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How to Make a Traditional Origami Crane (with Visuals)

Last Updated: May 28, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero and by wikiHow staff writer, Dan Hickey . Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University. She worked as a graphic designer before starting her own business. Sunshine Craft Co. is a creative hub that offers a wide range of workshops, tools, and resources for any craft project to inspire creativity and community engagement. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 3,318,346 times.

When most people think of origami, their mind jumps straight to the elegant paper crane. The idea of folding a paper crane yourself might seem intimidating at first, but the process is super straightforward and even first-time origami makers can make one in just a few minutes. In this article, we’ll show you how to make a traditional origami crane step-by-step (with visuals to help you bring your beautiful bird to life). All you need is a square of paper and a flat surface. Let’s get started!

Things You Should Know

Use traditional origami paper in the shape of a square for the best results. Choose paper with a color or design you enjoy to make your paper crane pop.
Make all of your folds slowly and carefully. Line up corners or edges as perfectly to each other as you can for the sharpest looking crane.
Display your crane on a tabletop or shelf, give it as a gift, or make 999 more and string them together to make your own senbazuru !

Lay down your origami paper color-side-up.

In a pinch, cut any rectangular piece of paper into a square if you don’t have origami paper.

Make two diagonal folds.

Use your fingers, a ruler, or a bone folder tool to make neat, crisp creases.
Making these kinds of folds is called making a valley fold .

Fold the paper into rectangles.

You now have creases in the shape of an “X” and a “+” spanning your paper, dividing it into 8 triangles.

Make an accordion fold.

Let the paper fold naturally along the creases you made earlier.
The resulting square has an open end where all 4 corners of the paper come together (facing you). It also has 2 flaps on the right and 2 flaps on the left. [5] X Research source

Create a squash fold.

Undo and open the squash fold..

The resulting shape looks like a thin, vertical diamond (top layer) on top of your square base (bottom layer).
Once you’ve gotten the diamond shape, flatten all of the folds and creases.

Repeat the squash fold on the backside of the paper.

Flatten the second squash fold as well.
The paper now looks like a 2-layer diamond with 2 “legs” at the bottom.

Taper the legs of the diamond.

Make a book fold on both sides of the paper., fold the bottom corners up., do another book fold on both sides of the paper., pull out the pointed tabs beneath the top layer..

One of these pointed tabs will be the tail and one will become the head. Choose one to fold into the head (either one will work).

Fold the head of the crane.

For the best look, fold the head down about 1 in (2.5 cm) from the tip.
Leave the pointed tab on the other side untouched (it will be the tail).

Fold the wings down.

Once the wings are folded and the body is fluffed up, your crane is ready for display!
Display your crane on a flat surface, like a coffee table or shelf, give it as a gift, or make 999 more and string them together to make a senbazuru.

Community Q&A

Reader Videos

Work slowly and carefully throughout the process, making sure to line up your edges and corners as cleanly as possible to get the sharpest looking end result. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 4
The crisper your creases, the more easily they’ll fold in later steps. Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 3

↑ https://www.gathered.how/papercraft/origami/how-to-make-an-origami-crane/
↑ https://make-origami.com/paper-crane/
↑ https://mcpl.info/sites/default/files/images/origami_crane_instructions_1.pdf

About This Article

To fold an origami paper crane, start by folding a square piece of paper in half vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, unfolding after each fold. Then, fold the top corners to the bottom and press the sides in so the paper is folded up in a small diamond Next, grab the upper layer of the right side and fold the bottom edge to the center crease. Repeat this on the left side. Fold the top of the diamond down so the crease lies along the horizontal line created by the previous two triangles. Then, unfold the top corner and the previous two triangles to return to the small diamond shape you created. From there, fold the topmost layer of the bottom point all the way up so that the left and right flaps naturally fold in, creating a long, narrow diamond shape. Carefully, crease and flatten the paper.Flip the paper over, and repeat the process to create another long, skinny diamond. At this point, your paper should look like one tall, skinny diamond with two legs at the bottom. Next, grab the point on the upper layer of the right side and fold the bottom outside edge inwards towards the central line. Repeat on the left side. Fold the entire right flap over the central line, as if you were turning the page of a book. At this point, both flaps should be on the left-hand side. Turn the shaper over and repeat the process. Next, grab the upper layer of the bottom point and fold it up so the bottom tip touches the top points. Fold the right flap over to the left. Repeat on the other side. Then, fold wings down so you can just see the body. Finally, fold the tip of the head down and pull the wings out gently. If you want to learn more, like how to make your crane look larger and three-dimensional, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Fold a Traditional Origami Crane

The traditional paper origami crane is probably the most famous of all origami models. It’s designed after the Japanese red-crowned crane. In Japanese mythology, this crane is known as the “Honourable Lord Crane,” and its wings carry souls up to heaven.

