Credits and Resources:
Text-based Instructions by Bilge Ozel - Copyright 2025
accessorigami.com
My sincere thanks to my origami teacher, the talented origami artist, Atilla Yurtkul, who taught me this model with patience and dedication, Alysha Hiller, who made the model and shared her expertise and text editing ideas, and Lindy van der Merwe, who always has a positive attitude and turned the origami texts I sent into wonderful educational materials by thinking of the smallest details.
The designer of this model is Japanese origami artist, Tomoko Fuse.
For video instructions for this model by Sarah Adams of Happy Folding, visit the following link:
happyfolding.com
Folding Level: Intermediate
Description:
This model, also referred to as a navel shell, is a representation of a cone-shaped seashell that forms a spiral on one side. On the opposite side, there is a sharp, pointy end that is somewhat hollow and more 3D. This pointed end, which also features the opening of the shell, links to a central curved spine or hinge fold that divides the shell into a back and a front section. The model is overall flat, but the pointed section can be opened slightly to allow it to stand vertically on the table.
You can make the model from 21 cm square paper.
For any feedback, ideas or suggestions, please feel free to contact accessorigami@gmail.com
Note that after the given steps in Part 5 of this tutorial, there are alternative/supplemental instructions provided for Steps 24 to 34.
Part 1 - Division into 3 parts
1. Make a kite fold. Orient the kite so that the shorter, obtuse-angled corner points away from you, the longer, acute-angled corner points toward you, and the two folded flaps are on the upward-facing side of the paper.
• When you make this fold, you can compare the resulting shape to an ice cream cone with the obtuse-angled triangular portion as the ice cream.
• Fold the ice cream part of the cone towards the back of the paper so it is completely hidden underneath. Now we have a triangle.
2. Turn the paper over from left to right.
• Fold the pointed corner of the triangle nearest you to meet the opposite edge. The model has taken a quadrilateral position with the long side facing the opposite side and the short sides facing you, right and left.
• Crease well along the bottom edge and then unfold.
• You have now folded the cone part in half.
3. Open the triangular piece at the top, that is, the ice cream piece, away from you. After this process, you will have the kite shape again, but it is now divided into three parts by horizontal creases, namely, the ice-cream part at the top, the upper part of the cone at the center, and the lower part of the cone, nearest you.
Part 2 - Dividing the upper half into eights
4. Now focus on the upper half of the cone. This part will be divided into 8 pieces.
• Before starting this process, fold the line that divides the cone in half upwards to meet the top line, where the ice cream piece starts. Make a strong horizontal crease and then unfold. This will make your job easier.
• Once this fold is made, the upper half of the cone is divided into 2.
5. Fold the line you just created upwards once more to meet the ice cream line. Crease and unfold.
• Then fold the same line down again to meet the line where the bottom half of the cone begins. Crease and unfold.
• After this process, you have divided the top half of the cone into four equal parts.
6. Now, you can complete the division into eights using the lines you just created. You can also fold like a fan while doing the division into eights.
7. Explanation: All of the folds you apply to the top half of the cone should be valley folds. However, this may be difficult for us to do at this point. Therefore, some fold lines may have become valleys, and some fold lines may have become peaks. These lines will be brought to the valley position in the nineteenth step. Be very careful when creating these lines, taking care to divide them at equal intervals, because other lines will be created on these horizontal lines.
Part 3 - Dividing the lower half into eleven pieces
8. Just like there are eight pieces on the upper half of the cone, there will be 11 pieces on the lower half of the cone.
• For the upper half, consider the first piece as the piece closest to the ice cream and the eighth piece as the piece closest to you.
• First, take the pointed corner of the cone nearest you and fold it upwards so that it touches a point exactly in the middle of the second piece. Here, you need to check the lines of that piece very well with your fingers.
• The pointed corner of the cone will touch a point exactly in the middle of the second piece.
• Here, the pointed corner will touch the vertical line of the kite fold anyway. But what you need to pay attention to is the distance of the pointed corner from the lower edge line and the upper edge line. Try to adjust this distance as equally as possible with your fingers.
• After determining where the pointed corner will touch, you can fold and crease it with your thumbs or one hand. However, while folding and creasing, you need to ensure that the sharp corner does not deviate from the point you have determined.
