Back towards the end of May I posted a picture of a very tiny set of origami that I made using bond paper and my fingers and the question was asked, “How do you make them?”

Apparently claiming magic is frowned upon by the Instructables community.

I believe the following instructable will help to answer your questions.

Folding small models is, in many ways similar to folding regular sized models. Really there are two main challenges to it. First is paper thickness. We take for granted that paper is..well...paper thn! It makes it easy to fold because it is thin relative to the overall size. Once we get down to small scales the ratio of paper thickness to paper width is much less generous. Add to that the fact that each time you fold over you double your thickness and this is like folding a phone book.

I was considering demonstrating this through an interpritave dance, but I went for the instructional video.

Part 1: I introduce some basic ideas and fold the first large model

Step 1: The Problem of Fingers

The second problem you will run into is your giant meat hooks. Even if you are a petitie little wisp, at these scales you might as well be folding with your elbows.

This also makes it hard to demonstrate techniques because my own fingers get in the way of seeing the paper. You will need to practice this. It is helpful to practice folding without looking because so much of this will be based on your sense of touch.

I'm going to throw back over to the video here where you can see this on the first small scale model. The fox model is from Origami Omnibus by Kunihiko Kasahara, which has the full instructions and so much more.

Part 2: I go down to the smaller scales with a model of a Fox

Step 2: Smaller Is Thicker

Moving back to the issue of paper thickness, you will find that at these scales folds become more suggestions. Your fold radius gets to be bigger than your paper width then you really are more sculpting than folding. The sweat from your fingers (and there will be sweat) will both help and hinder here. It will make it more like a wet folding technique.

With this next video we'll simulate a very small scale crane. It is good to see this here at the large scale to appreciate the problems you will encounter, but remember that at a smaller scale those imperfections will be less noticable.

Part 3: I go back to make a larger model using thicker paper to simulate the effects that will happen with the smaller scales

Step 3: Rolling Down the Scale

Moving back to even smaller scales, there are some other minor details to look at. Your model is so small that it will be hard to see visually where you last made your fold. Work with models that you have done many time before so that you can remember where you are at in the model.

Try not to sneeze also. When your model is the size of lint, you will not get it back from a dirty floor.

Back to the videos where we go back down to successively smaller scales with a crane, a Loch Ness Monster style dinosaur, and a smaller crane. At the scales of the last crane things are just too small to make all of the fold for the full crane, so I make it slightly simplified.

As you progress to smaller origami go in this same progression. Work on smaller and smaller scales. As you encounter problems, practice at the scle where you are comfortable before pushing your envelope (so to speak) further.

Part 4: I scale down the crane model to small scales