'll Need

• Plain or recycled paper

Instructions

1. Orient the paper so that a shorter side faces you.

2. Fold the shorter side facing you up one inch so that one inch of paper lays on top of the rest of the paper.

3. Crease the fold by running a fingernail across the fold to keep the fold sharp.

4. Hold onto the fold you just made and flip the paper over. Fold the side you are holding (this time it will be the shorter side away from you) down one inch into the paper. Crease along the new fold. You should have an inch of paper made up of two even layers of folds laying over the rest of the paper.

5. Repeat the process of folding one inch, creasing, holding and flipping until you reach the end of the paper. Cut off any excess paper that will not fit into a one-inch fold.

6. Hold the bottom of the paper (a longer side) bunched together, letting the folds fan out into a arc. Fold the bottom of the paper to the left to create a handle.

Tips & Warnings

• Decorate the paper before beginning to fold to add a design to your fan.

References

• Paper Fan Project