• However, before starting the creasing process, check the shape of the piece you have just created with your thumbs. Because sometimes the right and left edges of the piece may not be equal to each other while folding.
9. Now fold that sharp corner of the cone up to meet the third line from the top.
• Here, we did not count the line where the ice cream and the cone intersect. Therefore, only think about the lines on the upper half of the cone.
• By the way, the lines we will make on the lower half of the cone are always valley folds. Because we fold the sharp corner over the pieces on the upper half of the cone and over the lines.
10. Now fold the sharp corner to the middle of the fifth piece. Be careful while creasing, whether that sharp corner is folded to the line or to the middle point of the piece, it should not deviate to the right or left.
• In other words, the point should follow the line where the edges of the fold meet. However, do the creasing very well. Because the lines, especially the valley lines on the lower half of the cone, are a little difficult to feel.
11. Fold the pointed corner up to meet the sixth line.
12. Fold the pointed corner to the middle of the eighth piece.
• In this case, you have folded the last piece of the top half of the cone.
13. Fold the pointed corner up to meet the ninth line.
• Now you are gradually coming to the end of the cone and the pieces that form the bottom half of the cone are getting smaller and smaller.
14. Fold the pointed corner to meet the middle of the eleventh piece.
15. Fold the pointed corner up to meet the twelfth line.
16. Fold the pointed corner to the middle of the fourteenth piece.
• It may be difficult to feel here because the pieces are smaller and there are always valley lines.
• Therefore, if you want, you can turn the valley lines into mountain folds and continue folding in that way. But when you reach the tip of the cone, don't forget to bring the lines back to the valley position.
17. Fold the pointed corner up to the fifteenth line.
18. Fold the pointed corner up to the middle of the seventeenth piece.
19. Thus, you have created a total of 19 pieces, 8 on the top half of the cone and 11 on the bottom half.
• When we made the last fold line, there was a small triangular piece left at the tip of the cone. When counting the pieces, this small triangular piece was not included.
• At this stage, bring all the lines you created on the bottom and top halves of the cone to the valley position.
20. Now turn the paper over from left to right.
• Fold the top corner of the ice cream, that is, the triangular piece facing away from us, downwards to meet the third line.
• Here, while counting the lines, we are also counting the line where the ice cream and the cone intersect.
• After folding, make sure that some of the triangle goes inward from the edges of the kite fold. In this case, the point of the triangle should be hidden inside the folds of the kite.
• In other words, you can imagine that some of the ice cream spills out and sticks to the cone.
21. Turn the paper over.
Part 4 - Creating diagonal creases
Explanation:
So far, you have considered the cone as a whole and divided it into two parts: the upper half and the lower half. Now, we will also imagine that the cone is divided in half vertically with a perpendicular line.
Actually, there is already a line running vertically in the middle of the cone, where the edges of the kite fold intersect. When you divide the cone in this way, there are 19 pieces and 20 lines on the right side, and 19 pieces and 20 lines on the left side. Here, the line where the cone and ice cream intersect will also be counted. That's why there are 20 lines. By the way, don't forget that you didn't include the small triangle at the tip of the cone that comes after the twentieth line.
Now, diagonal lines will be created on these pieces.
• First, focus on the first piece of the right section of the cone. In other words, the piece closest to the ice cream part. Here, the piece is in the shape of a long rectangle. There are lines on the bottom and top edges of the piece. There is also a kite fold line on the left side. The right side is empty.
• Here, a fold will be made from the right corner of the top line to the left corner of the bottom line of the piece, but the purpose of this fold is only to make a mark. This fold will be a mountain fold.
• Get help from the edge of the table to create this line. Of course, the edge of the table must be sharp. Otherwise, the fold will not leave a mark.
• After determining the start and end points of the diagonal line with your fingers, slowly slide the model towards the edge of the table. Do not remove your hand while sliding.
• After you feel the sharp edge of the table under the paper, slowly remove your right hand from those corner points and press the paper with your fingers against the edge of the table to make a mark on the paper. Your left hand should be steady at the corner point so that the entire model does not slip and a wrong line is not formed.
• Do not pull the paper from the edge of the table immediately without being very sure.
• Here, the edge of the table is like a pencil or a ruler. This is a great reference for making a neat diagonal line.
• After pressing against the edge of the table and making sure that the mark is formed, squeeze the line lightly with your fingers. The purpose of squeezing is to create a good mountain fold.