The Japanese name for this model is “Orizuru” which simply means “Folded crane.” “Ori” is the same “Ori” that you find in the word origami.

An ancient Japanese legend promises that if anyone folds a thousand paper cranes, they will be granted a wish by the gods. In some cases, you are granted happiness or good luck.

If you’ve never tried origami before, we recommend you check out our beginner’s guide first. Once you know the basic folds, then this will be much easier.

Traditional Paper Crane Step-by-Step Instructions

Difficulty : Intermediary
Folding time : 10-15 minutes
Model designer : Traditional
Paper : We used Roketsu paper in the tutorial below. However, we recommend a thinner paper if it’s your first trial. The classic Kami 15×15 will do well. Chiyogami is also a great choice if you want a fancier-looking crane like the one in the featured image.

Start with the white side of the paper facing up and fold in half diagonally.

Fold in half again along the dotted line.

Fold that flap back and squash fold this flap down.

Turn the model over. We’re going to repeat the last few steps on the other side.

Fold the flap over to the left along the dotted line and squash fold this flap down.

You now have a completed square or preliminary base. With a few more folds, we’ll turn it into a bird base.

Fold the side flap to the center along the dotted line.

Crease this fold well and then unfold it.

Fold the flap on the other side to the center along the dotted line.

Crease this well and unfold.

Fold the top down along the dotted line.

Lift the top flap of paper up along the crease you just made. We’re going to make a petal fold.

Continue lifting up and push in the sides along the creases you made in the previous couple of steps.

Flatten everything along the creases you already made.

The completed petal fold.

Turn the model over. We’re going to make a petal fold on the other side, too.

Fold the side to the center along the dotted line.

Crease this well and then unfold.

Fold the other side to the center along the dotted line.

Lift the top flap of paper up along the crease you just made. We’re going to make another petal fold.

The completed petal fold. At this point, you also have a completed a bird base.

Next, we’re going to fold the neck and the tail. Fold the top flap on the right to the center along the dotted line.

Fold the top flap on the left to the center along the dotted line as well.

Turn the model over. We’re going to repeat the last two steps on the other side.

Fold the top flap on the left to the center along the dotted line.

Fold the top flap on the right to the center along the dotted line as well.

Fold the long, thin section of paper on the right up along the dotted line.

Fold the long, thin section of paper on the left up just like you did on the other side.

Turn the model over. We’re going to repeat the last couple of steps on the other side.

Fold the long, thin section of paper on the right up along the dotted line. There’s already a crease here, but now you’re going to fold it the other way.

Fold the long, thin section of paper on the left up just like you did on the other side. There’s also a crease here already, and you’re also going to fold it the other way.

Now, we’re going to make an inside reverse fold along the creases you just made on the right side of the model.

Lift the paper up inside the model along the creases you already made and flatten everything.

👉 Folding tip : With some practice, you can skip steps 20 to 24 and directly make the inside reverse fold.

Make another inside reverse fold along the creases you already made along the left side of the model.

Now, we’re going to fold the head. Fold the long, thin section of paper on the left down along the dotted line.

Turn the model over so we can repeat this on the other side.

Fold the long, thin section of paper on the left side now down along the dotted line. This is folded the opposite way along the crease you already folded on the other side.

Turn the model over again so it’s facing the way it was before.

Fold the head by making an inside reverse fold along the creases you made in the previous couple of steps. The head is then folded inside the neck.

👉 Folding tip : With some practice, you can skip steps 27 to 30 and directly make the inside reverse fold.

Fold down the wings on both sides along the dotted line.

👉 Shaping tip : You can make the back of the crane flatter by pulling on the wings and adjust it to your taste.

The completed origami crane, good job!

The Thousand Paper Cranes

In Japan, the crane is said to live for 1,000 years, which is why one must fold 1,000 of them. To make your wish come true, you have to hold onto all the cranes. If you fold one and give it away, that one doesn’t count.

The origami crane’s popularity is largely due to a children’s book written by author Eleanor Coerr called “ Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes .”

The story follows a Japanese girl named Sadako, who was two years old when the United States bombed Japan at the end of World War II. Due to the fallout from the bombs, Sadako developed leukemia.

In the hospital, she spent her time folding origami cranes, hoping to make 1,000 of them.

According to Sadako’s family, she managed to fold approximately 1,400 paper cranes. Many of these cranes have been donated to places such as the 9-11 Memorial in New York City, Pearl Harbour, the Museum of Tolerance, and more places as a symbol of peace.

