Flowers & nature · Step-by-step guide
Sixteen-Strip Paper Lotus
Stack sixteen folded strips and open them into a many-layered lotus.
What you’ll need
- Sixteen equal paper rectangles, each made from half a square
- One small elastic band
- Scissors, if cutting the rectangles
Paper craft · Folding and assembly
Make it, step by step.
6 steps · Original diagrams with English instructions
Read each picture from left to right, then top to bottom. The large leaf and other flowers in the final display are decorative examples; their construction is not included.
Fold each strip
Open image at full size ↗Cut squares in half to make equal rectangles. Fold a rectangle in half lengthwise and unfold.
Fold all four corners to the middle line, then fold both long edges inward to the middle.
Stack and bind
Open image at full size ↗Fold the strip in half lengthwise again. Make sixteen matching strips and stack them in groups of four.
Place the four groups together and bind their centers firmly with an elastic band.
Open the lotus layers
Open image at full size ↗Spread the groups evenly around the tied center. Lift and open the upper petal layers carefully.
Continue opening the petals one layer at a time, then adjust the outer petals into a broad base.
Finished model
Open image at full size ↗Use this finished example to compare the shape and proportions of your model.
Finished model
Open image at full size ↗Use this finished example to compare the shape and proportions of your model.
Follow the diagrams alongside the step-by-step English instructions.
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