How to make a paper pinwheel
Four sails that spin in the wind. Here's a traditional paper pinwheel (windmill), step by step: a diagram for every fold below, and every step playing in 3D in Crease, so you can watch the paper move and turn it round.
You need: a square of paper (15 cm or 6 in is ideal). Coloured on one side is best, but any paper works.
Free in your browser. Watch each fold, slow it down, turn it round.
Step by step
The dashed line is a valley fold (fold towards you); dash-dot is a mountain fold (fold behind). The arrow shows where the paper goes.
Fold the paper in half from corner to corner, and unfold. Then the same the other way, so the two creases make an X.
Fold each edge to the middle and unfold: the left, the right, the top and the bottom. Now there’s a square in the middle.
Fold each corner to the middle and unfold.
Push the sides in along the creases and turn the middle, so each corner swings out into a sail, all turning the same way. Press it flat. Pin the middle to a stick and blow!
Done! Well folded.
Tips
- Line up the corners or edges first, then press the crease flat from the middle outwards.
- Run a fingernail along every crease: sharp creases make the later steps easier.
- Stuck on a step? Open Pinwheel in Crease and watch it fold in 3D, as slowly as you like.
More easy origami
Origami for beginners: the folds, the bases and where to start →