How to make a paper heart butterfly
Paper Heart Butterfly: try all 29 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.
An Origami Tutor butterfly whose wings are four hearts: two large hearts above and two small ones below, set point to point round the middle, with a thin dark body folded from a fifth square down the center.
- You need
- Two 4.8 in and two 3.6 in squares of pink or red paper, one 4.2 in square of a darker color, a glue stick and a pen.
- Start
- Use two 4.8 in squares for the upper wings and two 3.6 in squares for the lower wings, all pink or red, and one 4.2 in square of a darker color for the body. Start each square white side up, the wing squares with their edges straight up and across, and the body with a corner pointing up.
- Tips
- Fold each pair of wings with matching slanted folds so the hearts are the same size.
- Use two shades of pink or red, one for the upper wings and one for the lower, for a more colorful butterfly.
Your model is ready
Glue the four hearts and the body together. Draw two feelers at the top of the body with a pen. The finished butterfly, with its four heart wings round its body.
Step-by-step diagrams
Steps 1–6
- 1
Fold the upper left wing in half
Take a large red square for the upper left wing. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. You have a long rectangle.
- 2
Fold up the left half
Fold the left half up along a slanted line from the middle of the bottom edge to a spot a fifth of the way in from the left along the top edge. Its top corner sticks up as a lobe.
- 3
Fold up the right half
Fold the right half up the same way, over the left half. The two corners stand side by side as the heart's lobes.
- 4
Round the left lobe
Fold the square tip of the left lobe behind.
- 5
Round the right lobe
Fold the tip of the right lobe behind the same way.
- 6
Fold the upper right wing in half
Take a large red square for the upper right wing. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. You have a long rectangle.
Steps 7–12
- 7
Fold up the left half
Fold the left half up along a slanted line from the middle of the bottom edge to a spot a fifth of the way in from the left along the top edge. Its top corner sticks up as a lobe.
- 8
Fold up the right half
Fold the right half up the same way, over the left half. The two corners stand side by side as the heart's lobes.
- 9
Round the left lobe
Fold the square tip of the left lobe behind.
- 10
Round the right lobe
Fold the tip of the right lobe behind the same way.
- 11
Fold the lower left wing in half
Take a small red square for the lower left wing. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. You have a long rectangle.
- 12
Fold up the left half
Fold the left half up along a slanted line from the middle of the bottom edge to a spot a fifth of the way in from the left along the top edge. Its top corner sticks up as a lobe.
Steps 13–18
- 13
Fold up the right half
Fold the right half up the same way, over the left half. The two corners stand side by side as the heart's lobes.
- 14
Round the left lobe
Fold the square tip of the left lobe behind.
- 15
Round the right lobe
Fold the tip of the right lobe behind the same way.
- 16
Fold the lower right wing in half
Take a small red square for the lower right wing. Fold the top edge down to the bottom edge. You have a long rectangle.
- 17
Fold up the left half
Fold the left half up along a slanted line from the middle of the bottom edge to a spot a fifth of the way in from the left along the top edge. Its top corner sticks up as a lobe.
- 18
Fold up the right half
Fold the right half up the same way, over the left half. The two corners stand side by side as the heart's lobes.
Steps 19–24
- 19
Round the left lobe
Fold the square tip of the left lobe behind.
- 20
Round the right lobe
Fold the tip of the right lobe behind the same way.
- 21
Fold the body's upper left edge in
Take the dark square for the body. Fold its upper left edge to the middle line.
- 22
Fold the body's upper right edge in
Fold the upper right edge to the middle line to match.
- 23
Fold the body's lower left edge in
Fold the lower left edge to the middle line too.
- 24
Fold the body's lower right edge in
Fold the lower right edge to the middle line. The body is a long point at both ends.
Steps 25–29
- 25
Set the upper left wing
Set the upper left heart with its point at the middle and its lobes leaning out to the upper left.
- 26
Set the upper right wing
Set the upper right heart with its point at the middle and its lobes leaning out to the upper right.
- 27
Set the lower left wing
Set the lower left heart with its point at the middle and its lobes leaning out to the lower left.
- 28
Set the lower right wing
Set the lower right heart with its point at the middle and its lobes leaning out to the lower right.
- 29
Set the body
Lay the body upright over the four points, its middle on the middle of the butterfly.
- ✓
Finish
Glue the four hearts and the body together. Draw two feelers at the top of the body with a pen. The finished butterfly, with its four heart wings round its body.
Fold next
Heart ↗
This heart stays flat, so it fits inside a greeting card or on the front of a folded note. The colored side makes the face; small folds hidden behind the left edge, right edge and two top tips soften the outline.
Easy heart ↗
An Origami Tutor heart in three main folds for young children: fold the square in half, then fold each half up across the middle so its corner becomes a lobe. Two small folds round the lobes. The whole heart shows the colored side.
Pocket heart ↗
An Origami Tutor two-color heart with a pocket across its front: slip a folded note or a gift card in behind the colored pocket. Five folds and no glue.
Heart with wings ↗
An Origami Tutor winged heart in three pieces: a red heart folded from a square in five easy folds, and two pointed wings folded from smaller squares. A dab of glue sets the wings behind the heart.