How To Make a Traditional Origami Crane

Made this origami? Leave a comment & submit your photo on the last page here.

Traditional Origami Crane

Here is the instructions to fold an origami crane. You will need 1 sheet of paper to make this origami crane. This origami model is easy to intermediate level. It will take around 5 minutes to make.

The traditional origami crane is the most well known and loved origami model of all time. There are many cultural meanings behind this origami crane. One of which is the symbol of hope. People make Senbazuru (garlands) of these origami cranes, the number of cranes is 1000. It is said that you will have your wish granted after making 1000 origami cranes.

A thousand paper cranes are often given to a person who is seriously ill, to wish for their recovery. They are usually created by friends, classmates, or colleagues as a collective effort. Another common use is for sport teams or athletes, wishing them victories. Cranes are a symbol of peace, and are thus often seen at war memorials.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_thousand_origami_cranes

This photo shows senbazuru at the Toshogu shrine, symbolising world peace.

Toshogu shrine Eternal peace flame.

Traditional Origami Crane Instructions

Scroll down to follow the photo tutorial for the Traditional Origami Crane.

Made this origami? Leave a comment & submit your photo on the last page here.

There is also a video tutorial available at the end here.

1. 1

   1. This is the front of the paper (crane will end up this color).

2. 2

   2. This is the back of the paper (usually white).

3. 3

   3. To begin, we will fold a ‘square/preliminary base’. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge.

4. 4

   4. Unfold the previous step.

5. 5

   5. Fold the right edge over to the left edge.

6. 6

   6. Unfold the previous step.

7. 7

   7. Rotate the paper.

8. 8

   8. Flip the paper over to the other side.

What Origami Birds To Fold Next?

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13 Comments for “How To Make a Traditional Origami Crane”

1. Seeing the video is great for those of us who have difficulty following written instructions. Thanks so much!

2. for the first time over the years and different attempts, I finally managed to make the bird! Thank YOU so much:)

   1. Same here (BUT I WAS ALSO HAVE TROUBLE FINDING THIS APP IT WAS BUT THEN I FOUND IT LET ME TELL YOU I WAS (((HHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!))).

3. very easy to make it

   Thank origami.guide

4. Loved the instructions for the crane too. Although, the cranes are in a different league compared to the swans. There was a difficult moment when I was holding the bird base the wrong side up, but I was able to figure that out eventually. Here’s how both the cranes and the swans look, together.

   1. how did you made this

      can you tell

5. This was so fun! First time using this site, defiantly coming to this site again! The steps were easy to understand, and not frustrating. It was easy to follow, amazing!

6. Ame como me quedaron, elegí el tutorial de fotografía, tarde un poco más pero el resultado me encanto!

7. wow. I was expecting this to be way harder than it was. I was loosing my patience with other sites, and this made it so much easier.

8. i used this and another tutorial because the photos stopped loading made it with a white piece of paper in class

9. I loved making this crane, Thank you very much for your easy to follow tutorial!

10. good

11. This tutorial helped me and made sense after another one had confused me. I plan on using cranes to make a friend a mobile for their birthday. Thank you 🙂