Credits and resources
Text-Based Origami Tutorial - Lindy van der Merwe - Copyright 2025
Curler Unit designed by Herman Van Goubergen
This tutorial is based on the "18-Unit Kusudama Variation" by Origami Twist
Easy Modular Origami Ball - Curling Kusudama by Origami Twist on YouTube
Steps: 24
Folding level: Intermediate
1. INTRODUCTION
Kusudama (translated from Japanese as "medicine ball"), were originally made of potpourri and incense from real herbs and flowers, and later, became more decorative, using paper folded into flower petals and then glued or sewed together into elaborate spherical shapes.
Instead of using glue or string, many modern origami kusudama take the form of modular origami, where folded units are typically assembled by inserting flaps into pockets of adjacent units.
In this tutorial, we are using the Curler unit by Herman Van Goubergen to create a Curling Kusudama - no glue or tape needed.
The unit starts off with the Waterbomb Base, which is where the traditional way of folding ends.
Instead of the points into pockets system you may be used to, this unit relies on tension to hold the finished model together. The curls, that are all formed in the same direction, create geometric shapes that are quite sturdy. Yet, the textured surface of the finished model resemble clusters of flowers that are entwined, forming intricate patterns that are both visually and tactually beautiful and unique.
So, apart from the challenge of construction using modular origami, this model makes a beautiful, sturdy decoration, thoughtful gift or wedding favor.
2. TERMS USED
2.1. Kusudama:
In modern origami, kusudama are most often folded from fairly simple units (30 seems to be very popular) without using tape or glue.
Generally spherical in shape, countless designs have been created, from intricate flowers to star-like, geometric constructions.
2.2. Curler unit:
Once a Waterbomb Base is folded, each one of its four arms has to be twisted into a cone-shape. All arms of all units for this kusudama should twist in the same direction, either clockwise or anti-clockwise. The choice is yours. You will need at least 18 units for this construction.
2.3.Arms or flaps:
- The finished, flat Waterbomb or Triangular Base has four arms or flaps that will be curled to form the finished Curler unit.
2.4. Curl
The finished unit will have four separate curls that should all be formed in the same direction.
2.5. Ring
In the context of this tutorial, Curler units that are joined together, forming a kind of ring.
3. TIPS
3.1. Paper Choice
Use sturdy paper around 4 x 4 inches (10 x 10 cm) with a rough texture. The paper should be rigid enough to hold its shape. Consider using thin cardstock or thick copy or construction paper.
Very thin paper will not be sturdy enough for this kind of model.
3.2. Prepare Enough Units
Fold enough units before starting to put them together. In this way, you won't have to break your concentration during assembly. Should units get floppy or damaged, you will not first have to stop and fold new units.
3.3. Unit Quality
Like with most modular creations, if units lose their springiness, get torn or flattened, start over with new ones. Compromised units can cause the model to lose shape and fall apart.
3.4. Springy Units
Ensure units are not pressed flat in any way. They should feel springy. Each unit should be cone-shaped and made up of four uniform small cone shapes that are of a similar size. Curl the units tightly since they will loosen slightly during the assembly and make sure units are properly separated and do not slip into one another.
3.5. Work Area
Use a large tray with a small rim or a flat lid of a box. Keep units on one side and work on the model on the other.
3.6. Organize Units
Keep units in a container and take them out in groups.
3.7. Follow Instructions
Do not insert any curls other than those specified in the instructions, even if frustrated.
4. Instructions
Phase 1 - Making the Waterbomb Base.
You can find instructions for various ways to fold the Waterbomb Base from the following link:
https://www.accessorigami.com/p/introduction-to-folds-and-bases-used-in.html
You will need 18 units.
Phase 2 - Curling the units
In this phase we will be turning our flat units into three-dimensional curled units.
Explanation
Before starting notice that the finished Waterbomb Base is a flat triangle with a closed, pointy end and, on its opposite side, we could say it has a long, open base. If we take the unit and arrange its four flaps so they are spread out, our unit can stand on a table. Now, the closed end will be pointing towards the ceiling while the open base will be resting on the table.
