Design: Lindy van der Merwe/Various/Unknown
Text-Only Tutorial - copyright 2025 by Lindy van der Merwe
IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE: THIS MODEL IS NOT SUITABLE FOR USE WIT REAL CANDLES. TO USE AS A CANDLE HOLDER, ONLY PLACE A FLAMELESS CANDLE OR SIMILAR BATTERY-OPERATED LIGHT INSIDE THE CUBE.
Paper to be used: 8 squares of similar size; use large paper to practice with at first.
Thicker paper or thin cardstock is strongly recommended.
Note squares will also make nice, small models, but only use these when you are comfortable with the folding and assembly of these units.
Folding Level: Easy/Beginner
Steps: 12
Description:
The finished model is a three-dimensional shape with 6 square faces, 12 edges and 8 vertices or corners.
The cube is somewhat unusual in the sense that it has two faces that are solid, functioning as the floor and roof of the structure, while the four remaining faces are made up of pillars or columns that take up only half of each face, leaving each of the sides of the cube halfway open.
Very small cubes can be used as jewelry components.
These models also look beautiful displayed in a large, flat bowl or see-through jar or vase, or use them as party favors or hanging decorations.
PHASE 1: CREATING THE UNITS
You will be folding 8 similar units to form your cube.
If using two-sided origami paper, lay your paper with the patterned or colored side down before starting to fold.
Step 1
Place a square down with its edges to the left and right, top and bottom.
Step 2
Fold the left edge over to meet the right edge to form a vertical center crease line.
Crease and unfold.
Step 3
Now fold the left and right edges in to meet the vertical center crease line (cupboard fold).
Crease and leave folded.
Step 4
Fold the cupboard closed by bringing the left edge over to meet the right edge.
You will now have a long strip, four layers thick.
Note that the strip will have one long edge that is open and another that is closed.
Step 5
Lastly, fold the strip in half by bringing its short top edge down to meet its bottom edge.
Make a strong crease and then unfold the strip halfway.
This means that the half that was just unfolded should stand at a 90 degree angle in relation to the part that is flat on the table.
Your unit is complete.
PHASE 2: FOLD MORE SIMILAR UNITS
Repeat the steps above to fold 7 more similar units.
Make sure you follow the instructions for all the squares precisely. All units should have one long open edge and one long closed edge.
PHASE 3: ASSEMBLY
This phase is divided into three parts.
Part A will involve forming four combined units.
Part B will create the bottom or floor of the model while Part C will complete the roof or top of the cube.
Part A - Making 4 Combined Units
Step 6
To combine our first two units, do the following:
6.1 Place unit 1 down on the left so its long, open side is facing you and the unit runs from left to right in front of you. The upright half of the unit will be on the left and the flat half on the right.
6.2 Place unit 2 down on the right so its long, open side is also facing you and the unit runs from left to right in front of you. The upright half of the unit will be on the right and the flat half on the left.
6.3 Open both units all the way to reveal your initial square again. Each square will be divided into eight equal rectangles.
It is fine if some parts of the square won't lie flat at this time. Just open the square as far as possible.
6.4 Notice that both units are divided into two halves by a vertical line. Place unit 2 so it is laying halfway on top of unit 1. This means that the left edge of unit 2 will come to rest on top of the vertical center of unit 1. The left half of unit 2 will overlap the right half of unit 1.
6.5 Make sure the units are properly aligned and then close both units together by refolding their top and bottom edges closed.
6.6 Refold the top edge of the combined structure down to meet the bottom edge and press flat, creasing very well along the edges of the combined unit.
Result: You will have a long strip that is made up of two units that have been folded together. The central part of the unit is where two halves overlap.
Step 7
Repeat Step 6 three more times so you will have four combined units to work with.
Step 8
Explanation:
8.1 Orientation: For the assembly, we need to turn all units so that their central or joined parts are standing upright, like a pillar, since these will form the four sides of our cube. This means we will have one part of the unit flat on the table and another kind of hanging in the air.
