Credits and Resources:
Text-Only Tutorial copyright 2025 by Lindy van der Merwe
Visual instructions with supporting pictures and/or illustrations can be found on various sites.
Some good video instructions are available from
Paper to be used: A square, folded into a pentagon - for step by step text instructions on how to make a pentagon by folding and then making one straight cut, visit the following link:
Steps: 20
Description: This popular five-pointed star can either be totally flat or turned into a slightly more puffy version. It is folded from a pentagon base, which means that all folds are repeated five times, which many find to be a pleasing, almost meditative folding experience.
Apart from its five slender points, the front of the star also features a beautiful swirling center with a slightly puffy appearance. Once the star has been twisted into its form, it is locked at the back, which will keep it securely closed with no glue needed.
Remarks:
Stars are always beautiful to fold for many different occasions, including religious holidays and celebrations like the 4th of July in the U.S. or just for fun throughout the year.
Use colors like silver, gold, red, green or blue and tie with matching ribbon to hang the stars from a tree or around the house.
Use on cards or as decorations on gifts.
Make as a project with children and decorate with glitter, sequence or any other embellishments if preferred.
For a hanging ornament that looks the same on both sides, fold two stars and glue their backs together.
If you are using two-sided paper, make sure that the side you want for the front of the star is facing down before you start to fold.
This tutorial is divided into five parts.
Part 1 (Steps 1 to 5) involves the sideways precreases.
Part 2 (Steps 6 and 7}features the 'edge up' precreases which will form a flat base or 'inner pentagon' shape.
Thirdly, in Step 8, we have the pinching steps where we start to go 3D, forming the long, slender points of the star.
Part 4 (Step 9) describes the twisting move which will collapse the star into its final 'rotating' or 'overlapping' shape.
In the last part (Steps 11 and 12) the model is turned over and locked at the back.
Part 1 - Sideways Precreases
Note: If you have created your pentagon shape using the tutorial/method of folding and then making one cut, you will have most, if not all the initial creases already, but some will be valley and some mountain folds. So, it is a good idea to follow all the instructions from Step 1 since this will ensure that all your starting folds are valley creases.
Step 1
Place your pentagon shape flat on a table so one of its edges is nearest you and its opposite point is facing away from you.
Step 2
Fold the piece in half from left to right, matching up the edges and, in the process folding the top corner point in half.
Unfold.
Step 3
Rotate the shape clockwise or to the right so the next edge is in front of you.
Step 4
Repeat Step 2, again folding the shape in half from left to right.
Crease well and unfold.
Step 5
Repeat rotating and folding in half three more times.
Result: When you are done, you should feel valley fold lines radiating from the center of the entire pentagon to every point and the center of every flat edge.
Part 2 - Edge Up Precreases
In this part we will be creating new crease lines by folding each edge of the pentagon shape upwards or away from us.
Step 6
6.1 Make sure the pentagon is placed on the table so that a flat edge is at the bottom (closest to you) and a sharp point is at the top (pointing away from you).
Step 7
Locate the following points/lines:
(A) Find the top left corner or "shoulder" of the pentagon. There will be a crease line that runs from this top left point down towards the bottom-right edge.
(B) Also find the top right corner or "shoulder" of the pentagon. There will be a crease line that runs from this top right point down towards the bottom-left edge.
(c) The third line we need to locate is the vertical line that divides the pentagon in half. It starts at the top point furthest away from us and ends at the center of the edge nearest us.
Step 8
Using both hands, take the bottom left and right corners of the shape and fold its entire straight bottom edge upwards.
You want the bottom left and bottom right corners to land exactly on those two diagonal crease lines you identified in the previous step.
Put in another way: The bottom-left corner of the paper should touch the crease line coming from the top left corner. The bottom right corner should touch the crease line coming from the top right corner.
It helps to check that, as you fold upwards, you guide the paper so the center line of the large rectangle you are creating follows the center crease (Line C mentioned above). Stop as soon as you feel the two diagonal creases that are coming from the two top corners.
