YOUR PAPER MOMENT
Windmill
Get your paper ready.
Lay a square sheet down as a diamond, with one corner pointing up and one towards you. If one side is coloured, put it face down and the white side face up.
Use smooth, properly square paper: in the next folds the corners have to reach the centre exactly.
All the steps as text
A traditional model: you bring the corners to the centre, turn the paper over, crease it with more folds and unfold them, and at the end you push the points together in the centre so the paper flattens into a windmill. This is where you learn to crease and collapse.
Get your paper ready.
Lay a square sheet down as a diamond, with one corner pointing up and one towards you. If one side is coloured, put it face down and the white side face up.
Use smooth, properly square paper: in the next folds the corners have to reach the centre exactly.
Bring the top corner to the centre.
Fold the top corner of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is horizontal and runs through the middle of the two upper edges.
Line up the corner with the centre before pressing the fold.
Bring the right corner to the centre.
Fold the right corner of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is vertical and runs through the middle of the two right-hand edges.
The corners touch at the centre, but they do not overlap.
Bring the bottom corner to the centre.
Fold the bottom corner of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is horizontal and runs through the middle of the two lower edges.
The corners touch at the centre, but they do not overlap.
Bring the left corner to the centre.
Fold the left corner of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is vertical and runs through the middle of the two left-hand edges. You get a square with the four corners touching at the centre.
The corners touch at the centre, but they do not overlap.
Turn the paper over.
Turn it over from right to left, like turning the page of a book. Now you see the plain square from the other side; the four corners you folded are hidden underneath.
The turn is around the vertical line down the middle.
Bring the top right corner to the centre.
Fold the top right corner of the square towards you, onto the centre. The fold runs diagonally, from the middle of one edge to the middle of the next, and folds all the layers together.
Press the fold well: you will unfold it later and its crease will be useful.
Bring the bottom right corner to the centre.
Fold the bottom right corner of the square towards you, onto the centre. The fold runs diagonally, from the middle of one edge to the middle of the next, and folds all the layers together.
Line up the corner with the centre before pressing the fold.
Bring the bottom left corner to the centre.
Fold the bottom left corner of the square towards you, onto the centre. The fold runs diagonally, from the middle of one edge to the middle of the next, and folds all the layers together.
Line up the corner with the centre before pressing the fold.
Bring the top left corner to the centre.
Fold the top left corner of the square towards you, onto the centre. The fold runs diagonally, from the middle of one edge to the middle of the next, and folds all the layers together. You get a diamond.
Line up the corner with the centre before pressing the fold.
Turn the paper over.
Turn it over again from right to left. You get a diamond, with one corner pointing up and one towards you. On the other side the four corners you have just folded are hidden.
The turn is around the vertical line down the middle: one corner stays at the top.
Bring the right point of the diamond to the centre.
Fold the right point of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is vertical and runs through the middle of the two right-hand edges; it folds all the layers together.
These four points are the ones that come together at the centre at the end.
Bring the bottom point of the diamond to the centre.
Fold the bottom point of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is horizontal and runs through the middle of the two lower edges; it folds all the layers together.
Press the fold well: its crease is the one that folds in the last step.
Bring the left point of the diamond to the centre.
Fold the left point of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is vertical and runs through the middle of the two left-hand edges; it folds all the layers together.
Press the fold well: its crease is the one that folds in the last step.
Bring the top point of the diamond to the centre.
Fold the top point of the diamond towards you, onto the centre. The fold is horizontal and runs through the middle of the two upper edges; it folds all the layers together. You get a small square.
Press the fold well: its crease is the one that folds in the last step.
Unfold the top point.
Open the top point again. A horizontal crease stays.
Unfold the one you folded last first.
Unfold the left point.
Open the left point again. A vertical crease stays.
You do not need to flatten it completely: the crease is already made.
Unfold the bottom point.
Open the bottom point again. A horizontal crease stays.
You do not need to flatten it completely: the crease is already made.
Unfold the right point.
Open the right point again. A vertical crease stays. You have the diamond with four creases that make a square in the middle.
You do not need to flatten it completely: the crease is already made.
Turn the paper over.
Turn it over from right to left. Now you see the diamond with the four corners you folded after the first turn.
The creases on the other side are already made; now you unfold the ones on this side.
Unfold the top left corner.
Open the top left corner again. A diagonal crease stays.
Unfold the one you folded last first.
Unfold the bottom left corner.
Open the bottom left corner again. A diagonal crease stays.
You do not need to flatten it completely: the crease is already made.
Unfold the bottom right corner.
Open the bottom right corner again. A diagonal crease stays.
You do not need to flatten it completely: the crease is already made.
Unfold the top right corner.
Open the top right corner again. A diagonal crease stays. You have the square with eight creases: a square in the middle and a diamond around it.
You do not need to flatten it completely: the crease is already made.
Turn the paper over.
Turn it over from right to left. You see the square with the four corners from the start touching at the centre, and the eight creases: a square in the middle and a diamond around it.
You have all the creases: the next step folds them all at once.
Bring the four points to the centre and flatten the blades.
With all the creases made, bring the middles of the square's four edges together at the centre. The paper folds along the creases and the four corners of the square stand up; press them all down the same way, like the blades of a pinwheel, until everything is flat.
If a crease will not give, run a fingernail along it: they work better if you pressed each fold well when you made it.
Your windmill is ready.
The drawing shows the flat windmill, with the coloured side showing: a square in the middle and four triangular blades, one on each side, all turned the same way.
Press it with the palm of your hand to keep it flat.