How to Make an Origami Bat
You don't have to wait until Halloween to get your fill of creepy critters—fold a whole colony of bats and string them into a spooky mobile.
Up next in How to Do Origami (14 videos)
Master the ancient art of Japanese paper folding with the step-by-step instructions in these tutorials.
You Will Need
- A sheet of square origami paper (6" x 6" / 15 cm x 15 cm)
- A flat surface
Steps
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Step 1
Position paper as diamond
Position the paper in front of you in a diamond shape with its white side up.
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Step 2
Fold bottom corner up
Fold the bottom corner up to the top corner.
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Step 3
Fold right corner to left and unfold
Fold the right corner over to the left corner, crease it, then unfold.
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Step 4
Fold right corner to top and then to bottom
Fold the right corner up to the top. Then fold the same corner back down to the bottom, creating a smaller triangle.
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Step 5
Fold top side of small triangle to bottom
Fold the top horizontal side of this small triangle out to the bottom sloping side.
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Step 6
Repeat on left side, then flip model
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 on the left side, then turn the model over.
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Step 7
Fold top corner down
Fold both layers of the top corner down to the bottom corner.
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Step 8
Fold smaller triangle half above larger triangle
Fold both layers back into a smaller triangle that sits half above and half below the larger triangle.
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Step 9
Fold protruding portion behind model
Fold half of the protruding portion of the triangle behind the model.
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Step 10
Fold sloping edges of large triangle to center
Fold the two sloping edges of the large triangle to align on the center vertical, allowing the back flaps to flip forward.
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Step 11
Pull out loose corners
At the bottom of the model, there are two loose corners that extend beyond the top layer. Pinch a corner in each hand and pull them out. Yikes, it's a bat!
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Did you know? Tropical bats pollinate flowers and drop seeds for many trees—including bananas, mangos, nuts, dates, and figs.
