MBFF031 - ORIGAMI FURNITURE BY PAOLO BASCETTA AND ANNETTE CARR

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This tutorial contains the English translated / edited text instructions for a sofa, armchair and cushion designed by Paolo Bascetta, originally from Michel Lucas’ Aveuglami project (now the Aveuglami Archive), and the instructions for a table/ottoman designed by Annette Carr.

Translation to English clean up/Editing: Annette Carr and Lindy van der Merwe

All text is copyright by https://www.accessorigami.com and the authors.

Sofa

Steps: 32

Paper: Use a square. You can use most types of paper. If you plan to sit small dolls on the sofa, you might want to use thicker paper.

This model of a sofa has a plush and comfortable appearance, because of the very enveloping sides.

Part 1 - Prepare the contours of the sofa

1. Arrange the square with its sides in a “horizontal” position.
2. Create a valley fold by bringing the top edge down to meet the bottom edge.
3. Create a valley fold by bringing the bottom edge, front layer only up to the top edge (hinge fold).
4. Flip the model from right to left.
5. Create a valley fold by bringing the bottom edge, front layer only up to the top edge (hinge fold).

Examine the model

• The model is a horizontal accordion with four layers of paper.
• The front layer has a raw edge at the top, the middle section has two layers and a hinge edge at the top, and the back layer has a raw edge at the top.
• The bottom edge of the model is made up of two hinges.

6. Create a valley fold by bringing the top raw edge only down to the bottom hinged edge.
7. Unfold the paper to return to the original square.

Examine the model

• There are four horizontal creases. It does not matter if they are valley or mountain folds.
• The square is divided into five horizontal rectangles, three are each equal to a quarter of the height of the square, and two are equal to an eighth of the height of the square.

8. Position the paper so that the creases and rectangles are horizontal. The upper half of the square has one horizontal crease dividing it into two equal rectangles; and the lower half has two horizontal creases dividing it into three horizontal rectangles. The two smallest rectangles are at the bottom of the square.
9. Fold the bottom edge of the paper upwards with a valley fold, using the first horizontal crease from the bottom. The bottom of the model is now a hinge edge with the two smallest rectangles lying on top of each other.
10. Fold the top edge of the paper downward with a valley fold using the first horizontal crease from the top. The top of the model is now a hinge edge with two of the larger rectangles lying on top of each other.
11. Create a valley fold by bringing the left edge over to the right edge.
12. Create a valley fold by bringing the right edge, front layer only over to the left hinged edge.
13. Flip the model over from right to left.
14. Create a valley fold by bringing the left edge over to meet the right hinged edge.
15. Unfold the last three vertical folds.

Examine the model

• Keep the model in landscape orientation.
• There are three horizontal sections. The top section and the middle section are each equal to a quarter of the height of the original square, and the horizontal section closest to you is equal to an eighth of the height of the original square.
• The top horizontal section is two layers thick, the middle horizontal section is a single layer, and the bottom horizontal section is two layers thick.
• There are three vertical creases dividing each horizontal section into four equal parts.
• In the next several steps, we will be working with the left most and right most squares in the middle horizontal section of the model.

16. Make diagonal creases that form an “X” in the left most square of the middle section of the model. You will only be forming creases inside this square. Be careful to not let your folds extend beyond the creases that form the frame of this square. First, bring the left edge of the square down to the crease at the bottom edge of the square to create a diagonal fold from the lower left corner to the upper right corner. Crease well and unfold. Then, bring the left edge of the square up to the crease at the top of the square to create a diagonal fold from the top left to the bottom right. Crease well and unfold. You now have two diagonal creases forming an “X” in this square.
17. Flip the model over from right to left. The right most square in the horizontal middle section of the model is now the square with the “X”.
18. Repeat Step 16 on the left most square to create another “X” made of 2 diagonal creases inside the square.
19. Flip the figure over from right to left.

Examine the model

• The top horizontal section of the model is made up of four smooth squares, and has two layers of paper. The top edge of this section has a hinged edge and the bottom has a raw edge from the front layer of paper.
• The middle horizontal section of the model is a single layer of paper and made up of four squares. The square on the left and the square on the right both have diagonal creases that form an “X” in the square, and the 2 squares in the middle are smooth.
• The bottom horizontal section of the model is made up of two layers of paper divided into four smooth horizontal rectangles. The bottom edge of the model is a hinged edge and the top edge of this section is a raw edge from the front layer of paper.