The closed point and the open base is important in the sense that to curl our units, we will always start from the open side of each flap of the Waterbomb Base and make our curls towards the closed point of the unit. Furthermore, we will always make our curling motion in the same direction for each flap and actually, for each unit we make as well.
So, you will have to decide on what feels natural to you when you make your first unit, as long as you make your curls towards the closed point of the unit, they could be turned towards you or away from you if you hold your unit flat and sideways. Put in another way, if you are holding the unit with the closed point facing the ceiling, your curls could be clockwise or anti-clockwise, always starting from the bottom of the figure and curling towards the closed point in a cone shape.
This means that each of the four flaps or arms of the Waterbomb Base will be turned into a separate cone shape, with the bottom, narrow part of the cone being at what was the open side of the figure and the wider part of the cone shape will be nearest the closed top point of the original Waterbomb Base.
Each of the 18 finished units will also be a cone shape with the narrowest part at the bottom where the four curls originate and the top of the unit will have its highest point as the original closed point of the Waterbomb Base with the four small cones surrounding it.
Each small cone will be hollow with a tiny pointy end just peaking out from its open end.
We should try to make the cones quite tightly since they will uncurl slightly during the assembly. As with any modular construction, if the units are handled too much, they will lose their shape and then the structure will not hold together.
If you have done any other modulars, especially kusudamas or other geometric figures, you will know that, with practice, as you develop the necessary muscle memory and as you start to understand the structure of the units and the shape you are working towards, you will handle the units less, up to a point where you will be successful with a model that will have units that are strong enough to stay together with no glue or tape.
In the following description, the curling is started off by holding the finished Waterbomb Base unit flat, with its open, long, straight side on the right and its closed, pointy end on the left. Once you understand the process, you are likely to find your own method, so feel free to modify the curling of the units in the way that works best for you. For instance, you might prefer to pick up the unit and hold it while performing the curling steps.
Step 1
Turn your flat Waterbomb Base so its closed point is on the left and its long, open edge is on the right. Place it on a flat surface. Two of the flaps will be pointing towards you while two will be pointing away from you.
Step 2
Start with the flap furthest away from you. Form a cone shape, starting from the right, open side of the triangular base. Try to form the shape so its narrow end is on the right and so it will get wider on the left. Once you have formed the basic cone shape, you can use the pointy end of the flap as a kind of lever to pull the cone as tight as possible. Be careful though, so the points do not get damaged in the process.
Also make sure that your cone shape is as near as possible to the point where its flap originates. Put in another way, each cone should have its own space in relation to the closed, central fold of the unit.
Going forward, we can think of the four cones as each taking up one-quarter of the space around the central point of the unit.
Step 3
Repeat the curling process with the flap nearest you, folding it against the first curl and in the same direction.
Step 4
Once the first two curls are formed, flip the unit over from top to bottom so you can work with the two remaining flaps of the Waterbomb Base, curling them in the same direction as the first two, and taking care not to press the already-formed curls out of shape.
Step 5
Set your unit aside where it won't be inadvertently squashed or flattened and fold 17 more units, all with curls formed in the same direction.
Phase 3 - Assembly
Explanation
For this assembly, we will first build a ring of 8 units. Two smaller rings of four units each are then formed and attached to each side of the ring of 8. Lastly, a single unit is attached to each of the smaller rings.
Don't worry. This will all soon make sense as we do our assembly.
Step 6 - Ring of 8 units side by side
Place your first two units side by side with their original, closed points of the Waterbomb Bases facing away from you.
We will connect them using two curls on each unit.
Step 7
Very gently isolate two curls on the right of unit 1 and also two curls on the left of unit 2.
Step 8
Slip one curl of unit 2 that is nearest the table into the curl of unit 1, which will also be nearest the table.
Once the two curls are entwined, you can give them a gentle twist to tighten them together.
Step 9
Take the second curl on the left of unit 2 and slip it inside the second curl of unit 1.
Give them a gentle twist as well.
Result:
Units 1 and 2 are now joined side by side, using two curls of each.
