Practice mindfulness tonight with our how to make an origami lily tutorial

Practice mindfulness tonight with our how to make an origami lily tutorial

Origami lilies impress with their simple yet elegant appearance, and with a few simple folds you can make your own. We’ll show you how.

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Holly Spanner

Practice mindfulness tonight with our how to make an origami lily tutorial

Expand your origami skills and hone your paper craftmanship with our easy-to-follow origami lily tutorial. Discover how, with a few precise folds and simple techniques, you can transform a flat sheet of origami paper into an exquisite 3D origami lily. 

It’s easy to bring a touch of nature’s beauty into your home, office, or school with origami. Why not make multiple origami lilies in different colours and arrange in a glass, for a quick and easy flower display? 

When you’re folding the flaps inwards to create the base of the flower, you’re folding several layers at once, so it’s helpful to use a paper creaser to achieve crisp folds. Curl the petals outwards when you’re finished for a more realistic appearance. Doing so also helps to hold the shape of the origami lily. 

This origami lily tutorial is one of the easiest origami flowers that you can make. We think you’ll love it, and the results are quick and easy.   

Ready? Here’s how to fold your very own origami lily. 

Discover more origami fun here on Gathered:

How to make an origami lily, step by step with pictures

Make a sweet hummingbird for your origami lily

This origami hummingbird is the perfect project to accompany your origami lily. Like the lily, it’s great for beginners and even doubles up as a card topper.

Step 1

Start with a square piece of paper. You can use any paper for this origami lily tutorial, it doesn’t need to be dedicated origami paper.

In this tutorial, we are using 15x15cm paper that is yellow on both sides.

Fold in half along the diagonals and unfold.

How to make an origami lily, step 1

Step 2

Turn the paper over then book fold along the horizontal and vertical. Unfold.

How to make an origami lily, step 2

Step 3

Bring the corners together so they meet. You’re essentially collapsing the paper in on itself, and the end goal is a square shape, that’s open at the bottom and a closed point (what was the middle of the paper) at the top.

How to make an origami lily, step 3
 

Step 4

Rotate the paper so that the open corner is at the top.

How to make an origami lily, step 4

Step 5

Fold one of the sides in to meet the centre line.

How to make an origami lily, step 5

Step 6

Unfold.

How to make an origami lily, step 6

Step 7

Using this fold you just made, open the flap and squash back down into a new kite shape. This type of fold is called a ‘squash fold’. How to make an origami lily, step 7

Step 8

Repeat step 7 on the other three sides, so the entire model resembles a kite.

How to make an origami lily, step 8

Step 9

Fold the entire model in half and crease well. This will make future steps easier. Unfold.

How to make an origami lily, step 9 

Step 10

Working on the top layer only, fold the top left-hand edge down meet the centre line.

How to make an origami lily, step 10

Step 11

Repeat step 10 on the other side, so that it looks like this. Burnish the folds on both sides.

How to make an origami lily, step 11

Step 12

Unfold.

How to make an origami lily, step 12

Step 13

Using these folds, open the model along the fold lines, and pull down the top layer. Fold the sides into the middle, using the horizontal fold you made in step 9 and press the crease.

You’ll end up with an upside-down kite shape within the larger kite outline of your model. This is called a ‘petal fold’. How to make an origami lily, step 13

Step 14

Fold the small triangle flap in the middle upwards.

How to make an origami lily, step 14

Step 15

Repeat steps 10-14 on the three remaining sides. Once all the sides are folded, your model should resemble a diamond shape.

How to make an origami lily, step 15

Step 16

Fold one layer in front and one behind.

How to make an origami lily, step 16

Step 17

Thin the base of the lily by folding both edges to meet the centre line.

How to make an origami lily, step 17

Step 18

Repeat on the other three sides, so that you end up with a skinny kite shape.

How to make an origami lily, step 18

Step 19

There are four flaps at the open end of your model; these will form the petals.

This next part is magic; although it doesn’t look like a flower at the moment, the origami lily will start to take shape before your eyes.

Working on the top flap first, curl it outwards and downwards. Curling it around a pen will help keep its shape. This is called a ‘curved valley fold’. How to make an origami lily, step 19

Step 20

Repeat the curved valley fold on the other three sides. The origami lily will naturally transform into a three-dimensional shape as you do so.

Congratulations, you have completed an origami lily!

How to make an origami lily, step 20

Make your own origami lily

These origami lily instructions are simple and easy to follow. Using our clear step-by-step tutorial, you can make your own exquisite origami lilies in under 10 minutes. Have fun folding with different colours and textures of paper, then arrange in a glass to display.

This origami lily project is a great starting point if you want to learn how to fold origami flowers, as there are no complicated folds involved. If you can fold a piece of paper in half, then you can do this project.

It’s ideal for beginners or kids, and equally useful if you’ve tried origami before and just need a refresher.

Discover origami birds with Gathered

Like this project? We have lots more beginner-friendly origami ideas, right here on Gathered. These origami birds look impressive, but with our easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions, you’ll be amazed at what you can create with just a single sheet of paper.

Origami birds

Holly Spanner

Staff Writer, BBC Science Focus

Holly is the Staff Writer for BBC Science Focus and looks after the popular Q&A section. She holds an MSc (distinction) in Geoscience (Space and Climate Physics) from UCL, and specialises in astronomy and earth sciences. Before joining Our Media, she worked as a geoenvironmental consultant and engineer, informing on ground risk and remediation in the north of England, while hunting for exoplanets in her spare time. Alongside this, she was regional editor of a popular theatre website for nine years, and has a solid background in curating and developing content for the digital space. Holly is also an artist and illustrator, and regular contributor to the craft website, Gathered. She has previously worked with the RSPB, English Heritage, Disney, Pilot and Brother, as well as on BBC Good Food magazine, Home Style magazine, and Papercraft inspirations magazine. She enjoys photography and has a sustained interest in antiques.
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