20. Flip the model over from left to right.

Part 2 - Passage into three dimensions

21. Lift the model in the air, still holding it flat so that it is parallel to the table. Use a mountain fold to bend the bottom horizontal section away from you, down 90° using the existing horizontal crease as a hinge.
22. Rotate the right most rectangle of the bottom section of the model away from you 90 degrees. You are pushing the rectangle away from you, using the vertical crease on the left edge of this rectangle as a hinge. At the same time, guide the square above the rectangle to fold into a two layer triangle using the existing diagonal crease nearest you.
23. Repeat Step 22 with the left most rectangle using the vertical crease on the right edge of this rectangle as a hinge, and the square above it.

Examine the model

• If you set the model on the table, you will have three walls resting on the table that form a three sided rectangle. This will be the bottom of the sofa.
• Immediately above the three vertical walls are two squares which will become the seat of the sofa. There is a triangle sticking out on the left and right.
• Behind the seat and triangles is the two layer section with four squares. The two squares in the middle will become the back of the sofa, and the square on each end will become the arms of the sofa.

24. Raise the section of four squares to a vertical position so it is at a 90-degree angle to the seat of the sofa.
25. Rotate the left most vertical square towards you, using the existing vertical crease as a hinge. At the same time guide the triangle to fold in half along the existing crease. When you are done, there will be a small triangle sticking out of the left side of the model pointing to the left and there will be a square standing up vertically above the triangle.
26. The vertical square you just moved is made of two layers of paper. Locate the raw edge at the bottom of this square on the outside of the model. It may be difficult to find because of the small triangle sticking out at the bottom of the square. You might need to push the small triangle down so you can find the raw edge, or you might be able to lift the outer layer of the square from the raw edge that is closest to you.
27. Gently lift the raw edge you just located in the previous step just enough to tuck the small triangle up inside the two layers of the vertical square.
28. Repeat Steps 25-27 on the right most vertical square.

Examine the model

• The outside of the left and right sides of the model have a vertical rectangle at the bottom with a square above it.
• The front of the model has a vertical rectangular area touching the table.
• There is a flat rectangular area that is parallel to the table that is surrounded by a vertical wall on the left, back, and right. This is the seat of the sofa that will hold the cushions.
• The vertical wall in the back is the back of the sofa, and the vertical squares on the sides will become the arms of the sofa.
• On the outside of the back of the model you will find a rectangular area at the top and an open smaller rectangular area at the bottom.

Part 3 - Shaping the arms of the sofa

29. Turn the model 90 degrees so that the left side of the sofa is closest to you and the front of the sofa is facing to your right.
30. Start forming the left arm of the sofa by folding the top right corner of the square down to the bottom left corner to create a diagonal mountain fold from the top left corner down to the bottom right corner.
31. Use your creativity to finish the arm. Some ideas are to fold the loose point of the triangle up and inside to hide it. This fold can be parallel to the diagonal mountain fold you made in the previous step, or it can be at an angle, or you can roll the point of the triangle up and under to hide it.
32. Turn the model 180 degrees and repeat steps 29-31 to make an arm on the right side of the sofa that mirrors the one on the left.

The sofa is done and ready for seat cushions.

Armchair

Steps: 8

Paper: Use the same size square as the sofa.

The instructions for the chair are almost the same as for the sofa. The biggest difference is reducing the size of the paper.

Preparing the paper

1. Position the paper so the edge closest to you is horizontal.
2. Fold the left edge over to the right edge.
3. Fold the right edge, front layer only over to the folded edge on the left you created in the previous step.
4. Unfold the paper so it is flat on the table.

Examine the model

• Position the square so the crease lines are vertical.
• There are two crease lines and three rectangular sections. One of the rectangles is half the width of the square, and the other two rectangles are a quarter of the size of the paper.