Step 10
Now, add unit 3 in a similar way, by sliding two of its curls into the open curls on the right of unit 2.
Similar to forming a flat ring or star, keep adding units on the right, slightly rotating the assembly to the left so you have the unit you are working with in front of you.
Step 11
To close the ring of 8 units, slip the two remaining, open curls of unit 1 into the two curls on the right of unit 8.
Depending on the paper you are using and the tightness of the curls, you may find you need to stretch the assembly a little in order to close it. As long as you do it gently and try to spread the "stretch" across all the units, all should be fine.
You can lift up your assembly if you find it easier, but it should also be fine if you want to keep it on the table.
Result: You should now have a closed ring of 8 Curler units, joined sideways. The bottom ends of the cone shapes should all touch at the center of the ring and the original closed points of the Waterbomb Bases will lie on the outer edge of the ring.
Make sure you can count eight separate cone-like shapes that should all be of a similar size if your assembly is flat on a table.
You can now set, what we will call the ring or base of the kusudama, aside in a safe place.
Step 12 - 2 Rings of 4 units
Explanation
We will now form two more rings, but this time each will only have 4 units and we will connect them in a slightly different way.
Step 13
Place two more units side by side in the same way as before, but isolate only one curl on the right of unit 1 and one curl on the left of unit 2.
Step 14
Slip the curl of unit 2 into that of unit 1 and give them a gentle twist.
Step 15
Make sure to now isolate the curl on the right of unit 2 so we can slip the left curl of unit 3 into it.
It is important that you are sure that two curls remain empty on each of these four units. Think of the free curls as one being at the back and another at the front of each unit.
Step 16
Continue using only one curl on the side of each unit until you can close a ring of 4 units.
Notice that this assembly will be more fragile due to the single point of connection for the units. Also, instead of having a more flattened structure, your assembly will feel more like a bunch of flowers that you can hold.
Step 17
Set your first ring of 4 units aside and form a second ring exactly like the first.
Step 18 - Attaching rings
Explanation
Think of the base of 8 units as the equator of the earth. To form a rounded structure, we are going to add a sub-assembly of our 4 rings on both sides of the base.
Step 19
Place your ring of 8 units flat on the table. You should be able to count the 8 cone-like structures that are forming a circle.
Now, gently place your first ring of 4 units on top of the base.
Your ring of 4 also has 8 cone-like shapes or curls and you will find that it naturally fits into or on top of the center of the base.
Step 20
Choose a starting point and entwine the 4 unit ring with the 8 unit ring by slipping the curl of the four-unit ring into a curl of the base.
You will notice that you will be alternating between inserting a single curl and then a double curl of the ring of 4 into a double curl of the base.
Step 21
Working towards the right, continue around the circle, making sure each of the 8 curls of the smaller 4 unit ring are slipped inside the corresponding curls of the base.
Result: The base will now be securely attached to the smaller 4 unit ring.
Step 22
Take a single unit and slide it down, into the center of the ring of 4. Make sure you find the actual center by separating the curls of the ring of 4 properly.
Step 23
Slide a single curl of this last unit into the remaining curl of each of the 4 units around it.
Result: You will now have half of your kusudama assembled. This figure is a beautiful decoration in itself, that can be placed flat on a table or hung on a wall.
Step 24
Follow the same process to construct the second half of your kusudama by carefully turning it over so you can now work on the opposite side of the ring of 8.
You will once again place the second ring of 4 units on top of the 8 unit ring and attach its curls to the base as you did before. Try not to press too hard at this time, since you do not want to disturb the other, already-formed half of the kusudama.
Step 25
Lastly, you will add the single unit at the center of the 4 unit ring and attach its curls to the surrounding units to lock everything in place on this side of the kusudama.
If all went well, you should now hold a flower-like object with various types and sizes of curled structures that intertwine to form the beautiful curling kusudama.
Making origami accessible through text-based tutorials.
For non-commercial use only.
Compiled by Lindy van der Merwe, October 2025
This text copyright 2025 by accessorigami.com
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