How did you do? Tell us in the comments, and feel free to share a photo of your origami crane with us. We’d love to see it.

Download the Full Origami Crane Printable PDF Instructions

We’d love to keep you in the loop, so by sharing your email with us, you’ll be signed up for our mailing list. Don’t worry; we won’t bombard you with spammy emails, and your information is safe with us – we won’t share it with anyone else.

I've been into origami for quite some time now, and I've been teaching it here on Origami.me for over 14 years. My other hobbies include martial arts, travel, video games and Go. I'm also the author of Everyone Can Learn Origami. You should definitely check it out!

How to Make a Very Easy Origami Tadpole

These instructions will show you how to make a very easy origami tadpole. If you’ve never folded anything before we recommend that you take a quick look at our Beginner’s Guide which will show you all the basic folds and bases. Step 1) Fold the paper in half. Step 2) Fold the paper in half again. Step 3) Open the…

How to Make an Easy Origami Waterbomb

These instructions will show you how to fold an easy origami waterbomb, a traditional model. If you’ve never folded anything before we recommend that you take a minute to review our Beginner’s Guide which will teach you all the basic folds and techniques. Step 1) Fold the paper in half. Step 2) Fold the paper in half again. Step…

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These instructions will show you how to make an easy origami shark that’s actually folded from a Bird Base. If you’re new to paper folding we recommend you check out our Beginner’s Guide first which will teach you the basic folds and techniques. Step 1) Fold the paper in half. Step 2) Fold the paper in half. Step 3) Open…

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These instructions will show you how to fold an easy origami sparrow. If you’ve never folded anything before we recommend that you take a quick look at our Beginner’s Guide which will show you all the paper folding basics. Step 1) Fold the paper in half and then unfold it. Step 2) Fold the top and bottom in to…

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These instructions will show you how to fold an easy origami bird. This is a traditional model and not difficult at all. If you’ve never folded anything before we recommend you take a moment to check out our Beginner’s Guide which will teach you all the basics. Step 1) Fold the paper in half and then unfold it….

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These diagrams will show you how to fold a very easy origami crab. If this is your first time folding something we recommend you check out our Beginner’s Guide first to learn all the basic folds and techniques. Step 1) Fold the paper in half. Step 2) Fold the paper in half again. Step 3) Open up the top flap…

Love the way the instructions are written. Thank you! I made my first crane!!

This wasn’t easy, but I just made my first paper crane! Thank you!

Congrats! The crane isn’t the easiest origami.

I used the wrong kind of paper but it still worked very well!

Glad to hear it! The Kami 15×15 works well for this crane. You can learn more about origami paper here .

It took half an hour, but I made a recognizable origami crane in the end. I’m gonna call him Birdstrike.

Great job! Feel free to share a picture of it 🙂

paper crane is easy and nice

No way you think this was easy :skull:

[…] How to Fold a Traditional Origami Crane […]

This is amazing.

I have just found your website and its great! I love the guide to Origami paper very helpful. I have been making paper cranes for 20 years and I even got to place 1000 at the peace memorial in Hiroshima Japan in 2019. I currently have about 6000 more at home and I hope you break a world record at some point. Thank you for your website so I can share my love fort Origami and Paper cranes 🙂

Have never made a Crane before today, and these steps were SO easy to follow. My lil’ bird is sitting on my windowsill now. If you can’t follow these instructions, then I am sorry to say that it must be you, not the wonderful person who created this space for us. Looking forward to trying out another animal later. <3

Thanks for the kind words!

Everything was good until I reached the inside reverse fold. Still unsure how to do that

Check the beginner’s guide if you need help with any of the folds

Thank you very much. Your instructions really clear for me. It’s really helpful when I try to make my orizuru.

This isn’t helping at all, I don’t even understand how one part turns into the other. I guess I need to keep trying to achieve the perfect Traditional Paper Crane. Thanks for the ‘not’ so useful instructions.

this is so really really hard I had to get my friend to help with it from step 7 till it was finished????????????????????????????????????????

[…] took me about five-and-a-half careful minutes to fold one paper crane, a meditative process that gradually calmed the overactive fight-flight part of my tired brain. […]

How do you fold other stuff?

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How to Make a Paper Crane, Step-by-Step Origami

Author: Melanie Palen

An origami crane can be made in any size!

A paper crane is a traditional Japanese origami figure made by folding a square sheet of paper into a symmetrical representation of a crane. The paper crane has become a symbol of peace and healing, particularly in Japan, due to its association with the story of Sadako Sasaki.