5. Cut or tear off the skinnier rectangle. The paper now has one skinny and 1 larger rectangle.
6. Position the paper so that the skinny rectangle is on the left and the larger rectangle is on the right.
7. Fold the right edge over to meet the vertical crease that separates the rectangles, and unfold. The paper is now divided into three equal vertical rectangles and ready to be folded into a chair.
8. Keep the paper oriented vertically and follow the instructions for the sofa from Step 2.

Your finished chair will have a seat that is half the size of the sofa.

Cushion

Steps: 19

Paper:The model is made from two squares of paper folded into two units that are assembled to form the top and bottom of the cushion. Use two squares of paper that are each a quarter of the size of the paper used for the sofa or the original square used for the chair. It does not have to be the same paper used for the sofa or chair. Be creative, use a different color or type of paper. The most important factor is that the squares used for the cushion are one fourth the size of the paper used for the sofa, or the size of the original square for the chair. Thicker paper might be difficult to fold into the two units that form the cushion.

If preferred, use small pieces of some soft paper such as kitchen towels or tissue paper folded into a flat square shape as stuffing for your cushion.

Part 1 - Unit 1, bottom of the cushion

1. Arrange the square so the edges are horizontal and vertical in preparation to make a blintz fold/base.
2. Bring the left edge over to the right edge to create a vertical valley fold in the middle of the square. Crease firmly and unfold.
3. Bring the bottom edge up to the top edge to create a horizontal valley fold across the middle of the square. Crease firmly and unfold.
4. Using your preferred method, fold all four corners to the center of the square and crease firmly. This completes the blintz fold/base.

Examine the model

• The model is now a square that is slightly smaller than the original square. There are four triangles with the base (hypotenuse) of each triangle making up an edge of the square with a folded edge. There are two diagonal lines that form an “X” across the square, that are formed by the raw edges of the triangles.
• If you flip the model over you will find that the surface of the square is smooth except for the two creases running diagonally from corner to corner forming an “X”.
• Turn the model over so the side with the four triangles is on top.

5. Keeping the model with the triangles on top, repeat Steps 1-4 to make another blintz fold.

Examine the model

• The model is now slightly smaller than the original blintz fold/base. There are four triangles with the hypotenuse of each triangle making up an edge of the model. There are two diagonal lines that form an “X” across the square, that are formed by the folded edges of the triangles. There is a crease on each triangle starting at the point nearest the center of the model and ending at the edge of the model.
• If you flip the model over you will find that the surface of the square is smooth except for the two creases running diagonally from corner to corner forming an “X”, and the two creases marking the horizontal and vertical middle of the model.
• The bottom of the cushion is finished. Set aside.

Part 2 - Unit 2, top of the cushion

6. Using the second square, arrange it so the edges are horizontal and vertical in preparation to make a blintz fold/base, and repeat Steps 1-4 from Unit 1.

Examine the model

• The model is once again a square that is slightly smaller than the original square. There are four triangles with the base (hypotenuse) of each triangle making up an edge of the square with a folded edge. There are two diagonal lines that form an “X” across the square, that are formed by the raw edges of the triangles.
• If you flip the model over you will find that the surface of the square is smooth except for the two creases running diagonally from corner to corner forming an “X”.

7. Position the model so the side with the four triangles is touching the table and the smooth side with the creases is facing the ceiling.
8. Make another Blintz fold/base on this side of the model by again using Steps 1-4 from Unit 1.

Examine the model

• The surface of the model is made up of four triangles with their hypotenuse making up the edges of the square. There are two diagonal seams running from corner to corner that are formed by the edges of the triangles. Each triangle has a seam formed by two raw edges running from the point of the triangles in the center of the model to the edges.
• When you flip the model over you will find four squares dividing the model into four quadrants. There is a horizontal and a vertical seam made by the raw edges of the four squares. There is also one diagonal crease on each square running from the center of the model to the corners.

9. Pick up the square and hold it so the surface with the four triangles is facing you.
10. Fold one corner toward you and into the center of the model, while allowing the square on the back to flip to the front of the model. Behind the square you will find a mountain fold you just created.
11. Working with the single layer of the square you just flipped to the front, fold its outer corner into the center of the model to form a triangle. Examine the outer edge (hypotenuse) of this triangle. You will find two folded edges. Between these folded edges is a pocket that you will be working with during assembly.
12. Continue to hold the model with the triangles facing you. Repeat Steps 10-11 three more times to fold the remaining three corners into the center, and create three more pockets to be used during assembly.

