Credits and Resources:
This is likely to be a traditional model, although many variations of this star have been created and may be attributed to various designers.
Text-Only Instructions - Copyright Lindy van der Merwe 2024
www.accessorigami.com
with thankful acknowledgement to Nishi Sakpal for her much appreciated advice and assistance.
Various Articles and videos describing this model can be found at sites like
youtube.com and wikihow.com
For example, see
wikihow.com/Fold-an-Origami-Star-(Shuriken)
Paper to be used: 1 or 2 squares that have been cut or torn into rectangular pieces, see Description below for more information.
Thicker paper or thin cardstock is recommended.
Folding level: Intermediate
Steps: 15
Description: This is a flat, two-dimensional star, known as a ninja star or Shuriken, folded from one square that has been divided into two rectangles.
It is a modular origami model. The two pieces are folded and then joined together to form a cimmetrical four-pointed star.
You can either use one square that has been divided into two rectangles, or if you'd like the star to have two colors, two squares will be needed, so that you can use a rectangle from each.
Remarks:
Stars are always beautiful to fold for many different occasions, including religious holidays and celebrations like the 4th of July in the U.S. or just for fun throughout the year.
Use colors like silver, gold, red, green or blue and tie with matching ribbon to hang the stars from a tree or around the house.
Use on cards or as decorations on gifts.
Make as a project for children and decorate with glitter, sequence or any other embellishments if preferred.
These stars are classic folds that children can play with. See whose stars can travel the farthest and fastest.
Be careful though. The points are sharp and the stars should never be thrown at animals or people.
It is best to keep these stars away from very young children.
If you are using two-sided paper, make sure that the side you want for the outside of the star is facing down before you start to fold.
Note that, in the instructions below, the correct positioning of the model during the folding process is very important, so take extra care to orient your paper correctly for each step.
PHASE 1: CREATING THE UNITS
You will be folding 2 similar units to form your star, but it is important to fold them in opposite directions as you will see below.
So, Unit 1 will be described first, followed by Unit 2.
Important: Make sure that, when you read the directions below, you do not inadvertently mix up those for unit 1 and unit 2.
If the units are not folded in opposite directions, they will not slot together properly and you will not be able to assemble your star.
Folding Unit 1
Step 1
Place your first rectangle down with the short sides at the top and bottom.
Fold the left edge over to meet the right and leave folded, so you now have a long, skinny rectangle.
Then, fold this long rectangle from top to bottom and crease well.
Unfold.
Your long, skinny strip of paper will have one crease across its center, running from left to right.
This crease will form a guide for the next steps.
Step 2
Keeping the strip in front of you with the short edges top and bottom, fold the lower half of the strip up and to the right so the edge comes to rest along the horizontal crease you folded in the previous step.
Your strip will resemble a capital print letter L or a braille v at this point.
Then, fold the upper half of the strip down and to the left, so this edge also comes to rest along the horizontal center crease.
Your unit will now have two arms that are slanting in opposite directions, one arm above the horizontal crease slanting left and the other arm, below the horizontal crease pointing to the right.
Step 3
Flip the figure over from right to left, so the folds are facing the table.
You should make sure the unit is positioned so the corners are at the bottom left and the top right.
These corners are basically two-layered squares that are connected to each other by a long diamond-shaped slanted figure.
The model will vaguely represent a cracker that has been placed diagonally from bottom left to top right.
To make sure you have this orientation correct, you can feel for the horizontal dividing line at the back of the figure.
This line should run from left to right in relation to your folding surface.
This will ensure that your model is lying in a diagonal or slanted position for the next steps.
Step 4
Fold each square corner in half into a triangle, making this fold in towards the slanted center of the strip.
So, first fold the top right corner of the top square down and to the left to form a nice triangle.
There is a vertical fold just next to the square you are working with that will guide your fold.
The edge of your triangle should align with this vertical fold.
Then, at the bottom square, fold the bottom left corner up to the right in a similar way as you just did.
If folded correctly, you will have a long, skinny diamond at the center flanked by two smaller triangles, one at the top and one at the bottom.
Step 5
Lastly, you will fold these 2 triangles in opposite directions one more time.
To do this, take the left bottom corner and flip it over, up and to the right until the bottom edge meets the right edge of the figure.
In a similar way, bring the right top point of the top triangle down so it comes down to the left. It should slot in place right next to the previous fold.
To help you with the last two folds, look for a soft crease line that is slanting across the skinny diamond. Place your last two folds so they align with the slanting crease.
The 2 triangles should cover the skinny diamond at the center of the figure perfectly.
Your finished unit should look like a slightly elongated diamond that is made up of two triangles that are divided by a diagonal crease that should be running from bottom left to top right.
Set your first unit aside for now.
Folding Unit 2
Step 6
Place your second rectangle down with the short sides at the top and bottom.
