The Best Origami Patterns

Origami is an important teaching tool, especially for small children just learning delicacy.

The best origami patterns are those that teach. A pattern that teaches technique, basics or delicacy teaches something else as well -- detail. Attention to detail is the important factor taught through the art of origami, or square paper folding. There are of course other, very similar, art forms derived from this art, but the original origami is a powerful teaching tool and still very popular in the world today.

Sink Fold Crane

The crane is one of the most traditional patterns, as well as one of the most important.

The sink fold crane, a basic crane with a sink fold back to create the curve of the natural crane, is the most important pattern among origami figures. This is not the same as the flapping bird figure, which is a much simpler figure to fold. The sink fold crane is important because it teaches every potential fold, all rolled together into one figure, and also because it is one of the oldest patterns. The crane, minus the sink fold in it's back, was the traditional crane given as a gift to the ill for luck. The sink fold crane is the same figure as the traditional crane with the exception of one fold.

Modular Origami

Modular origami, a recent addition to the origami craft, teaches the maker precision on both a larger and a smaller scale than do the traditional figures. In modular origami, multiple pieces of paper are folded into a pattern that allows each finished piece to be fitted into a larger, more complex piece, often geometric in nature.

Origami Flowers

Flowers are beautiful not only in their complexity, but also in their inherent simplicity.

Origami flowers are important not only because of their potential for complexity and detail, but also because of their beauty. A flower is supposed to be beautiful, no matter if it has thorns. Since this basic idea is so obvious, flowers are more difficult to create and thus, more important to learn than other basic figures such as the frog. All origami is meant to be beautiful, if only in its complexity, but flowers are inherently both beautiful and simplistic. They must not be overdone.

Insects

Even the simplest of insect figures tend to use the box pleating technique.

Insects use a technique called box pleating, created in the 1970's. This is one of the major techniques in origami, and should be carefully examined and learned. It is very complex, and allows for extremely intricate figures, mostly insects, to be created entirely from one piece of paper. This is in contrast to the technique used to create modular origami, which focuses on geometric shapes, rather than natural figures such as insects.

References

• Daniel Meier Design: Origami History
• Hektor: Origami