Examine the model

• Unit 2 is a square that is smaller than Unit 1. One surface is smooth with two diagonal creases, one horizontal crease, and one vertical crease.
• When you flip the model over you will find four multi-layered triangles with points that meet in the center of the square.

Unit 2 is finished and the cushion is ready for assembly.

Part 3 - Assembly

13. Position Unit 1 on the table with its smooth side down and the side with the four triangles facing up to the ceiling.
14. Raise the four triangles so they are standing up vertically 90 degrees from the table.
15. Hold Unit 2 in your hand and position it so that the smooth surface of the unit is facing up to the ceiling.
16. Lay Unit 2 on top of Unit one. The edges of both units should be parallel to each other, and the four triangles of Unit 1 should be standing up vertically around Unit 2. Be sure that all the small triangles of the bottom surface of Unit 2 are folded underneath it and not sticking out.
17. With one hand, hold the two units together, and with the other hand locate one pocket of Unit 2 and open it up. Tuck the point of Unit 1 into this pocket.
18. Rotate the model 180 degrees and locate the opposite pocket of Unit 2, inserting the point of Unit 1 into it.
19. Repeat Steps 17-18 with the remaining points and pockets.

The cushion is finished and ready to be placed on the sofa or chair. Remember, you will need 2 cushions for the sofa and one for the chair.

Table / Ottoman

Design: Annette Carr

Steps: 28

Paper: One square that is a quarter of the original square used for the sofa or chair.

Part 1 - Preparing the paper

1. Position the paper so the edge closest to you is horizontal.
2. Make a horizontal valley fold by bringing the bottom edge up to the top edge. Crease and unfold.
3. Make a horizontal cupboard fold by bringing the top and bottom edges to the horizontal crease in the middle of the square. Crease and unfold.
4. Make a vertical valley fold by bringing the left edge over to the right edge. Crease and unfold.
5. Make a vertical cupboard fold by bringing the left and right edges to the vertical crease in the middle of the square. Crease and unfold.

Examine the model

• There are three horizontal and three vertical valley creases dividing the square into four rows and four columns. Thus, there are a total of 16 small squares on the face of the original square.

6. Decide if you want a table/ottoman that is as wide as the sofa or as wide as the chair. For the sofa you will need to cut or tear one row off of the square, and for the chair you will need to remove one row and one column off of the square. I recommend that you make the table/ottoman for the chair first.
   • Sofa: cut along the horizontal crease closest to one edge. Your paper is now a rectangle with three rows and four columns. There are a total of 12 squares on the surface of the paper.
   • Chair: cut along the horizontal crease closest to one edge, and cut along the vertical crease closest to one edge. Your paper is now a smaller square with three rows and three columns. There are a total of nine squares on the surface of the paper.

Part 2 - Table/Ottoman for Chair (Using the smaller square)

7. Position the paper so that the horizontal and vertical creases are mountain folds.
8. Rotate the paper 45 degrees so it is in the diamond orientation.
9. Bring the left corner over to the right corner to form a valley fold, crease and unfold.
10. Bring the bottom corner up to the top corner to form a valley fold, crease and unfold.
11. Flip the paper over from left to right and position it so the bottom edge is horizontal. The horizontal and vertical creases are valley folds while the diagonals are mountain creases.
12. Valley fold the top edge down to the first/closest valley crease, crease and unfold.
13. Rotate the paper 180 degrees and repeat Step 12.
14. Rotate the paper 90 degrees to the right and repeat Step 12, but this time do not unfold.
15. Rotate the paper 180 degrees, and repeat Step 12, but do not unfold.

Examine the model

• The model is a horizontal rectangle. There is a skinny double layer horizontal band across the top and bottom edges. Each band has four vertical creases, dividing the band into two squares on the left, two squares on the right and a horizontal rectangle in the middle. This center rectangle will become a side of the table/ottoman. There is a diagonal crease in the left most and right most squares that will not be used.
• Between the two bands there are four vertical creases dividing this area of the model into two vertical rectangles on the left, 2 vertical rectangles on the right, and a square in the middle. The square will become the top surface of the table/ottoman. The rectangles will form multi-layered sides, locking the model so it stays in a 3-dimensional configuration.
• Flip the model over from left to right. You still have the same arrangement of small squares at the top and bottom edges of the figure and the four rectangles and a larger square in the middle of the model.
• Examine the small squares on either end of the top and bottom row. The second square from each end has a diagonal crease that points towards the middle of the model. This is a critical crease in getting the model to fold into its 3-dimensional configuration.