How to Fold a Paper Crane

Folding a paper crane is easy and only requires a square piece of paper. If you choose a large piece of paper, you will end up with a large paper crane. Likewise, if you choose a small piece of paper, you will end up with a small crane. It's important to note that it's much harder to make creases and folds with a smaller piece of paper, so if this is your first paper crane, you might want to start out with a nice, large square. You can purchase origami paper at a craft store like Jo-Ann Fabric or Hobby Lobby. If you're just trying out origami for the first time, you might want to practice on a sheet of computer paper that you've cut into a square. That way, you won't accidentally ruin your origami paper (the first crane is always a mess-up). Note: If your paper has a design on one side, you will want to start out with the colored side up.

Fold the paper in half (diagonally) and unfold so that the colored side is facing up again. Then, fold the paper in half (diagonally) in the other direction.

Unfold your paper so that the colored side is facing down.

Fold the paper in half. Unfold so that the colored side is facing down again. Then, fold your paper in half in the other direction. Unfold. Your work so far will look like the image below.

The creases you've made previously are what make this step possible. Bring the top, right, and left corners down to the bottom corner and flatten. Your paper crane should look similar to the image below.

Fold upper layer of right corner inward to the center so that it looks like the image below. Repeat this step with the left corner.

Fold top corner down until it meets the upper section of the fold made in step 5. After this step, your paper crane should look kind of like a diamond as pictured in the image below. Unfold only what you folded in this step.

Melanie Shebel

Turn over your paper crane to-be. Repeat steps 5 and 6 on this side so that your crane looks like the image below. After all this folding, it looks like your paper crane is really starting to take shape! It doesn't look quite like a crane yet. Sadly, in this step you are going to unfold your paper so that it looks similar to what it did at the end of step four.

The Best Palette for Beginner Painters

Unfold your paper so that it looks similar as to what it did at the end of step 4 (except this time it will obviously have some new creases).

Note: Step 9 is one of the most complicated steps in making a paper crane, so I've put together three images (below) to really show everything that happens in this step. The first image (9.1) below shows the top flap being opened. The second image (9.2) shows one of the sides folded inward. In this step, however, you will need to fold both sides inward. The last image (9.3) shows what your paper should look like at the end of this step. It should be diamond shape and look as if one end has legs. Step-by-step process:

Open the upper flap of the paper. While opening the upper flap, carefully fold both sides inward. The creases made in previous steps will guide you along as you fold.
As the paper gets closer to the center, you will feel it "snap" in as if the paper knows it belongs there.
Turn over the paper and repeat open the upper flap of the paper. Carefully fold both sides inward, just like before.

Step 9, Part One

Step 9, Part Two

Step 9, Part Three

Note : Like step 9, step 10 can be complicated as well, so there are two pictures for this one so that you can more clearly see what I'm talking about. It's easiest to do this step if you turn your paper so that the "leggy" part of the crane is the point closest to you. Step-by-step process:

Taper the top layer of the right "leg" part (see image 10.1 to see what I mean when I say "taper").
Repeat on the left leg.
Turn over your crane and taper both legs on this side.

After the end of this step, you should notice that your crane is starting to take shape and it should look like the image below labeled 10.2. If you're frustrated after steps nine and ten, just know step ten is like the light at the end of the tunnel! Don't worry, we're not going to unfold it all again! We're finishing up the paper crane very soon!

Step 10: Here I am tapering the right leg.

This is how it should look at the end of step 10.

Fold each leg up at an angle (as pictured below). Crease the fold really well (if will make the next step much easier). Unfold only what you did in this step.

Tuck the right leg up and inwards (as shown in the image below). Repeat with the left leg.

Choose whichever end you wish to be the head and fold it down (as pictured below). I tend to choose the "less perfect" end to be the head as I find that this last fold tends to hide any tiny imperfections there may be at the tips. Fold the wings downward and crease. Under your crane, you will notice a little hole. You can use the hole to gently blow air and "inflate" your paper crane.

You now have finished making your paper crane. Congratulations!

Your finished paper crane

Paper Cranes as a Classroom Activity

Making a paper crane is a fun activity for both kids and grown-ups alike. Paper cranes can make for a great classroom activity that is not only useful in teaching children how to follow instructions, but to also teach about world peace using the story of one thousand paper cranes. The book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is a nonfiction children's book by Eleanor Coerr that can be read to children before or after they learn to make a paper crane. The book and the paper crane activity make up a great lesson plan for children learning about peace.

