Credits and Resources
Text-Only Tutorial copyright 2026 by Lindy van der Merwe
Designer: Robert Homayoon (Rob's World) based on original design by Lewis Simon
In depth video folding and assembly instructions for this model are available at the following link
Ninja Star Cube by Rob's World
With thanks and appreciation to Stehan and Stephan van der Merwe for clarification and practical help with folding and assembly of this model.
Paper to be used: 12 squares of similar size; printer or construction paper or very thin cardstock is recommended.
Folding level: Intermediate
Introduction
In modular origami, there are a myriad of unit types and variations. This tutorial provides a text-only description of a specific unit variation, designed and modified as mentioned in the Credits and Resources section above, and how to assemble 12 of these units into a cube.
As the name suggests, the finished model features a ninja star shaped opening or cutout that is positioned on each face of the cube, making it a great choice for a decoration with or without a flameless candle, LED or similar light source placed inside.
Apart from the star-shaped opening on each face, the cube also features small triangular openings on each corner. In general, this model has an attractive, tactile outer surface.
Part 1 - The units
Step 1
Place a square sheet down with one of its edges horizontally in front of you.
Step 2
Create a diagonal valley fold by bringing the top right corner down to meet the bottom left corner.
Crease well and then unfold.
Step 3
Flip the square over diagonally, meaning that once the paper is flipped, the top left corner will now become the bottom right corner.
Put in another way: the type of fold will change from a valley to a mountain, but the direction of the crease will not change.
Result: The valley crease from the previous step will now be a mountain crease, still running from the top left to the bottom right corners of the square.
Step 4
Now, bring the top left corner down to meet the bottom right corner.
Crease well and unfold.
Result: You will have one diagonal mountain crease from top left to bottom right, and one valley crease, running from top right to bottom left, forming a print letter X shape across the square.
Step 5
Form a center horizontal crease by bringing up the bottom edge to meet the top edge of your square.
Crease well and unfold.
Step 6
Create a cupboard fold by bringing the top and bottom edges up and down to meet along the center crease just created.
Leave folded.
Step 7
Take the raw edges that meet along the center line and fold them up and down to meet the new top and bottom edges of the figure.
Result: You will have a long rectangle in landscape orientation with two bands that have formed along its top and bottom edges.
Step 8
We are now going to make two "slide folds". To do these:
8.1 focus on the band at the top. Take its folded (inner) edge and slide it downwards until it lines up with the central horizontal crease line. Make a strong crease along the new top edge of the rectangle.
8.2 Similarly, focus on the bottom band now. Take its folded (inner) edge and slide it upwards until it also meets the central horizontal crease.
Crease well along the new bottom edg of the paper.
Result: The bands that were at the top and bottom edges of the rectangle are now touching each other along its center crease and new folds have formed along the top and bottom of the rectangle.
Step 9
Next, we are going to fold over two corners of our rectangle and tuck them under to lock our unit.
With the figure still in landscape orientation, do the following:
9.1 Focus on the left short edge of the unit. Fold this edge diagonally up to meet the top edge of the rectangle.
Crease well and unfold.
Then, refold the same corner, but this time, tuck it under the flap you will find just above it.
9.2 Repeat this fold and then the tucking in of the corner on the right, but in the opposite direction. So, you will fold the right edge diagonally down to meet the bottom edge and tuck the corner in underneath the flap you had lifted as well.
Result: You will now have an eight-sided shape, divided in half by a slit along its horizontal center.
Important: Make sure that the top left and bottom right corners of your shape are not folded at this point.
Step 10
Flip the shape over from left to right.
It should be kept in landscape orientation.
Step 11
Focus on the short left edge of the unit. Fold this edge up to meet the long top edge of the unit. You will notice a small single-layered triangle that has remained unfolded. Fold this triangle over as far as it will go as well.
Crease well along the diagonal edge you have formed and then unfold both the small and larger triangles halfway.
Step 12
Rotate the figure 180 degrees on the table and Repeat Step 14 with the opposite small end corner.
Result: These two small folded corners will form "hooks" that will be used to lock units together during the assembly.
Step 13
Focusing on the central part of the shape, find a diagonal fold that will run from the bottom left corner to the top right corner of the model. It will be a long fold line, running through the very center of the figure.
If you very gently bend the shape in two, it should bend along the valley crease in question.
If this line is faint, you can also turn the shape over and try to find the mountain fold on the back.
Step 14
Once you have identified the long valley crease, take the left half of the shape and fold it over to the right and downwards along this diagonal central valley line.
Press it completely flat. Crease very well and unfold halfway.
Result: The diagonal fold you just made will form a strong, central spine for the 3D unit, basically dividing it in half. So, the finished unit should stand at a 90 degree angle - one part will be flat on the table and another part will stand up next to it like a wall.