16. Position the rectangle with the skinny bands facing the table, rotating it so it is in portrait orientation, with the short sides at the top and bottom. Now lift up the model and work with it in the air.
17. We will now focus on the top left corner of the model. Grasp the vertical band on the left edge of the model with your left hand so your thumb is on the top of the rectangular area of the band, and your ring finger is underneath it. This will keep your index and middle fingers free to help with future steps.
18. Grasp the top area of the model with your right hand so your thumb is on the top surface of the two rectangles, and your ring finger is underneath it. This will keep your index and middle fingers free to help with the next steps.
19. Using the existing mountain folds on the left and top edges of the large, center square as hinges, move the left and top edges of the model away from you so they are at a 90-degree angle to the large central square. At the same time use the diagonal crease in the small square that is adjacent to the side and top rectangles you are grasping to collapse the small square inside the model between the two walls you just created. Use your index and middle fingers to accomplish this. Completing the diagonal crease may require you to release your grasp with one of your hands so you can help the crease form.
20. Repeat Steps 17-19 to create the rest of the sides of the table/ottoman, and the diagonal creases to create the corners. Be aware that as you work on subsequent corners, your previously completed corners will start to open up. As long as you have reinforced the creases needed to get the sides into their 90 degree position and the diagonals for the corners, the model will easily move back into position in the next steps.
21. Now that all four corners have been pre-creased, flip the model over so the four sides of the model are raised off of the table. Most likely they are not standing at a 90-degree angle to the table and the central square.

Examine the model

• You should have a large square lying flat on the table. You should find two short walls that are across from each other, and two taller walls across from each other.
• You should find four hinged triangles, one in each corner, and a small square above one side of the hinged triangles.

22. Position the model so a taller wall is closest to you and the other taller wall is furthest away from you. The shorter walls are on the left and right.
23. Put your thumbs inside the model along the inside of the left and right short walls. Place your index and middle fingers from both hands on the outside of the tall wall that is furthest from you.
24. Slide your thumbs forward to encourage the small hinged triangles at the top left and top right of the model to close and lay flat against the inside of the tall wall. The small square that is above the hinged triangle will also lay flat against the inside of the tall wall.
25. Use your index fingers to push on the outside of the top part of the tall wall to get it to swing towards you and then down into the model. This top part of the tall wall is moving 180 degrees and will sandwich the flattened triangles between the outer portion of the wall and the newly formed inner part of the wall. If needed, reinforce the creases that make up this wall you just created and the corners.
26. Rotate the model 180 degrees so the wall you just created is closest to you and the remaining tall wall is furthest away.
27. Repeat Steps 22-25 to create the final wall and two corners.
28. Flip the model over so it is standing on the four side walls. Your table/ottoman is finished.

Part 3 - Table/Ottoman for Sofa (Using the rectangle)

Follow the same instructions for the Chair table/ottoman starting with Step 11. Keep in mind that the finished model will be rectangular in shape and not square. So you will need to decide if you want the locking sides of the table/ottoman to be the short sides or the long sides. When you get to step 12 you will need to decide whether to start with a short edge or a long edge. If you want the locking sides to be the short side of the table/ottoman, start with a short edge to perform Step 12 and 13. This will leave the long edges to be used for Steps 14 and 15. If you want the long sides of the table/ottoman to be the locking sides, perform Steps 12 and 13 with the long edges, and Steps 14 and 15 with the short edges.

You might find that Steps 18-20 give you trouble because there may not be an existing diagonal crease in the small square. You may need to take the time to create the diagonal creases before attempting to move the walls into the 90-degree angle position.

Text-Based Tutorials compiled by Annette Carr and Lindy van der Merwe - July 2026

All text copyright 2026 by https://www.accessorigami.com and the authors.