The Story of the Paper Crane

Origami, the art of folding paper, has its roots in Japan. One of the most popular pieces of origami to make is the paper crane. Not only is a paper crane a beautiful example of origami, but according to Japanese legend, anyone who folds one thousand cranes will receive a wish from a crane. Because of this, paper cranes make great gifts in Japan. After the Tōhoku earthquake in March 2011, people from all over the world sent handmade paper cranes to Japan as a symbol of well-wishing and support of the Japanese people. In 1945, Sadako Sasaki was two years old when the atomic bomb hit her hometown of Hiroshima. Years later, Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia. While in the hospital, a friend shared the legend of the thousand paper cranes. Sadako then set out to create a thousand paper cranes in order to earn her wish: to live. Sadly, Sadako died at the age of 12 in October of 1955. After Sadako's death, a memorial statue was created in remembrance of all the children who died from the effects of the atomic bomb. The statue plaque reads:

" This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace on Earth. "

ashley on April 26, 2019:

this is hard

predaraptor on January 21, 2014:

I love this website I make and sell origami at my school this is so informative and a lot better than those crappy origami books

Laurel Rogers from Bishop, Ca on July 31, 2012:

Gawd, Melanie-

How I wish we could bookmark hubs-as we used to. I'm gonna put this in my computer for future reference...wonderful instructions and well-sized photos.

Wonderful job!

Kelly Umphenour from St. Louis, MO on July 31, 2012:

That is cute Mel! I will let my girls try to make one. I make awful paper airplanes - maybe this can make up for some of that! lol

Kymberly Fergusson from Germany on February 24, 2012:

Clear steps, beautiful paper and a really neat crane! I loved seeing so many colourful chains of paper cranes while I was in Japan.

dinkan53 from India on January 28, 2012:

Great work. Simple steps that even a child can understand. Effective way of explaining with pictures. Like your hu and voted up, interesting!

Shasta Matova from USA on January 28, 2012:

Beautiful photos, and great step by step directions. I really like the paper you used too.

Aurelio Locsin from Orange County, CA on January 28, 2012:

That is the smallest crane I've seen (in the first picture). Nice work on the procedures -- I especially like all the pics. Voting this Up and Useful.

Me on October 27, 2011:

how do the women at the chinese restraunt do this so fast

Ratanak on August 24, 2011:

While I am now in Japan, I love so much to fold the paper crane as a wish for Japanese people who died during the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Thank your great tutorial !

ournote2self on August 08, 2011:

Very cute. Thanks for sharing. :)

AAREN1975c from CA on August 05, 2011:

I love to make paper crane. You have give very nice explanation.

Rose Clearfield from Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 05, 2011:

Great tutorial! I love the step by step photos.

TroyM on August 02, 2011:

I like you article on paper model. Great tips! Thanks!

Hello, hello, from London, UK on June 08, 2011:

I love Origami and this hub is fantastic. Thank you for sharing.

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How To Fold An Origami Crane: A Step-by-Step Guide

Origami cranes are a classic symbol of luck and good fortune. They’re also really fun to make! In this step-by-step guide, I will show you how to fold an origami crane.

It’s a challenging but rewarding project, and once you’ve mastered it, you can make them in all sorts of colors and sizes. Let’s get started!

How To Fold An Origami Crane Video Walkthrough

There you go! That video tutorial should make it more than easy enough for you to fold an origami crane! You can use whatever colored paper you want and you can make your origami crane unique to you! You can also draw on it and be as creative as you would like to be!

Now, if you aren’t a fan of video instructions I have also put together a step-by-step graphic guide on how to fold an origami crane. Just keep scrolling if you would prefer to learn how to fold this creation that way instead!

If you enjoy this design check out all my other Origami Animals!

How To Fold An Origami Crane Step-By-Step Instructions

1. folding the paper into a triangle.

Start with a square piece of paper and fold the top corner down to meet the bottom corner, creating a horizontal fold. This will result in a triangular shape.

2. Folding the Triangle in Half

Now, take the paper and take the right corner and fold it in half over to the left corner. Use the dotted line above as a reference.

3. Creating a Small Square (Right Side)

Spread the pocket from the top layer of the paper from the inside and fold it down to form a small square.

4. Completing the Small Square (Left Side)

Your paper should look like this, repeat step 3 on the left side and fold it over now.

5. Folding the Corners to the Center Line

Fold the left and right corners to the center line as well as the top corner down over the dotted line. Use the Image above as a reference.

6. Checking the Folded Shape

If you’ve done it right, your paper should now look like this.

7. Opening the Pocket and Inverting Creases

Open the pocket by taking the bottom corner, pulling it up, and folding it inwards along the crease. Some creases will become inverted.

8. Flattening the Shape and Turning Over

You should have a figure like this. Flatten all the lines for a cleaner look. Turn it over and repeat steps 5, 6, and 7 to arrive at the next shape.

9. Finishing the Double-sided Shape

Once you are done repeating those steps, you should be left with this.