8.2 Parts: With the unit positioned in this way, we will refer to the following three separate parts:
Floor part: The third of the unit that is flat on the table.
Pillar: the combined third of the unit that is forming the sides of the cube.
The roof part: The top third of the unit that will be in the air and that will be joined last.
8.3 Points and pockets: Also note that, when tracing a finger along the edges of the units, one of the long sides of the combined unit will be closed or hinged while the other will be open, forming a pocket.
To assemble the cube, we will be placing the short ends of the strips, which we can think of as points, into the pockets of neighboring units.
Part B - Forming the bottom or floor of the cube
We will first work with the bottom or floor parts of our units, bringing them together on the table. In this process, the four side pillars will also start to move into place. Try to ignore the top or roof parts of the units for now. They will seem to be hanging in midair and will be joined last.
Step 9
Placement: We are going to place our first four units so that their floor parts form an overlapping, counter-clockwise pattern on the table. We would like for the floor parts of the units to overlap and also for the short side of each unit to slide into the pocket, formed by the open, long side of its neighbor.
So, place your combined units down on the table as follows:
9.1 Unit 1 - Horizontally or from left to right; pillar on the left and floor part on the right;
open edge nearest you.
9.2 Unit 2 - Vertically or from top to bottom; pillar nearest you and floor part stretching away from you;
open edge on the right.
9.3 Unit 3 - Horizontally or from left to right; pillar on the right and floor part on the left;
open edge furthest away from you.
9.4 Unit 4 - Vertically or from top to bottom; pillar furthest away from you and floor part stretching towards you;
open edge on the left.
Step 10
Insertion: For now, concentrate on the four rectangles that are laying flat on the table. Mentally divide these rectangles into a left and a right half.
To join the units, do the following:
10.1 Make sure unit 1 is positioned in front of you with its long, open edge nearest you and from left to right.
10.2 Insert the short end of unit 2 so it slides all the way into the left half of unit 1.
Half of the floor part of unit 2 will disappear into the pocket formed by unit 1.
10.3 Take unit 3 and insert it into the left half of unit 2.
10.4 Take unit 4 and place it on top of the right half of unit 1.
10.5 Insert its short end into unit 3.
10.6 Open the left side of unit 4 and insert the short end of unit 1 into it.
Result: You should now have the first four units connected loosely. Each unit will be inserted inside a neighboring unit in a counter-clockwise manner.
You can confirm if you have this correct by gently lifting up your assembly. The underside should show four squares with "openings" that all face in the same direction if you move your finger in a clockwise direction.
Part C - Forming the top or roofof the cube
You will notice that the four pillars of our cube have already moved into place. All we need to do is to join the four roof parts in the same way as we did with the floor parts of the model.
Step 11
Do the following:
11.1 Hold the floor of the cube in place with one hand or you can place a small but heavy object on the inside of the structure. this will enable you to work with both hands to assemble the top or roof of the cube.
11.2 Insert the short end of unit 2 so it slides all the way into the left half of unit 1.
Half of the roof part of unit 2 will disappear into the pocket formed by unit 1.
11.3 Take unit 3 and insert it into the left half of unit 2.
11.4 Take unit 4 and place it on top of the right half of unit 1.
11.5 Insert its short end into unit 3.
11.6 Open the left side of unit 4 and insert the short end of unit 1 into it.
Result: Your cube should now be complete.
Like before, you can confirm that the outside, top of the cube will show four squares with "openings" that all face in the same direction if you move your finger in a clockwise direction.
Step 12
If necessary, gently press the corners and sides of the structure into a final secure, symmetrical cube shape and enjoy.
Making origami accessible through text-based tutorials.
For non-commercial use only.
Compiled by Lindy van der Merwe, November 2025
This text copyright 2025 by accessorigami.com
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