A Butterfly for Lillian Oppenheimer

“The Lillian”

The late Lillian Oppenheimer is often called our Grandmother of Origami in the U.S. Lillian’s home was the gathering place. Her special magnetism attracted folders of all types.

“The Lillian” not only hosts others, she travels around, pollinating minds to learn and love origami.

can you come over?
I have a visiting guest
you simply must meet!

This design will introduce a different size margin on one end, resulting in the “Lillian Hindwing,” as well as a different style for the forewing.

The Automeris io (Io) moth displays the eye-spots that serve as the real world inspiration for this model.
Photo by Patrick Coin. (Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Automeris_ioFMPCCA20040704-2974B1.jpg)

1. Begin with the minor color facing up. (A) Valley-fold in half, bottom edge to top. Unfold. (B) Valley-fold the top and the bottom edges to the center crease and make a pinch mark for each. Unfold. (C) Move the bottom edge to the lower crease line and make a pinch mark. Unfold.

2. (A) Valley-fold the top edge of the paper to the top pinch mark. Unfold. (B) Lay the bottom pinch mark on top of the pinch mark above it and valley-fold all the way across the paper. Unfold.

3. (A) Valley-fold the top corners to the nearest crease. (B) Use the same crease to valley-fold the top edge down. (C) Valley-fold the bottom corners up to align with the nearest full crease. (D) Use the same crease to valley-fold the bottom edge up.

4. Mountain-fold the paper in half and rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise.

5. Squash-fold the right half.

6. Your paper should look like this. Turn it over, left to right.

7. Squash-fold the right half.

8. Valley-fold the bottom corner to the top of the split. Unfold.

9. One at a time, squash-fold the upper right and left halves of the model, forming the wings.

10. For both hindwings, valley-fold the top half of the layer of the hindwing out and form a squash fold on the bottom half.

11. Move the top layer of the trailing edges of the hindwings up. Fold the mountain crease in the middle of the wing down, forming a wing overlap.

12. Mountain-fold the top edges of the forewings behind. Inside-reverse fold the indicated corners.

13. Mountain-fold the indicated edges of the hindwings behind. Mountain- and valley-fold the abdomen over the right wing.

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

15. (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.

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

A Butterfly for Lillian Oppenheimer.