The Turning Point

After the margins and corners are set, the next fold (mountain or valley) determines the display side of the butterfly. When you fold the paper in half, the surface inside that fold will become the major display surface of the wings.

Note the different outcomes! Another consequence of this key decision is whether the flaps and corners become trapped or free. This will impact the finishing detail possibilities.

Permutations of this base (for the Butterfly for Alice Gray—page 34) can be generated from a variety of margin and corner choices. Three major categories of crease patterns define the resulting permutations. The “A” series all have rectangular margin flaps. The “B” series shows the possibilities when the corners of only one flap are beveled. For each folding plan, the front view (left) and back view (right), appear above their associated preliminary folds.

The “C” series shows the possible results after beveling the corners on both margin flaps. (Note that the margin proportions have not been changed.)