A Butterfly for Jan Polish

“The Jan”

This design is named for our longtime leader at Origami USA; a folder, designer, and facilitator who’s carrying on the traditions of Lillian Oppenheimer through her extensive travels and superb teaching skills.

“The Jan” is our resourceful rock that we all count on for instant answers.

come gather around
it takes many for lifting
see what we have done!

This design will introduce you to the effect achieved by not beveling the margins’ corners, while keeping them on the outside instead of tucking them in. It also introduces a framed wing treatment that we love to use for showcasing fancy papers with a restrained contrasting border.

1. Valley-fold in half, top edge to bottom edge.

2. (A) Move the bottom edge of the top layer to the folded edge, above, and make a short pinch mark. Unfold. (B) Move the bottom edge of the top layer to the pinch mark edge and make a short pinch mark. Unfold.

3. Lay the lower pinch mark on top of the upper pinch mark to valley-fold a flap 3/16ths of the square, all along the width, halfway between the two pinch marks.

4. Turn over, left to right.

5. Valley-fold the bottom edge up, flush to the folded edge, behind.

6. Open the paper and rotate 90 degrees.

7. Your paper should look like this. Valley-fold the bottom edge to the top.

8. Squash-fold the right half. Look ahead to see results.

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 top of the split. 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 results.

13. Form a crimped overlap at the middle of each wing by rolling the top edges and the bottom edges of each wing towards the center. (The excess paper pushes up the center mountain crease to form an edge.) Fold the forewing paper down over the hind-wing, creating the forewing overlap.

14. Your paper should look like this.

15. Valley-fold the top corners of the fore-wings to touch the crease line.

16. Valley-fold the new top corners of the forewings to the crease. Inside-reverse-fold the square corners to form the left and right wing notches.

17. Tuck the raw edges of the top shape under the leading edges of each forewing.

18. Mountain-fold the upper corner of the hindwings behind. Valley-fold the bottom corner of the hindwings to touch the crease line.

19. Valley-fold the new bottom corner to the crease for each hindwing.

20. Tuck the raw edges of the top shape under the trailing edges of each hindwing.

21. Mountain- and valley-fold the abdomen over the right wing.

22. Valley-fold the left wing to match the right wing. Unfold.

23. (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.

24. (A) Mountain-fold the abdomen edges inside. (B) Valley-fold the wings down on each side.

A Butterfly for Jan Polish.