Origami diagram symbols
Origami diagram symbols: follow fold lines, arrows and paper sides. Valley and mountain folds. Match each mark to its written step before folding.
Fold toward you
A valley fold brings a flap over the front. Pinch the crease once the corners line up.
Fold behind
Move the flap away from you and behind the rest of the model. The instruction will say which corner to move.
Replay or unfold
Replay shows the move again. When a slide says “unfold,” open the last crease while keeping earlier folds in place.
Valley and mountain lines
In the animated diagrams, a valley fold uses blue dashes. A mountain fold uses a blue dash-dot line. In an animated cutting step, a dark dashed path marks the cut.
See all symbols, bases and terms →
Two sides, one sheet
Colored and white panels help you tell the front of the paper from the back. The paper gets narrow as a flap passes over its crease, then opens onto the other side.
Choose a craft →