10. Folding the Corner Layers Inward (Front Side)

Fold the top left and right corner layers of the front side toward the center, using the dotted lines in the reference image as a guide.

11. Checking the Folded Front Side

After completing step 10, your figure should look like the one shown in the reference image. Turn it over.

12. Folding the Corner Layers Inward (Back Side)

Repeat step 10 on this side to match what you did on the other side.

13. Creating the Crane’s Neck

Reverse fold near center left to create the crane’s neck.

14. Forming the Neck and Tail

Lift the neck at the point indicated by the arrow and press down. Then, do the same to form the tail on the opposite side.

15. Shaping the Crane’s Tail

Follow the arrows in the image above to create the origami Crane’s tail.

16. Forming the Beak

Reverse fold at dotted lines to form the beak. You can choose the beaks length.

17. Pulling Down the Wings and Flattening the Body

Pull the wings down and flatten the body into a square.

18. Completing the Origami Crane

Now, you should have a beautiful origami crane in front of you. Congratulations on your final result!

There you have it! You should be nothing short of a pro with folding origami cranes now! Whether you enjoy learning through video or graphic instructions, I’ve tried to make it as simple as possible.

Finally, down below you’ll find a set of the above instructions which you can download and print!

How To Fold An Origami Crane Printable Instructions

You now know how to fold an origami crane! Let this just be the beginning of your paper folding journey! If you want to learn how to fold many more incredible things just take a look through all my creations and chose what you want to create next!

I hope you have enjoyed this how-to guide and that you’ll continue on this amazing journey of learning the art of paper folding!

Check out my other origami designs and sharpen your paper folding skills!

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Folding a Traditional Origami Crane

The origami crane is one of the most celebrated paper folding projects of all time. It's often the first project that beginning paper folders learn how to make once they decide they're interested in origami.

The origami crane motif is so popular that it can be found on paintings, posters, wall decals, trinket boxes, and T-shirts. Some people even get origami crane tattoos to symbolize peace and harmony.

Gather Your Supplies

Dana Hinders

To fold a traditional origami crane, you will need a square sheet of origami paper . If you do not have a lot of origami experience, start with larger papers. Smaller sheets are hard to work with because of the detail required in folding the steps of the crane.

Origami cranes look pretty folded from patterned paper, but you might find it easier to practice the folding the model with a light-colored solid paper first. Sometimes, it can be hard to see the creases when folding dark or busy patterned papers.

The crane in this tutorial is made using an 8 1/2-inch x 11-inch paper cut into an 8 1/2-inch x 8 1/2-inch square.

Make a Square Base

An origami crane begins with a square base. Place your paper colored side up. Fold in half diagonally and open. Then fold in half along the diagonal the other way. Turn the paper over to the opposite side. Fold the paper in half, crease well and open. Then, fold again in the other direction.

Using the creases you have just made, bring the top three corners down toward the bottom of the paper. Flatten the model to complete your square base.

Start a Bird Base

The origami crane is created using a bird base. A bird base is a square base plus two petal folds.

To turn your square base into a bird base, fold the top left and right flaps into the center and unfold. Fold the top of the model downward to create a horizontal fold that connects the diagonal folds you just made. Crease well, and then unfold. When you are finished, your paper should look like the photo to the left.

Finish the Bird Base

Open the upper flap, pressing the sides of the model inwards at the same time. Flatten down, creasing well. When you are finished, your crane should look like the photo to the left.

To complete the bird base, turn the model over and repeat the petal folds in Step 3 and 4 on the other side.

Fold into the Center

Fold top flaps into the center as shown in the photo. Flip your origami crane over, then repeat this step on the other side.

Crease the Legs

Fold both "legs" of your origami crane up as shown in the photo. Unfold.

Your Origami Paper Crane Is Complete

Inside reverse fold the legs along the creases you just made to create a head and tail for your crane. Fold the wings down to complete your origami crane.

Folding a Senbazuru

Keren Su / The Image Bank / Getty Images

Once you get proficient at folding origami cranes, you might want to fold a Senbazuru . This is a group of 1,000 paper cranes. According to Japanese tradition, folding a Senbazuru is said to grant you one wish or eternal good luck. The individual cranes are often strung along a string so they can be hung from the ceiling. The cranes are typically made from many different colors and patterns of paper, so they are a bright and cheerful decoration.

The most common reason for folding 1,000 origami paper cranes is to show support for a loved one. However, many nonprofit organizations have used the folding of 1,000 cranes as fundraising or public awareness tool.

Making a Money Origami Crane

Roy Hsu / UpperCut Images / Getty Images

With a few small adaptations, the origami crane design can be folded from paper currency.

