Hey guys, this is Evan from EZ Origami.
And today I'll be teaching you how to fold a Lesser Stellated Dodecahedron
designed by Meenakshi Mukerji.
This is a very simple modular model,
and it looks great when it's completed.
Diagrams for this model can be found in one of Meenakshi's books called "Exquisite Modular Origami."
This model requires 30 square sheets of paper.
Each unit is folded from one square, and in order to fold each unit, you'll eventually divide the paper into thirds.
So instead of approximating, I'll teach you how to make a folding tool which will help you
quickly divide each square into thirds.
You will need 30 squares to fold the units,
and you'll need an additional square of the same size for the folding tool.
So you'll need a total of 31 equally sized squares.
I recommend using 3" squares to fold this model.
Using 3" squares will result in a model about 5.5" wide.
I'm going to be using larger paper with color on one side and white on the other,
just to make it a bit easier to follow along.
And we're going to start by making the folding tool.
So take one square, and make sure it's the same size as the other 30 squares you will use for the units.
And once you've prepared your paper, then we're going to start by folding in half diagonally.
So take this bottom right corner, and fold it up to the top left corner.
Align the corners and the edges. Then make your crease, and then unfold.
And now we're going to align this bottom edge with the diagonal crease that we just made.
So we're going to start by lifting up the bottom edge. And we want to start at the bottom left corner
And work our way up and over to the right until the entire edge is aligned with that crease.
And once everything is aligned, then you can make your crease.
And then you can unfold.
And now we're going to rotate the paper so that the two creases we just made
now extend from this top right corner.
And from here we're going to fold over this right edge and align it with this top crease that we just made.
So we're going to do that by pulling over this right edge. And we want to start at this top right corner
and work our way down and over to the left, aligning the edge with the crease.
Just like this. And once the entire edge is aligned, then you can make your crease. And then you can unfold.
And now I want you to notice this point here,
where the crease that we just made intersects with this bottom edge.
And what we want to do is make a new vertical crease that extends upward from that point.
So we're going to do that by simply pulling over this left edge.
And we want to slowly pull it over to the right, until you notice that small crease
intersecting with the bottom edge, here.
Once you've reached that point, that's where you want to make your crease.
But we also want to make sure that the horizontal edges on the top and bottom of the model are aligned.
And once everything is aligned, then you can make your crease.
And this is your completed folding tool. We'll use this to divide the rest of the squares into thirds.
And once you have this, then we're going to take one of the 30 squares that we prepared for the units,
and we're going to hold it with the colored side up.
So we're going to lift up our first square, and we're going to slide it in between the two layers of the folding tool
by pushing over to the left as far as it'll go.
You want to push it over until the left edge of the square aligns with the left folded edge of the folding tool.
And then your model should look like this.
Then from here we want to fold over the right edge of the square,
and align it with this colored edge on the folding tool, here.
So we're going to do that by simply pulling over this right edge.
And once it's completely aligned with the colored edge on the folding tool, then you can make your crease.
And you can slide your square outside of the folding tool once again.
And then you can put the folding tool aside. And then we're going to turn the model over.
And now we're going to fold in half vertically. So take this right edge and fold it over to the left edge.
Align the corners and the edges, then make your crease.
And now you can see that we've divided the paper into thirds.
And now we're going to fold up this bottom right corner and align it with this top left corner.
So we're going to do that by lifting up all 3 layers on the bottom of the model.
And we're going to pull them up until both corners are completely aligned.
Then you can make your crease through all layers.
Then we're going to slightly rotate the model so that this edge is held horizontally.
And now we're going to make a crease between this bottom left corner
and this top corner in the center of the model, here.
So we're going to do that by lifting up all 3 layers on the left side of the model.
And we're going to slowly pull them over to the right like this.
And you simply want to pull the layers over until both of those corners are connected.
Or you can use this colored edge on the layer below as a reference.
So what we want to do is make our crease along that colored edge.
You'll see it with connect those two corners. And then you can make a sharp crease through all layers.
Then we're going to turn the model over, and we're going to do the same thing.
So once again, we're going to make a crease between this bottom left corner and this top corner, here.
So we're simply going to grab all 3 layers on the left side of the model,
And we're going to pull them over to right until both of those corners are connected.
Again, you can also use that colored edge on the layer below as a reference.
So you can just make your new crease along that edge as well.
Then you can make a sharp crease through all layers. And your model should look like this.
And now we're going to unfold along this small horizontal edge here.
So we're going to do that by grabbing the top layers of paper,
and we're simply going to pull them down until we have this diamond shape.
Then we're going to rotate the model 90 degrees.
And now we're going to fold in these 2 white triangles here.
So we're going to start with this one on the top right,
and what we want to do is grab all 3 layers behind that white triangle,
and we're simply going to fold them down as far as they'll go. Just like this.
So we're essentially folding it down along this colored edge here.
And then you can make a sharp crease just to flatten out all of those layers.
Then we're going to rotate the paper 180 degrees, and we're going to do the same thing.