22. Apply the same method to all the pieces on the right side of the cone.
23. Apply the same process to the left side of the cone. But this time the direction of the diagonal line is different. In the pieces of this section, the diagonal fold will start from the left side of the top edge line and extend to the right corner of the bottom edge line.
• You may find it a bit difficult while creating the diagonal lines on the pieces close to the sharp end of the cone.
• Therefore, bring the upper and lower edge lines of the pieces to the mountain fold position and continue where you left off.
Part 5 - Creating the spiral effect
24. After creating all the diagonal lines and reaching the tip of the cone, we will now start to form the model into a spiral.
• You will start this process from the sharp end of the cone facing you, and this spiral structure will turn and eventually reach the ice cream part.
• Now focus on the very small triangular piece on the sharp end of the cone. Fold this piece in half along its center line.
• Your folding limit should be where the diagonal lines begin. This small fold will fold itself by following the kite fold we created earlier.
• In other words, the sides of the kite will close towards each other, and the mountain fold you created here will face upwards, not towards the table.
• While doing this, lift the model slightly off the table so the right and left sections of the cone can close inwards. Otherwise, it won't be possible to create a winding structure by folding the diagonal lines.
25. Hold this tiny triangular piece that was just folded with the nails of your thumbs and fold it under the cone, into the space between the cone and the table.
• When you fold this piece, the tip is now facing 12 o'clock, so it will no longer be pointed.
• While doing this, your index fingers should be on the small diagonal lines closest to you.
26. Let the triangular piece remain between your thumb nails.
• While that piece is between your nails, squeeze the small diagonal lines on both sides of the cone with the fleshy parts of your thumbs and index fingers.
• Since they are already mountain folds, they will fold easily.
• With this step, you have now started to create the spirals.
27. Now squeeze and fold the next small diagonal lines with the fleshy parts of your thumbs and index fingers.
• Meanwhile, squeeze the part between your thumb nails and push it inwards, towards 12 o'clock, into the space between the paper and the table. The aim here is to give the paper a spiral and winding structure.
28. Squeeze the diagonal lines you have just held with your index fingers and thumbs together.
• In other words, the right and left sections of the cone should come together by folding downwards along the kite line.
• While doing this, pull your thumb nails from their position and crease the fold line with your index fingers.
• This process and the folding of the diagonal lines are carried out in the space between the paper and the table.
29. Continue repeating steps 27 and 28.
• Now you will see that the paper is slowly rolling like a wheel. In order for the wheel to form properly, crease the folds very well.
30. As you continue to fold the diagonal lines, you will feel the wheel getting thicker.
• While folding, check occasionally to make sure that the previous folds are not broken and press so that the structure does not open or break.
• As you gradually progress, you will see that the diagonal lines are getting bigger. Therefore, use not only your index finger but also your other fingers to reinforce the diagonal fold lines.
31. You may feel that you are having difficulty when approaching the larger pieces. Slowly slow down a little and allow the model to fold along the crease lines you have created.
• Now that the pieces are getting bigger, check the folding shapes of the diagonal lines by moving your fingers towards the sides of the model with each step.
• Also check the previous folds. If they are broken, re-crease them.
• Make sure that the diagonal lines on the right and left sections of the cone progress at the same time. In other words, neighboring diagonal lines should progress together.
• Check the alignment of the lines from time to time.
32. As you approach the upper half of the cone, you will see that a wheel with serrations on both sides has formed and the triangular piece you first folded is hidden inside the wheel.
• As you continue to progress, you may feel the diagonal lines flattening. If you do, stop and re-crease these lines. Then, continue folding.
33. As the diagonal lines get very long when approaching the ice cream section on the upper half of the cone, it can be difficult to fold them with both hands at the same time.
• For this reason, you can fold the diagonal line on one side first, then the diagonal line on the other side.
• When doing this, be careful not to damage the previous folds and not to create new crease marks.
34. When you fold the last diagonal lines, you will see the pieces of paper overlapping each other like a ladder on the inside.
• You will see that the part of the wheel facing upwards has a curved structure, while the part facing inwards, into the space between the table and the paper, has a thin, tight structure.
• Now find the small triangular piece that is hidden in the middle of the wheel, that is, the tip of the cone.
• To find it, you need to reach deep into the wheel. Be very careful while doing this. The spiral structure should not be damaged.