Part 2 - Explanation
You will be able to identify the following parts of a unit:
(A) Central spine connecting two large areas:
Each central spine of a unit will form one of the edges of our cube.
As we do the assembly for this model, it is likely that, when opening the pockets of the units, the spines will get bent or flattened, so it is very important to reinforce the spines of each unit once it has been joined into the construction.
When placing a unit on the table, we can think of the central spine fold dividing the unit into a "wall part" and a "floor part"
(B) Two tabs:
The tabs are the tiny triangles we folded last, that you will find at the very end of each unit. These tabs should stand at a 90 degree angle in relation to the spine of the unit. Make sure to reinforce the tabs if they seem to be bent out of shape. They need to be crisp and strong to hold the units of the cube in place.
(C) Two pockets:
Place a unit flat on the table with the tabs on the left and right. Let one part of the unit stand up in front of you, so you can identify the floor and the wall part. Find the tab on the right and move your finger downwards from this tab, until it touches the table. If you now touch the bottom corner of the unit, you will find a diagonal pocket. It is situated at an angle and it actually runs in a diagonal line around the spine of the unit. To follow its path, you will have to lift up the unit. The same pocket will also be present on the left of the unit. You will find that, once you know where to locate and how to open the pockets, things will get easier.
Because of the way in which the pocket is constructed, you will have to open it with great care since it will tear quite easily.
Part 3 - Assembly
For the assembly, in Phase 1, we will first construct a flat frame with four pillars, using eight units. Then, in Phase 2, we will connect the pillars, using our last four units.
Assembly - Phase 1 - Frame and Pillars
Corner 1
1.1 Placement
Place your first two units next to each other, both with their small tabs on the left and right.
Each module will have a "floor" part and a "wall" part horizontally in front of you.
Make sure that both units are placed with their "wall" parts standing up nearest you. The "floor" parts on the other hand, should be behind the walls of the units, furthest away from you, flat on the table.
The small corner tabs should form 90 degree angles as you assemble the cube.
Without lifting the units, rotate the unit on the right 90 degrees to the left, so that its "floor part" with the tab originating from it is nearest you.
1.2 Join first two units
To join the two units, do the following:
Pick up unit 1 with your left hand and, gently unfolding the tab, slide your finger downwards all the way to the spine of the unit, opening the diagonal pocket. You may have to bend the unit to open the pocket enough in order to slide unit 2 into the pocket and along the central spine. Be careful - rather bend the unit a bit than forcing the single-layered pocket open. It will tear quite easily if you pull too hard.
You are temporarily pressing on the spine so you can start the insertion and then letting it bend back into the angle we want. Hold the edge/pocket open with your thumb near the central spine of the unit.
Place unit 1 down again in the same way it was before, but this time, you want to place the right end of unit 1 on top of the nearest end of unit 2.
Place it so that only the small tab of unit 2 is sticking out nearest you.
You are ready for joining the first two units.
Now, slide the tab of unit 2, which will be standing up nearest you, along the spine of unit 1, as far as it will go. It will enter the diagonal pocket just next to it and slide towards the center of the unit.
Part of the new unit will wrap around the spine of unit 1 and once unit 2 is in place, the rigid spine of unit 1 will hold things in place. The tab of unit 2 should be like a small hook, just reaching around the spine of unit 1 as it enters into the diagonal pocket space.
Units 1 and 2 will be joined, forming the first two edges of the cube.
The two joined units will both lay flat on the table.
Note that, where the two units are joined, they will not lie flat on the table. You should have what may be described as a diagonal "open corner". This opening is part of the design, so don't try to close it as you form the corners of the cube.
You will soon see the actual triangular "open corner" feature form as we add unit 3.
Remember to reinforce the spines of units as you add them.
1.3 Forming a pillar
Now, unit 3 will be added to form a pillar, completing our first corner of the cube.
First, make sure your two-unit assembly is oriented flat on the table so it forms the right corner of an imaginery cube. Specifically, the two long units should be flat on the table - one on the right and one in front of you.
Next, let unit 3 stand straight up, like a pillar. It will rest on one of its small end tabs. Make sure the unit is turned so its central spine is on the outside of the imaginery cube.
Keeping it in this position, open the right side of the long edge of unit 2 and slide the tab of unit 3 into it, right at the corner nearest you.
If you find it difficult to do this step on the table, feel free to pick up the assembly and hold it in a way that feels comfortable. You could then place it down again for orientation purposes.
Don't let go of the assembly yet, though. We still need to do one more step to lock our corner into place.
1.4 Locking
After this insertion, the tab of unit 1 will still be unattached, hanging around on the outside of the corner assembly.
Only once this tab is tucked in securely, will our first corner be completed.