So again, we're going to grab all 3 layers behind that white triangle,
and we're simply going to fold them down as far as they'll go, just like this.
Again, we're making a crease along this colored edge here.
And then you can make a sharp crease just to flatten out all of those layers.
And now we're going to partially unfold the model.
So we're going to start by unfolding the two small flaps that we just folded in,
So let's start with this one on the top right, and we simply want to fold it up along the crease that we just made.
Then we're going to do the same thing on the bottom left by pulling this flap down
along the crease that we made as well
And once you've done that on both sides, then we're going to lift up the model.
And we're going to start by grabbing this small white triangle from behind.
Then what we want to do is pull it underneath the model, just like this.
So we're partially unfolding along this existing crease here.
And then we're going to do the same thing on the left.
So again we're going to grab this small white triangle from behind,
and we're going to pull it up underneath the model like this.
So we're partially unfolding along this existing crease.
And once you've done that on both sides, your model should look like this.
And this is one completed unit. Now you must fold 29 more.
Once you've folded all 30 units, you're going to need 2 to start the assembly.
Then look at one, and you'll notice that it has a large flap like this on each side,
and it also has a small pocket in between the white and colored layers here on each side.
So once again, we're going to take our second unit.
And what we want to do is insert the first unit's flap inside of the second unit's pocket.
And I like to start by slightly separating the layers on the left side of the second unit.
So you slightly want to pull those layers apart, just enough to partially open up that pocket.
Then from here you want to lift up the first unit, and then we're going to slide the first unit's flap inside.
So you carefully want to bring both units together,
making sure that the first unit's flap goes inside of the second unit's pocket.
And then you want to push the two units together until they're completely aligned.
Then you'll see that the top left corner on both units will align,
and you'll see that the creases align on both units as well.
So you may want to reinforce the mountain folds on each unit, just like this.
Just to hold the units together.
And once you've done that, then you've connected the first two units.
Then we're going to slightly rotate the model, and then we're going to add a third unit the same way.
So once again we're going to insert the second unit's flap inside of the third unit's pocket, just like we did before.
So I like to start by separating the layers on the left side of the third unit, just like this.
Just enough to open up that pocket. Then you can lift up the other two units,
and we simply want to slide the second unit's flap inside of the third unit's pocket, just like we did before.
So you carefully want to bring both units together, just like this, until they're completely aligned.
You'll see that their top left corners will align, and the creases on both units will align as well.
So again, I like to reinforce those existing mountain folds, just to hold the three units together.
And once you've done that, then you've connected the first three units.
Then we're going to slightly rotate the model, and we're going to add a fourth unit the same way.
So once again, we're going to insert the third unit's flap inside of the fourth unit's pocket.
So we're going to do that by bringing the third and fourth units together, just like we've been doing.
And you want to slide them together until they're completely aligned.
Then you may want to reinforce the existing mountain folds just to hold them in place.
And once you've done that, then you've connected the first four units.
Then we're going to slightly rotate the model, and we're going to add a fifth unit the same way.
So once again, we're going to insert the fourth unit's flap inside of the fifth unit's pocket, just like we've been doing.
So you carefully want to bring both units together until they're completely aligned.
Then you may want to reinforce the existing mountain folds, just to hold the units in place.
And once you've done that, then you've connected five units.
And from here we need to connect the first and fifth units together.
So we're going to do that by slightly rotating the model.
Then we're going to slide the fifth unit's flap inside of the first unit's pocket, just like we've been doing.
So you carefully want to bring both of those units together, just like this.
And you want to push the fifth unit's flap inside as far as it'll go.
And if it gets stuck, you may have to slightly flatten out the first and second units here,
just to slide that flap all the way inside. Just like this.
And you want to make sure that the first and fifth units align in the center,
and you want to make sure that their creases align as well.
And once you've done that, your model should look like this from the top.
And it should look like this from underneath. And if we turn the model back over,
And now you'll see that we've connected 5 units to create this 5-sided pyramid shape in the middle.
So what we want to do is repeat this process on the other ends of these 5 units here.
So you just want to continue adding units this same way
by making these 5-sided pyramid shapes on both ends of each unit.
And once you've made a 5-sided pyramid shape on both ends of the original 5 units,
your model should look like this. Then if you turn it over, it should look like this from underneath.
And if you turn the model back over, then you want to repeat this process
by making those 5-sided pyramid shapes on both ends of the remaining units.
So just continue adding units this same way until you've reached the last one.
And once you've assembled all 30 units, then your Lesser Stellated Dodecahedron is complete.
I hope you've enjoyed this video tutorial on how to fold an Origami Lesser Stellated Dodecahedron
designed by Meenakshi Mukerji.
Feel free to upload photos of your completed model to the YouTube Gallery on my website
to be featured here in my next video, or simply upload your photos to Instagram with #ezorigami
to be featured here as well.
Also, be sure to check out Meenakshi's website by clicking on the link in the description below.
Again, I hope you've enjoyed this video. Please comment, rate, subscribe, and thank you for watching!
