Two Ways to Make an Origami Tulip

Springtime means tulips, and while not everyone can pick tulips from their garden to display in the home, it is possible to make beautiful tulips using just paper! This simple tutorial will show you how to make a full paper tulip or a simple tulip head to decorate your home or to use as a gift decoration, with insight from origami expert Robert Homayoon.

Section 1 of 3:

Folding a Full Paper Tulip

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1
Fold an 8x11 in. (20 x 28 cm) piece of paper to turn it into a triangle. You can use any paper you have lying around, but printer paper is popular for lots of people. “If you have origami paper, that’s definitely a good option,” explains Homayoon. “I usually just start with a piece of printer paper because I find that's a universal thing that people have around.”^{[1]
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Robert Homayoon
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- Alternatively, you can start with a sheet of origami paper, which is already square. Fold it in half diagonally to make a square.
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Robert Homayoon is an origami expert who has been teaching origami on YouTube since 2009. His channel has over 676,000 subscribers, and his videos have garnered over 211 million views.
“Use a pair of scissors to trim the edge off and make the paper square,” Homayoon instructs.^{[2]
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Robert Homayoon
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Expert Interview} Put the excess aside (you'll need it later). You should be left with a right triangle.

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You should now have a square piece of paper with an “X” across it.^{[3]
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For clean, crisp creases, Homayoon says to “secure [the paper] with one hand and make the crease with your other hand at that point by running your thumb fingernail and the tip of your pointer along the newly creased fold.”^{[4]
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Unfold your initial top-to-bottom fold, the fold the paper side-to-side. Unfold it again afterward.^{[5]
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Push the center and lower diagonal folds together to begin collapsing the paper.
Continue collapsing the paper to form a triangle. Flatten the creases.
Rotate the paper so the tip of the triangle is pointing down (toward you).
Only fold the top layer of flaps in and down toward the bottom point.
You now have a diamond shape with 2 flaps each on the front and back.
On either side, fold the left flap over to the right along the central crease.^{[6]
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Repeat the same flap fold on the other side of the diamond.^{[7]
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Grab the corners and fold them slightly past the central crease to create triangle shapes. Press the crease and insert the corner of one flap inside the pocket formed by the layers of paper in the other flap.^{[8]
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Flip the paper over and repeat the same fold and tuck.
Hold the paper with your index fingers inside the folded flaps and thumbs supporting the outside. Gently pull the pockets slightly apart.^{[9]
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Blow into the hole that’s facing you while tugging on the folded flaps to let air in. If the paper won't fill with air, you may have to stick a pencil in the hole and push the sides out.^{[10]
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Fold or curl the petals down with a pencil or pen. Peel away the top outside corners of the “petals” to separate them from the “bulb” of the tulip. Wrap them around a pen or pencil to give them a decorative curl.
- If you don’t want to add a stem, you can stop here and enjoy your finished tulip flower!
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Fold the excess piece of paper from earlier lengthwise three times. Put the tulip head aside and grab the excess piece of paper you cut off earlier. Then, Homayoon says to fold it in half lengthwise 3 times to create the tulip's stem.^{[11]
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- For a more artistic touch, Homayoon says you can “do an inside reverse fold where you’re taking the sharpest point of the stem
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Insert the stem into the hole in the tulip head. “You can join [the stem and the head] together because there should be a little hole on the bottom of the flower that you created,” says Homayoon.^{[12]
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- Now your tulip is finished and ready to use as a gift or decoration!

Section 2 of 3:

Folding a Super Simple Tulip Head

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“Take the paper and hold it so that the points are up and down. Like you’re holding a diamond,” explains Homayoon.^{[13]
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“Then, you fold the top edge of the diamond down to the bottom edge,” according to Homayoon.^{[14]
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Robert Homayoon
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Expert Interview} You’ll end up with an upside-down triangle with the long edge on top.
“Put the base of the triangle, which is the longest edge, on the bottom. Hold the point of the triangle on top,” says Homayoon.^{[15]
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4
Fold the bottom corners up to create flower petals. “Take the bottom right corner of the triangle and fold it up, then take the other corner and fold it up to look like a flower,” says Homayoon. “You can do it at different angles, and it doesn’t require a whole lot of precision.”^{[16]
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- Your 2D tulip flower is now finished!

Section 3 of 3:

More Origami Flower Projects

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Try these fun and beautiful flower folding projects next! Create an entire flower garden out of nothing but paper with these simple tutorials:

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What kind of paper should I use?

Robert Homayoon
Origami Expert
Robert Homayoon is an Origami Expert known for his engaging YouTube videos and accessible instructions. He has been teaching origami on YouTube since 2009. His channel has a following of over 676,000 subscribers, and his videos have garnered over 211 million views. Robert uses his channel to highlight his passion for teaching people origami, crafts, and how to solve puzzles. He graduated from SUNY Albany in 2007 and earned his D.M.D degree from Temple University Dental School in 2013.

Robert Homayoon

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Origami paper, designed specifically for origami, has a thinner consistency than printer paper, making it an excellent option if you have it on hand. However, if origami paper is not accessible, using printer paper is a viable alternative. The beauty of origami lies in its simplicity, transforming a piece of paper into a work of art with minimal materials.

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How to fold a simple paper flower?

Robert Homayoon
Origami Expert
Robert Homayoon is an Origami Expert known for his engaging YouTube videos and accessible instructions. He has been teaching origami on YouTube since 2009. His channel has a following of over 676,000 subscribers, and his videos have garnered over 211 million views. Robert uses his channel to highlight his passion for teaching people origami, crafts, and how to solve puzzles. He graduated from SUNY Albany in 2007 and earned his D.M.D degree from Temple University Dental School in 2013.

Robert Homayoon

Origami Expert

Expert Answer

So for crafting a simple paper flower, you can start by taking a piece of paper and holding it in a diamond shape, with the points facing up and down. Then, fold the top edge of the diamond down to the bottom edge. The subsequent steps might be a bit intricate to describe, but essentially, you need to manipulate the base of the resulting triangle, ensuring the longest edge is at the bottom. Holding the tip of the triangle on top, fold the bottom right corner up and the other corner across, creating a flower-like shape. You can experiment with different angles for the petals, and precision is not crucial; there's no need for geometric precision.

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Can I use construction paper instead of origami paper?

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You could, but it would be harder to fold and might look a bit messy.

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Add sparkles, ribbon bows, and other decorative elements if wished.

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Make sure your paper isn't too small, or you may have difficulty making all of the folds.

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Try coloring your paper before folding it into a tulip. Or, choose paper that already has a color or design you like.

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The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Try to make sure your paper matches the dimensions mentioned in the article. If the paper is too small, you may find it more difficult to fold.
While you can use any colored paper for the stem, green will help create a more realistic looking paper tulip.
Thinner paper like construction or origami paper tends to work best for making a paper tulip.

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