How to Make an Origami Bird With Ribbon
Origami projects are usually made with paper, although sometimes other mediums can be used to create a particular piece. One of these alternative materials is a strip of paper or ribbon. Ribbons can be used to form stars, flowers, balls, or birds. What's different about using ribbons is that you will need to weave several strips together to create a desired shape. This deviation from the traditional origami art gives the ribbon bird a distinct look.
Instructions
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1
Cut two pieces of ribbon, each piece measuring at least 1 inch wide and 12 inches long.
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2
Use the ruler to measure about 3 inches from the end of a ribbon. Mark this. Then, starting at the other end of the ribbon, cut the ribbon into four equal strips. Stop the cuts before you get to the 3-inch mark you made. Repeat this step on the other ribbon.
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3
Place the ribbons on a flat surface so that each whole end points toward you. Take one, and fold the far left strip to the right, weaving it over, under, and over the other strips. Fold the second left strip, which is now the farthest to the left, the same way, weaving it over and under. Repeat with the other ribbon.
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4
Turn the ribbons in toward each other so that the strips form a square, and the two angles you created in the last step align, forming one large angle. Weave the strips together, securing the square.
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5
Turn the ribbons over. Fold the topmost loose strips down. Keep the fold loose.
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6
Fold the left hand strips to the right, weaving them through the strips you just folded downward. Keep the weave loose. Remember that whenever you weave, one of the two loose strips should first go under another strip, and the other strip should first go over another strip.
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7
Fold the right hand strips to the left, weaving them through the strips you folded downward in Step 5.
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8
Fold the bottom strips upward, weaving them through both sets of side strips that you folded inward. Gently tighten the weave, creating a basket shape, which is the bird's body. You should have two sets of strips pointing at an angle out of the top of the bird's body, which is where its neck will be, and two sets of strips angling down from the bottom of the bird's body, where its tail will be.
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9
Weave the top right hand strips through the bird's neck, so that they point straight up. Do the same with the top left strips.
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10
Weave the bottom left strips through the bird's tail area, so that they point straight down. Do the same with the bottom right strips.
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11
Tie the strips coming from the neck in a knot, forming the long neck. Then cut the strips leftover after the knot at an angle to form the beak.
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12
Cut the wings, which are the pieces of whole ribbon at the sides of the bird, at an angle.
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References
- Photo Credit ribbon image by Albo from Fotolia.com