Result: You will now have formed a fairly large rectangle covering most of the center part of the pentagon. There will be three distinct triangular points sticking out above the edge you just folded up, namely the top center point and the top left and right 'shoulder' points of the pentagon.
Crease sharply and unfold.
Step 9
Rotate the pentagon to the right so the next flat edge is at the bottom. Repeat this 'edge up' fold for all five sides, unfolding each time.
Result: You now have newly-formed creases that form a smaller pentagon or base at the center of the paper.
Make sure you can feel these creases. If they are faint, refold the edges upwards so the 'inner pentagon' is clearly defined.
Part 3 - Pinching the points
In this part we will be starting to lift and bend the paper into a more 3D shape.
Step 10
Rotate the pentagon so one of its points is facing you.
Step 11
Locate the following points or lines:
(A) Find the crease that is running from the point nearest you. It will be a valley crease that ends just where the 'inner pentagon' shape starts.
(B) Starting from the point nearest you, move to the left along the edge of the shape. Stop at the first crease line you encounter.
(c) Similarly, starting from the point nearest you, move to the right along the edge of the shape. Stop at the first crease line you encounter.
Step 12
Grasp the two points you identified above, namely lines B and C and gently bring these two lines together. The original point A will form a large two-layered triangle that will jut out from the center of the shape.
You will notice that the sides of the model are starting to rise as you are forming these points or arms of the star.
Step 13
Crease the newly-formed triangle from the outside, starting at the tip and moving all the way to where the point meets the 'inner pentagon' shape.
You want a sharp corner where the folded triangle and the inner pentagon meet.
At the same time, press the arm that should stand up a little, to the left. It probably won't collapse all the way, but it is good to start coaxing it in the right direction.
Step 14
Rotate the pentagon to the right so the next point is nearest you. Repeat pinching, creasing and bending a two-layered triangle for all five sides.
As you move around the pentagon, try to concentrate on only one triangle fold at a time. We are only shaping the points at this stage and not yet letting them collapse into place.
Part 4 - The Collapse (The "Twist")
Step 15
Carefully start to lift one of the triangular arms of the star, holding it so it is standing up, almost pointing towards the ceiling.
Do the same with all the other arms. You first want to gather them into a kind of huddle with their points still leaning to the left.
Step 16
Once you have gathered all the arms of the star loosely, start at a point nearest you and use both hands to flatten all the points so they collapse to the left, into a swirling pattern where one arm overlaps the next, which overlaps the next, and so on.
You will encounter some resistance at first, since during the flattening/twisting process, the small, single-layered central triangles of the model will also be forming. If your creases have been formed correctly and crisply, they will eventually settle into the swirling, overlapping pattern.
Result: The center of the star forms a pentagonal spiral, with overlapping triangles spiraling into the absolute center point of the star, making the center seem slightly puffy, almost like the petals of a rose.
Part 5 Locking the Back
Step 17
Flip the star over to work on the back.
You will feel a smooth pentagon shape that seems to lay on top of the five points of the star.
Important: You will notice that each corner of the pentagon will be moveable, but it will also be connected to a corresponding arm of the star.
Step 18
Take one corner of this smaller pentagon and valley fold it into the absolute center of the model.
Effect: You will feel that this action makes one of the star's arms narrower and pointier.
Step 19
Making sure you fold the next corner into the center and partly on top of the previous fold, go around and fold all five corners into the center, making sure to narrow each arm of the star into a neat, sharp point.
Step 20
Note: The very last fold is tricky. You will have to tuck it underneath the first one you folded to lock everything in place.
You will have to carefully lift the first flap slightly and tuck the last flap underneath it.
This creates a woven lock that holds the star together without glue.
Once that last flap is tucked in, your star is complete!
You can press it completely flat or lift the small, center triangles up and turn the arms slightly for a more 3D effect.
Making origami accessible through text-only tutorials.
For non-commercial use only.
Compiled by Lindy van der Merwe, December 2025
This text copyright 2025 by accessorigami.com
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