Fold the right edge over to meet the left and leave folded, so you now have a long, skinny rectangle.
Then, fold this long rectangle from top to bottom and crease well.
Unfold.
Your long, skinny strip of paper will have one crease across its center, running from left to right.
This crease will form a guide for the next steps.
Step 7
Keeping the strip in front of you with the short edges top and bottom, fold the lower half of the strip up and to the left so the edge comes to rest along the horizontal crease you folded in the previous step.
Your strip will resemble a capital print letter J or a braille numeral sign at this point.
Then, fold the upper half of the strip down and to the right, so this edge also comes to rest along the horizontal center crease.
Your unit will now have two arms that are slanting in opposite directions, one arm above the horizontal crease slanting right and the other arm, below the horizontal crease pointing to the left.
Step 8
Flip the figure over from left to right, so the folds are facing the table.
You should make sure the unit is positioned so the corners are at the top left and the bottom right.
These corners are basically squares that are connected with a long diamond-shaped slanted figure.
The model will vaguely represent a cracker that has been placed diagonally from bottom right to top left.
Step 9
Fold each square corner in half into a triangle.
Make this fold in towards the slanted center of the strip.
So, first fold the top left corner of the top square down and to the right to form a nice triangle.
There is a vertical fold just next to the square you are working with that will guide your fold.
The edge of your triangle should align with this vertical fold.
Then, at the bottom square, fold the bottom right corner up to the left in a similar way as you just did.
If folded correctly, you will have a long, skinny diamond at the center flanked by two smaller triangles, one at the top and one at the bottom.
Step 10
Lastly, you will fold these 2 triangles in opposite directions one more time.
To do this, take the left top corner and flip it over, down and to the right until the top edge meets the right edge of the figure.
In a similar way, bring the right bottom point of the bottom triangle up so it comes up to the left. It should slot in place right next to the previous fold.
To help you with the last two folds, look for a soft crease line that is slanting across the skinny diamond. Place your last two folds so they align with the slanting crease.
The 2 triangles should cover the skinny diamond at the center of the figure perfectly.
Your finished unit should look like a slightly elongated diamond that is made up of two triangles that are divided by a diagonal crease that should be running from top left to bottom right.
PHASE 2: ASSEMBLING YOUR MODEL
Your two units will look similar but will slot together in opposite directions to form the 4-pointed star.
Step 11
Look at the units you have folded. They have 3 or 4 parts, depending how you look at it.
Holding a unit vertically, lift the points up a little. You will find a center part that is a longish strip of paper. One side of this central strip will be smooth while the other side will have a diagonal crease running across it. This diagonal crease is actually a pocket where you will tuck in the points of your star.
At the top and bottom ends you will find the points of the star. They are basically triangles that have been folded over twice.
Try to keep the points at the ends of the strips folded for the assembly that follows. You can lift them away from the main body of the model, but do not unfold them completely.
Step 12
Place the first strip on your folding surface with the points left and right and the smooth center facing you.
Lift the left and right points up a little, so you can access the center of the model.
The second strip should be placed on top of the first, but with its points top and bottom, facing the table and the center should have a diagonal crease running across it.
The 2 units have now been placed in a cross formation.
Step 13
You will now gently fold the points of the star into place. You will notice that the points of your star seem to fold naturally into certain directions. Two of the opposite points should tend to fold away from you while the other two points should want to fold towards you.
So, gently lift up the model, holding it together more or less at its center.
Let the points of the top strip fold in, away from you so they almost overlap at the back of the model. At the same time, the points on the left and right should fold together nearest you.
Your star is now formed into its basic shape. You can gently move the two strips around until you can find the 4 points of the star.
Try to wiggle the pieces so the points are cymmetrical, pointing up and down, left and right.
Step 14
The last step is to tuck in the points of your star to make it into a wonderful, secure model.
Place the assembled model flat on your folding surface again.
Slightly lift the points of the star to find the diagonal slit or pockets at the center of the strip that is facing up.
Find the top point of the star and tuck it into the slit across from it. It should slot in to place nicely, but more towards the left side of the pocket.
Then take the bottom point and tuck it into the slit across from it. It should also slot into place, but more towards the right side of the pocket.
Step 15
Flip the star over and repeat the previous step, but now working with the points from the left and the right. The process is exactly the same with the two points sliding into the slits opposite them, that can be found at the center of the strip.
You will know that your star has been folded correctly if you are able to distinguish 4 crease lines on both sides at the center of the star, all facing in the same direction.
Also, the points of the star will all have one smooth, folded side and another side made up of two folded layers, reminding one of the arms of a pinwheel which all face in the same direction.
If all went well, you will hold a beautiful ninja star in your hand.
Making origami accessible to visually impaired crafters through text instructions.
for non-commercial use only.
Compiled by Lindy van der Merwe - March 2013
Revised, May 2023
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