You can find other variations of the crane project, such as a crane envelope and a crane bookmark.

The best way to improve your origami skills is through repetition—now that you've made your first crane, you can begin to experiment with different paper sizes, colors, and patterns. Once you have a collection, you can decorate your home with your cranes, or give them to a loved one as a gift.

In 2009, The Peace Piece Project of Japan earned the Guinness World Record for creating the largest origami crane. The massive paper bird was just under 269 feet wide, and it took 800 people to assemble.

Amber Robertson

Amber Robertson is the founder of Quill and Fox. A creative writing studio that helps people find their voice and share their stories. Amber is also a published author, with her first book slated for release in 2020. She loves spending time with her family and friends, reading, writing, and traveling. When Amber was younger, she loved to write short stories and plays. But somewhere along the way, she lost touch with her creativity. It wasn’t until she became a mom that she realized how important it was to share her stories—both the good and the bad—with the people she loves most. That’s when Quill and Fox was born. Amber is passionate about helping others find their voice and share their stories. She believes that every person has a story worth telling, and it’s her mission to help them tell it in a way that is authentic and true to themselves

How to Make a Paper Crane: An Easy Guide

Table of Contents

Origami is a Japanese art form that involves folding paper into intricate shapes and designs. One of the most popular origami shapes is the paper crane. Making a paper crane is a fun and easy activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. In this article, we’ll take you through the steps of making a paper crane, from selecting the right paper to folding the final product.

Choosing the Right Paper

The first step in making a paper crane is selecting the right paper. You want to choose a type of paper that is thin and easy to fold, but also sturdy enough to hold its shape. Origami paper is ideal for this purpose, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can also use regular printer paper.

To make an origami paper crane, you’ll need a square piece of paper. If you’re using printer paper, you can create a square by folding one corner of the paper diagonally to the opposite edge and then cutting off the excess paper. Once you have a square piece of paper, you’re ready to begin folding.

Folding the Paper Crane Base

The first step in folding a paper crane is creating the base. To do this, you’ll need to make a series of folds that create a small square with flaps on each side. Here’s how to do it:

Start with your square piece of paper, with the white side facing up.
Fold the paper in half diagonally, creasing it well.
Unfold the paper and fold it in half diagonally in the other direction, creasing it well.
Unfold the paper and lay it flat with the colored side facing up.
Fold the paper in half horizontally, creasing it well.
Unfold the paper and fold it in half vertically, creasing it well.
Unfold the paper and bring the top and bottom edges of the paper to the center crease, forming a small square.
Squash fold the top layer of the small square by bringing the top edge of the paper down and pressing it flat.
Repeat step 8 on the other side of the paper, creating a diamond shape.
Fold the top point of the diamond down to the bottom point, creasing it well.
Unfold the paper and reverse the fold, creasing it well.
Squash fold the top layer of the paper by bringing the top edge of the paper down and pressing it flat.
Repeat step 12 on the other side of the paper, creating a smaller diamond shape.
Fold the top layer of the paper down along the horizontal crease, creating a triangle shape.
Repeat step 16 on the other side of the paper.
Open up the paper from the bottom and gently pull the sides of the paper outwards until the paper lies flat.

Congratulations, you’ve created the base for your paper crane! Now it’s time to move on to the next step and fold the wings.

Folding the Wings and Tail

The second part of making a paper crane involves folding the wings and tail. Here’s how to do it:

Take the top layer of the right side of the paper and fold it up along the crease line, creating a small triangle.
Repeat step 1 on the other side of the paper, creating two small triangles.
Fold the top layer of the paper down along the horizontal crease, creating a square shape at the top of the paper.
Repeat step 4 on the other side of the paper, creating two small triangles.
Fold the top layer of the paper down along the horizontal crease, creating a smaller square shape.
Fold the right side of the paper up along the vertical crease, creasing it well.
Repeat step 7 on the left side of the paper.
Fold the top of the paper down along the horizontal crease, creasing it well.
Fold the right side of the paper up along the diagonal crease, creasing it well.
Repeat step 11 on the left side of the paper.
Tuck the flap of paper at the bottom of the model inside the body of the crane to create the tail.

Congratulations, you’ve created a paper crane! You can now decorate your crane with markers, stickers, or other embellishments to make it your own.

The Symbolism of the Paper Crane

In Japanese culture, the paper crane is a symbol of longevity and good luck. According to legend, if you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will be granted a wish. This tradition is known as senbazuru, and it is often done to bring good fortune to a person or to wish them a long and happy life.