The tab in question needs to be tucked into the long side of unit 3, our pillar. For this to happen, you will need to hold the already-formed corner in place while carefully sliding in the tab of unit 1 along the spine of unit 3. You may have to bend unit 3 slightly during this process. Be careful not to tear the paper as you open the pocket in question.
Feel free to try out different techniques and use what works for you.
Result: First corner formed; there are now two edges and one pillar completed.
1.5 Explanation and orientation
Make sure that each unit has entered into its adjoining unit all the way. You should find a small triangular space where the 3 units have joined.
If your corner falls apart, it is likely that you have not joined the small end tabs deep enough or at the correct angle. If placed properly, the units will stay locked.
You need all three units to slot together correctly and completely to form a neat, strong corner for the cube, including the small triangular space that is part of the design.
Also, as the assembly progresses, if it feels like your units won't lock together, it is likely that their center, long spine folds and/or their end tabs have started to flatten out. Either reinforce these folds strongly or consider folding new units that will have strong, crisp creases to work with.
Before proceeding, you can gently try to pull your assembly apart. If the units stay put, hardly moving, you have a working recipe for the next corner.
Important: Keep in mind that we will form all our corners on the table and on the right, each time adding one flat edge and a pillar so we will end up with a square frame on the table with the four pillars standing up on each corner.
You can thus lift up your assembly to insert units at any time, but to form a corner, always first add one unit on the right that should be stretching away from you and one that should stretch towards the ceiling.
Don't worry. This will make sense soon
Corner 2
Keeping the assembly flat on the table, rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, so the corner with its pillar just formed will be on the left now.
The unit lying in front of us from left to right is unit 2, so we will be adding units 4 and 5 on the right, using exactly the same method as we did before, resulting in the formation of a second corner of the cube.
Hold unit 4 flat and slide its nearest tab into the spine of unit 2 as far as it will go. Unit 4 will stretch away from you.
Hold unit 5, the pillar, upright, and add it on the right side of unit 4.
Tuck the loose end tab of unit 2 into the side of unit 5.
Result: Second corner formed; there are now three edges and two pillars completed.
Corner 3
Rotate the assembly once more so the corner just formed will be on the left. Repeat the previous step to form the next/third corner, adding units 6 and 7.
Unit 6 will stretch away from you and unit 7 will form the pillar.
Lock the corner by inserting the end tab of unit 4 into unit 7.
Result: Third corner formed; there are now four edges and three pillars completed.
Corner 4
Rotate the assembly for the last time. You will find that there are two end tabs (those from unit 1 and unit 6) already present on this corner.
We first have to connect these two units in the same way as before.
So, the end tab of unit 1 will slot into the side of unit 6, completing our flat frame.
We will now add unit 8 into the side of unit 1 and tuck the end tab of unit 6 into unit 8, completing the fourth and final pillar.
Result: Fourth corner formed; there are now four edges and four pillars completed.
Assembly - Phase 2 - Joining the Pillars
We will complete the cube by connecting the pillars using our last four units. We will once again use the same method as in Phase 1 to complete four more corners, but to make things easier, we will now place our assembly on its side for the last steps.
Corner 5
Orient your assembly so that the bottom face that has already been fully formed is on the left. The four pillars should stick out to the right.
It should feel like a table placed on its side, with the table top on the left and the legs/pillars sticking out to the right.
Two pillars will be on the table and two will be in the air.
Focus on the right corner of the pillar that is touching the table, running from left to right in front of you. Think of this as unit 1 again and first add unit 9 as if it were unit 2 and then add unit 10 as if it were unit 3.
Unit 9 should stretch away from you while unit 10 will be standing straight up, like a new pillar.
Result: Fifth corner formed; two new edges have been formed.
Corner 6
Now, carefully tilt the assembly towards you and focus on the new unit that will be flat on the table in front of you. You first have to connect this unit to unit 10, which will now be stretching away from you.
Then, add unit 11 as if it is another pillar.
Result: Sixth corner formed; three new edges have been formed.
Corner 7
Again, carefully tilt the assembly towards you and focus on the new unit that will be flat on the table in front of you. You first have to connect this unit to unit 11, which will be stretching away from you.
Then, add unit 12 as if it is another pillar.
Result: Seventh corner formed; four new edges have been formed.
Corner 8
Since we have now inserted all our units, the only thing that remains is to tilt the model towards us for a last time and complete the last corner with the three units that should already be in place.
So, first join the two units that are flat on the table; then join the pillar and insert the final end tab.
Your cube is completed.
Check it over to make sure all the small tabs are properly tucked into their respective pockets.
You can now appreciate the beauty of this amazing modular origami creation.
Making origami accessible through text-only tutorials
For non-commercial use only.
Compiled by Lindy van der Merwe - March 2026
This text copyright 2026 by https://www.accessorigami.com and the author.
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