DIY Origami koinobori

In our last article about “Kodomo no hi, Children's Day” , I told you about a tradition around koinobori , these colorful windsocks in the shape of carp. In fact, every year around May 5, the Japanese hang these fabric fish that look like kites!

After teaching you how to make adorable little origami “koinobori” chopstick holders in our article “DIY The origami “koinobori” chopstick holder” last week , I ’m here again this time to show you the folding origami koinobori . Simple to make, you can then mount it on a rod to create a pretty summer paper decoration, inspired by the masts on which the koinobori are hoisted. For example, it could be placed in a vase with a few dried flowers! Now let's move on to the tutorial:

THE “KOINOBORI” IN ORIGAMI

In order to make an origami koinobori, you will need:

• a square of origami paper with a side of 15cm - To make a koinobori, you will need a square with a side of 15cm, which will give you a koinobori of approximately 4cm in width by 13cm in length. We also made smaller koinobori with squares of 10cm side (for a koinobori approximately 3cm wide and 9cm long) and 7.5cm square (for a koinobori approximately 2cm wide and 7cm long). length).
• a thick rod - We used the entire length of the rod but you are free to cut it to the desired length.
• masking tape - For this tutorial, we chose masking tape with traditional Japanese patterns (asanoha, samekomon, mujinagiku, hanabishi, etc.)
• a little white paper
• a black marker
• a little glue
• a pair of scissors

1. Take a square of paper, white side facing you, and first mark the diagonals. Then orient your square of paper in a diamond shape, with the points facing up and down, as in the photo. Fold the top and bottom tips along the central crease to the left.
2. Unfold.
3. You get this.
4. Fold the top and bottom tips along the central crease to the right.
5. Unfold.
6. You get this. Thanks to the folds marked in steps 1 and 4, four small triangles were formed. Fold them inwards, pinching with your fingers, at the central fold.
7. This will allow the fold to be partially opened and points to be formed on the upper and lower parts of the fold, as you can see in the photo.
8. Flatten these tips and fold them to the left. Turn your folding over.
9. Fold the left tip towards the center of your fold.
10. Then fold the top tip towards the bottom tip.
11. Turn your folding over.
12. To form the fins of your koinobori, fold the left tip, of the small triangle that was formed in step 7, towards the central fold. Repeat this step for the other side of your fold.
13. To form the tail of your koinobori, fold the right tip of your fold backwards. Mark the fold well.
14. Once the rear fin crease is formed, grasp the tip and push with your fingers to fold the rear fin inward (details of this step are below) .
15. You get this.

Once you have completed your folding, cut out two small circles from your white sheet of paper and draw the pupils of your fish using your black marker, then glue them on either side of it.

TADA Your origami “ koinobori ” is ready!

Do not hesitate to make this fold in different sizes and colors to form a small family of fish (here we used origami paper in 15cm, 10cm and 7.5cm sides) .

If you want to mount the fish on a rod, take a small strip of paper that you will slide inside the fish's mouth and with which you will form a small loop around the rod. Use a little glue to hold everything inside the fish's mouth. To finish decorating your koinobori mat, wrap small rectangles of masking tape around your stem, then using a pair of scissors, cut small triangles horizontally to form adorable pennants.

I hope you enjoyed this new tutorial. I'll see you soon for two new DIYs around koinobori! Our previous tutorial “DIY The origami “koinobori” chopstick holder” can be found on the blog as well as our article on the origins of kodomo no hi “Kodomo no hi: Children’s Day! » .

See you soon !

Adeline