How to Make a 3-D Origami Apple

Origami Apple Tutorial

The Spruce / Chrissy Pk

Project Overview
  • Total Time: 1 hr
  • Yield: 1 apple
  • Skill Level: Intermediate

This origami apple almost looks good enough to eat. You can make it for seasonal fall and back-to-school decor. It even makes a great little creative gift for your child's teacher. Make a batch of apples to fill a bowl and they will always stay fresh.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Scissors
  • Blunt knife or paper creaser (sometimes called a bone folder)
  • Glue
  • Pencil (optional)

Materials

  • 1 sheet square paper solid color, 8 inches by 8 inches
  • 1 sheet square paper, 2 inches by 2 inches (leaf)
  • 1 small strip of paper (stalk)
  • Straw (optional for stem)
  • Washi tape (optional for stem)

Instructions

  1. Make a Pentagon

    1. Start with your unfolded square piece of paper.
    2. Fold your paper in half by bringing the bottom edge up to the top edge.
    3. Next, bring the lower right corner diagonally up, as if you were going to fold it, but instead, make a small mark in the middle.
    4. Do the same with the top layer of the top left corner. Make a small crease and unfold.
    Sheet of yellow paper folded into a rectangle.
    Paper Kawaii
  2. Continue Making the Pentagon

    1. Fold the lower right corner diagonally to the left. It should reach the middle of the X you made in the previous steps.
    2. Fold the left edge of the flap you just folded back to the right, and align it with the right edge.
    3. Bring the lower-left corner diagonally up to the right, aligning it to the edge of the right section.
    4. Fold the left section behind.
    5. Cut along the edge of the front-most flap.
    Folding the yellow paper and using scissors to cut a flap.
    Paper Kawaii
  3. Begin to Fold the Apple

    Now that you have your pentagonal shaped paper, you will fold it into an apple.

    1. Start with your paper with the middle pointing up toward you.
    2. You need to make all of the folds that end at the points of the pentagon into mountain creases. Pick up the paper and reverse any that need to be folded.
    3. Push all of the corners together, and flatten the paper to become a triangular shape. Flatten and straighten out any uneven creases.
    4. Fold the bottom right corner up diagonally, aligning it with the vertical central crease.

    Mountain Crease

    The mountain crease, or fold, is a basic origami fold that takes a little practice. It's named that because the piece of paper looks like a mountain top.

    Fold the paper so it forms a triangle shape.
    Paper Kawaii
  4. Fold the Apple

    1. Fold that flap over to the left, and repeat that step on all of the other flaps. You can flip the sections around to the right from behind so that it is not uneven.
    2. Use a blunt knife or a bone folder to smooth out the edges.
    3. Rotate the paper clockwise.
    4. Fold the bottom point of one of the flaps up to meet the central crease. This new edge at the bottom should match the level of the central crease.
    5. If you angle this new crease slightly off, you will end up with an apple that is thinner or wider at the base.

    Substitute for Blunt Knife

    If you don't have a blunt knife or bone folder, gently use your fingernail to smooth out the edges.

    Folding the paper into a diamond shape.
    Paper Kawaii
  5. Continue to Fold the Apple

    1. Flip the section down on top of the previous one, and repeat the steps.
    2. As you are doing so, flip the sections up from behind so that it is not uneven.
    3. Rotate the paper so that the inner triangular flaps are pointing downward.
    4. Unfold one of the left sections.
    5. Fold the front-most corner up, starting from the bottom of the crease on the left and aligning to the central crease.
    Folding the apple paper to create a kite shape.
    Paper Kawaii
  6. Shaping the Apple

    1. Flip that triangular flap you just created diagonally up to the left again.
    2. Refold the left section.
    3. Using something pointy such as a chopstick, open out the flap on the left section.
    4. Insert the small triangular flap with your pointy tool (blunt knife or bone folder).
    5. Repeat these steps on the other four sections.
    Folding the apple paper into a hexagon shape.
    Paper Kawaii
  7. Finish the Apple

    1. Pick up your apple and arrange the flaps so that they are spread out evenly.
    2. Carefully blow up your apple. Hold on to the edges of the apple so that none of the flaps pop out.
    3. Now you can shape the bottom edge if desired.
    4. If the top of your apple didn't blow up completely, use a blunt object such as the end of a round pencil to pop them out from the inside.
    Shaping the paper into an apple
    Paper Kawaii
  8. Make the Leaf

    Grab the smaller square of paper to make your leaf.

    1. Fold the paper in half.
    2. Cut the shape of half a leaf.
    3. Imagine the lines of the leaf are diagonal. Fold the bottom section up along your imaginary line.
    4. Fold the leaf back down and keep folding up and down until you have compressed folds.
    5. Open the leaf out.
    Shaping the leaf design out of the green paper.
    Paper Kawaii
  9. Add the Stalk

    1. You can place the stalk of the leaf inside the apple now.
    2. If you would like to make a stalk for the apple, you can make one by rolling up the smallest piece of paper and gluing it at the end.
    3. Use some glue to attach the leaf to the stalk, leaving a little gap so that it can rest inside the hole.

    Alternative Stalk

    You could also cut down a straw and cover it in green washi tape for this step. The stalk will be more durable and pronounced so you can attach the string of a gift tag if desired.

    Adding the leaf and stem to the apple.
    Paper Kawaii