2D diagram

How to make a tissue paper carnation

Tissue Paper Carnation: try all 12 steps in the 3D player. Turn and replay every move. Print the complete diagram sheet or save it as PDF.

Easy12 stepsThree 30 × 15 cm sheets · 3 paper pieces

Pleat a small stack of tissue sheets finely, cut both ends in a row of pointed teeth, tie the middle, then fan it out and lift the layers into a ruffled carnation.

You need: Three to six sheets of tissue paper, scissors, and a green pipe cleaner or thin wire to tie the middle and make the stem.
Start: Lay out three 30 × 15 cm sheets of tissue paper, long edges at the top and bottom. Use red or pink, or mix two neighbouring shades for a deeper bloom.

Finish

Your model is ready

Fluff the layers so the carnation is round and ruffled, then twist the ends of the pipe cleaner into a stem. Turn the carnation to see its three toothed layers crowding round the middle.

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Step-by-step diagrams

Steps 1–7

1
Stack the second sheet
Lay the second sheet on the stack, its edges exactly over the sheets below.
2
Stack the third sheet
Lay the third sheet on the stack, its edges exactly over the sheets below.
3
Fold panel 1 over the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet over the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.
4
Fold panel 2 behind the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet under the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.
5
Fold panel 3 over the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet over the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.
6
Fold panel 4 behind the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet under the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.
7
Fold panel 5 over the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet over the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.

Steps 8–12

8
Fold panel 6 behind the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet under the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.
9
Fold panel 7 over the next
Measure another 37.5 mm panel. Fold the entire left packet over the paper to its right, lining up the edges. Keep all panels the same width.
10
Cut teeth along the top end
Hold the pleats together and cut two pointed teeth across the top end of the folded stack, through every layer, so each pleat ends in two points. Cut the teeth shallow so the packet keeps its length.
11
Cut teeth along the bottom end
Cut the same row of teeth across the bottom end of the stack.
12
Tie, fan out and ruffle the layers
Twist a pipe cleaner tightly round the middle of the folded stack. Spread the pleats on each side of it apart like two fans until they meet in a circle. Then, starting with the top sheet, pull one layer at a time up and in toward the middle, all the way round, until the toothed edges crowd together.
✓
Finish
Fluff the layers so the carnation is round and ruffled, then twist the ends of the pipe cleaner into a stem. Turn the carnation to see its three toothed layers crowding round the middle.