Origami Mouse Tutorial
Origami mice are so adorable and much less frightening than the real thing. This is an intermediate level project that's even suitable for kids. From a distance, you might mistake this origami mouse as the real deal, but unlike their mischievous counterparts, these mice are friendly and non-destructive!
You can make a bunch of origami, all a little differently, by folding the back and ears differently. There are many mouse postures to make. This project requires only one sheet of square paper.
Step 1
- Start with your paper pointed diagonally, so it's the shape of a diamond. If your paper has a white side, have the white side facing up.
- Bring the bottom corner up to the top corner, crease well and then unfold. Next, fold the right corner over to the left corner and unfold.
- Fold the lower left and right edges to the central crease. If your paper is thick, leave a tiny gap in between the two edges.
- Unfold the previous step. Fold the top left and top right edge to meet the central crease—again, if your paper is thick, leave a small gap in the middle.
Tip: Make your folds as precise as you can, this will ensure the result is crisp and clean.
Step 2
- Focus on the flap on the right side. Pull the inside corner up and at the same time, push on the lower right side.
- Flatten the flap that's now formed in the middle.
- Repeat the same process on the left side.
- Rotate the paper to the left.
Step 3
- Fold the little flaps to the vertical crease, one on top of the other.
- Then, fold them both over to the right. The little flaps which are trapped there will end up being the mouse's ears.
- Take the very right corner and fold it over to where the little red dot is (refer to image).
- Unfold the last step and fold that flap behind.
Step 4
- Flip the paper over to the other side. Fold the top right and bottom right corners diagonally to the central crease.
- Fold the paper in half, from top to bottom, flattening the flaps inside
(the top right corner is the mouse's nose). - Fold the left corner (the tail) diagonally down to the right, aligning the new right edge of the tail with a crease that was created earlier.
- You should now have a shape that resembles the fourth image in this step.
Tip: You can achieve many different body shapes and tail lengths by changing these folds.
Step 5
- Bring the tail back over to the left, making a new crease that is at the same angle as the left edge (the mouse's back).
- Flip the mouse over to the other side. If you want it to sit with its tail resting on a surface (not sticking up or down), make sure that the bottom edge of the mouse aligns with the very end of the tail.
- Open out the tail end of the mouse, and fold the back of the mouse inside, bringing the tail back out. This is called an inside reverse fold.
- Fold the remaining part of the tail underneath the mouse.
Step 6
- Now you will fold the mouse's ears! Fold one of them back (you can do different angles here too).
- Use a pencil or chopstick to open out the ears. Use your thumb to push them into a rounded shape.
- If you'd prefer your origami mouse to be looking straight ahead instead of up, you can fold the lower section underneath as well.
Tip: If you're folding this origami mouse with kids, they can draw some eyes and whiskers to make it more fun, and maybe fold an origami elephant to go along with your mouse.