2D diagram

How to make a paper chain

Paper Chain: try all 25 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.

EasyAn Origami Tutor design25 stepsFive 25 mm × 20 cm strips in two colours · 5 paper pieces

Glue a strip into a ring, thread the next strip through it and glue that into a ring too, and carry on: a five-link paper chain in two colours, ready to hang up.

You need: Coloured paper cut into five strips, a ruler and scissors, and a glue stick or craft glue.
Start: Cut five strips, 25 mm wide and 20 cm long: three red and two green. Lay them flat, long edges at the top and bottom.
Tips: Cut every strip against the same ruler line so all the rings come out the same size.
Hold each join for a few seconds before you thread the next strip through it.
For a longer chain, keep adding strips in the same way: slide one through the last ring, then curl and glue it.

Finish

Your model is ready

Your paper chain is done: five rings hooked in a line. Add more links to make it as long as you like, then hang it up. Look down on the finished chain: five rings, each one hooked through the next.

3D paper

Whole sequence Finish

This stepSpeed

25 steps · press any step to watch it in 3D

Step-by-step diagrams

Steps 1–7

1
Curl the first strip
Curl the first strip round into a loop, the ends coming round towards each other.
2
Make it a ring
Bring the ends round until the loop is a neat, round ring.
3
Overlap the ends
Slide the end over the start so the two overlap by about a centimetre.
4
Glue the first ring
Spread a thin line of glue on the overlap and hold it for a few seconds.
5
Lay the first ring flat
Lay the glued ring flat on the table, so its opening faces up.
6
Slide the second strip through
Stand the second strip on its edge and slide it through the middle of the first ring until its end sits just inside the ring, near its lower edge.
7
Curl the second strip
Curl the second strip down and round the edge of the first ring, so the loop hooks through it.

Steps 8–14

8
Make the second ring
Bring the ends round until the loop is a neat, round ring.
9
Overlap the second ring's ends
Slide the end over the start so the two overlap by about a centimetre.
10
Glue the second ring
Glue the overlap and hold it for a few seconds. Check that the second ring still hooks through the first one.
11
Slide the third strip through
Lay the third strip flat and slide it through the middle of the second ring until its end sits just inside the ring, near its lower edge.
12
Curl the third strip
Curl the third strip down and round the edge of the second ring, so the loop hooks through it.
13
Make the third ring
Bring the ends round until the loop is a neat, round ring.
14
Overlap the third ring's ends
Slide the end over the start so the two overlap by about a centimetre.

Steps 15–21

15
Glue the third ring
Glue the overlap and hold it for a few seconds. Check that the third ring still hooks through the second one.
16
Slide the fourth strip through
Stand the fourth strip on its edge and slide it through the middle of the third ring until its end sits just inside the ring, near its lower edge.
17
Curl the fourth strip
Curl the fourth strip down and round the edge of the third ring, so the loop hooks through it.
18
Make the fourth ring
Bring the ends round until the loop is a neat, round ring.
19
Overlap the fourth ring's ends
Slide the end over the start so the two overlap by about a centimetre.
20
Glue the fourth ring
Glue the overlap and hold it for a few seconds. Check that the fourth ring still hooks through the third one.
21
Slide the fifth strip through
Lay the fifth strip flat and slide it through the middle of the fourth ring until its end sits just inside the ring, near its lower edge.

Steps 22–25

22
Curl the fifth strip
Curl the fifth strip down and round the edge of the fourth ring, so the loop hooks through it.
23
Make the fifth ring
Bring the ends round until the loop is a neat, round ring.
24
Overlap the fifth ring's ends
Slide the end over the start so the two overlap by about a centimetre.
25
Glue the fifth ring
Glue the overlap and hold it for a few seconds. Check that the fifth ring still hooks through the fourth one.
✓
Finish
Your paper chain is done: five rings hooked in a line. Add more links to make it as long as you like, then hang it up. Look down on the finished chain: five rings, each one hooked through the next.

Keep folding

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Paper lantern ↗

Easy · 21 steps · 2 paper pieces

Fold a sheet in half, cut eight slits from the fold, open it, roll it into a tube and push the ends together so the strips bow out, then glue the seam and a strip handle across the top of the paper lantern.