• Extract this central triangular piece from the center of the wheel and allow it to rest on the right side of the wheel instead. In this way, the wheel has a more winding structure, together with the part that comes out.
Alternative/Supplemental Description for Steps 24 to 34:
To describe steps 24-34 in an alternative way, we will be making a series of crimp folds that will cause the paper to curve. These crimp folds will have the effect of creating angled accordion-like folds on each side of the paper when it is folded in half along the long vertical crease. The paper will fold inward along the diagonal creases and outward again along the horizontal valley creases. With each fold, a small section of the paper will jog downward and away from you, and the spiral structure will form between the left and right layers of the folded model. From the flat cone structure, it is as if we are pulling the left and right halves of the model downwards and towards each other, while, at the same time, we are crimping or curving the folded structure into a rounded wheel-like shape. Once all the diagonal folds have been creased, the left and right sides of the cone part of the model will now be touching since it has formed into a flat structure that you can hold between your palms. Note that, the ice cream part of the model may also have folded in half and flattened while you were forming the spiral part. We will now be opening and working on this ice cream section to complete the shell.
Part 6 - Completion
35. Lay the model flat on the table by dropping the top down and toward the right. This results in the triangular piece you pulled from the center of the wheel resting on the table and hidden under the model.
• Orient the model so that the wheel is on the right side, the ice cream portion is on the left side, and the fold extending from the wheel to the edge of the ice cream is horizontal and facing away from you.
• The ice cream portion should be opened at roughly a 90-degree angle with the bottom portion resting flat on the table and the top portion pointing upwards. Note that when you do this, the wheel will lift up somewhat, and you will see some of the pleated folds making up the structure of the wheel on the inner surfaces of the ice cream portion.
36. Observe the bottom portion of the ice cream that is resting flat on the table. It has a long, straight edge on the left side that reaches a corner.
• Below that corner, there is a smaller triangular-shaped portion that extends out closer to you than the wheel.
• Fold this triangular portion upwards so its lower left edge aligns with the straight left-hand edge of the ice cream portion.
37. Next, imagine a line connecting two points on the bottom ice cream portion.
• The first point is the furthest away point on the left-hand edge where the angle changes and the second half of the ice cream lifts off the table.
• The second point is the rightmost corner of the triangular piece you folded in the previous step.
• Fold the lower ice cream part upwards and inwards, making a crease connecting the two previously described points.
• You will tuck the resulting triangular section between the layers of the wheel.
38. Now turn your attention to the other half of the ice cream that is pointing upwards off the table.
• Orient the model so that the wheel is on the left, the ice cream is on the right, and the unfolded half of the ice cream is flat on the table and extending toward you.
• We now need to fold this bottom ice cream portion with a crease extending from the top right corner where it meets the other half, downwards diagonally to the left.
• This crease should mirror the crease on the top portion. Once you make this fold, the ice cream portion is transformed into a triangular shape with a sharp corner pointing to the right.
• However, there is still a small, roughly triangular section of the ice cream pointing out to the left underneath the wheel.
39. Fold this small triangular portion of the ice cream to the right between the layers of the paper.
40. We will now use the folded triangular section from the previous step like a hook to link the two halves of the model together.
• Slightly open the top portion of the ice cream along the crease facing you and insert the small triangular section from the bottom portion inside this fold.
• This should lock together the two halves of the shell.
• Lightly squeeze the section from the sharp corner on the left to where the spiral area begins, making this part of the model 2-dimensional.
41. The model construction phase actually ends here, but if you want your seashell to stand in a three-dimensional, slightly vertical position on the table, you can make the piece you put in the pocket slightly curved.
• In other words, the surface of that piece should not have a sharp edge, but a curved structure.
• You can shape the piece by making sure that it does not come out of the pocket and does not disrupt the general structure of the model.
• You can also put your finger in the gap where the spiral part starts and give the model a slightly curved structure.
• In this way, your seashell can stand slightly vertically, with the pocketed part and a part of the wheel section touching the table.
• When ensuring that it stands in this way, the sharp part is usually facing the right side. Sometimes, the model can stand in three dimensions when the sharp part is facing the left side. You can find this by trial and error.
Text-Based Instructions compiled: March 2025
For non-commercial use only.
This text copyright 2025 by accessorigami.com and the author.
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