“The Alice”
This design is named for the late Alice Gray, entomological assistant, avid folder, teacher, and origami proponent. She was a crucial ally in bringing the offices of the national folding organization to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
This design was Michael’s first original origami butterfly, and so “The Alice” is our matriarch of the family, having given life to the others that followed. She knows what makes them flap, and where to locate the best host plants for lunch. “The Alice” travels the world, introducing the joy of origami to the scientific types, while she also excites young children as they open their eyes to the natural wonders around them.
oh Lady of Bugs
showing knowledge conquers fear
hugging millipede!
This design introduces the breadth of the potential of Michael’s system. Explore the permutations and combinations possible from choosing different arrangements of margin flaps and corners, sometimes with beveled corners. Use a square (four to ten inches works best with most papers). A six-inch square produces a four-inch butterfly.
1. (A) Valley-fold in half, bottom edge to top edge. Unfold. (B) Align the bottom edge to the center crease and make a short pinch mark at the 1/4 point. Unfold. (C) Align the bottom edge to the first pinch mark and make another short pinch mark at the 1/8 point. Unfold.
2. Lay the lower pinch mark on top of the upper pinch mark and valley-fold the flap halfway between the two pinch marks (the margin is now 3/16th of the square). Crease all along the width. Unfold.
3. (A) Valley-fold the bottom left and right corners to the valley crease above. (B) Valley-fold the flap upward to lock the corners inside.
4. Repeat steps 1–3 with the opposite edge.
5. Rotate the paper 90 degrees clockwise. Turn the model over.
6. Valley-fold the bottom edge to the top.
7. Squash-fold the right half. Look ahead to step 8 and 9 to see results.
8. The squash-fold in progress.
9. Your paper should look like this. Turn over, left to right.
10. Squash-fold the right half.
11. Valley-fold the bottom corner to the middle of the top edge. Unfold.
12. One at a time, squash-fold the right and left halves of the model to form the wings. Look ahead at step 13 for the shape.
13. The squash-folds in progress.
14. Your paper should look like this. This is the “Butterfly for Alice Base.” Mountain-and valley-fold the abdomen over the right wing.
15. Valley-fold the left wing to match the right wing. Unfold.
16. (A) Squash-fold the paper for the head. (B) Mountain-fold the corner behind. (C) Your paper should look like this. (D) Fold the wings together.
17. Mountain-fold the abdomen edges inside. See step 18 for the detail view.
18. The view from the underside. Fold the lower edges of the abdomen inward. Close the abdomen.
19. Valley-fold the wings down on each side.
A Butterfly for Alice Gray.