The paper crane also has a special significance in the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who was exposed to radiation during the bombing of Hiroshima. Sadako believed that if she folded 1,000 paper cranes, she would be cured of her illness. Although she passed away before she could complete her task, her story has inspired people around the world to fold paper cranes in her memory and as a symbol of peace.

In conclusion, making a paper crane is a fun and easy activity that anyone can enjoy. By following these simple steps, you can create a beautiful origami crane that is not only aesthetically pleasing but also holds a special meaning in Japanese culture. So why not give it a try and see what you can create?

Now that you have your paper crane base, it’s time to add the wings and tail. This is where your paper crane will start to take shape.

Repeat step 1 on the other side of the paper, creating another small triangle.
Fold the top of the paper down along the crease line, creating a small square.
Flip the paper over and repeat steps 1-3 on the other side.
Fold the top layer of the paper down along the crease line, creating a diamond shape.
Flip the paper over and repeat step 6 on the other side.
Fold the bottom edge of the paper up to the top edge, creasing it well.
Open up the wings and tail by gently pulling them apart.

Congratulations, you’ve successfully folded the wings and tail of your paper crane!

Finishing Touches

Now that you’ve completed the folding process, it’s time to add the finishing touches to your paper crane. This is where you can get creative and add your own personal touch to the design.

Use a pen or marker to draw eyes on the head of the crane.
Use your fingers to gently shape the wings and tail of the crane, creating a more three-dimensional look.
If you’d like, you can also add a string or thread to the bottom of the crane, creating a hanging decoration.

And there you have it – your very own paper crane! With a little practice, you’ll be able to fold these with ease and create a whole flock of paper cranes in no time. Whether you’re looking for a fun activity to do with kids, or just want to try your hand at a new hobby, making paper cranes is a great way to explore the world of origami.

How to Make a Paper Crane

Introduction: How to Make a Paper Crane

Paper cranes are an origami classic, made popular in American culture by the stories inspired by the Japanese legend that one who creates a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish. (Read: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes)

But before we can get busy working on our wishes, we need to start with how to make one! Let's go.

Step 1: Hip to Be Square

For this project you will need 1 square piece of paper (preferably origami paper)*, and nimble fingers.

*I used 5.9x5.9" origami paper.

Step 2: X Folds

The first step is to fold the square diagonally, corner to corner. Repeat the same process again so that it looks like an x on your paper. Make sure that you properly align the edges or else your crane won't fold as well. Make sure it is as perfect as possible.

Step 3: + Folds

The second step is to flip the paper over and fold the paper in half horizontally. Repeat this process again so that your paper looks like a + and a x on top of each other. Make sure it is pefect just like with the x. Making sure your folds are aligned perfectly is a key part of this.

Step 4: Accordion Fold

Open the square up, keeping the colored side down. Turn the square so that one of the corners is pointing at you.

Bring the two side corners in to meet the corner on the table that's pointing at you. (like pictured)

Take the top corner that's still sticking up and press it down to join the other corners, creating an accordion folded square.

Step 5: Superman Fold

With the 'flap' corners still facing you, take the top right hand corner of the square and fold it into the center diagonal line of the square. The result of your folds will look a bit like the Superman logo shape. Repeat this with the left top corner.

Step 6: Top Fold

Once both parts are folded in pull the top part down and press the crease.

Step 7: Frog Mouth to Diamond Fold

After you have both halves of the triangle pulled in pull them back out and lift up the top piece of paper.

Next, lift up the top front corner and hold down the other three front corners. Pull the top corner up. It should look look like a frogs mouth.

The next part is a bit tricky. Pull the top corner all the up and back so that the top piece lies flat. Carefully press all the folds down so that you end up with a diamond shape on top of the bottom diagonal square.

Step 8: Press Repeat

Flip the paper over and repeat Steps 5-7 to the other side.

Step 9: Skinny Kite Fold

Next, fold the right top corner of the diamond in to meet the center line. Press down that fold.

Repeat this for the left top corner.

Flip the paper over and repeat the above steps for the other side. You'll end up with something that looks a bit like a skinny kite shape.

Step 10: Wolf's Head Fold

Now, lift up the top right side and press it over to the other side, like turning a page in a book. Press down the middle fold.

Flip the paper over and repeat this in the same direction, right to left, on the other side.

You will end up with a very elongated 'wolf's head' shape.

Step 11: Snout Flip Fold

Lift up the wolfs snout and fold it so it meets with the tips of the ears. Press that new fold down.

Flip the paper over and repeat on the other side.

Step 12: Book Fold

Like you did in Step 9, fold the right side top layer of the paper in a book fold, from right to left.

Step 13: Heads & Tails Fold

Next, you pull out the long pieces of paper (the head/neck & tail). Pull them both out so that they line up with the angle of the body fold. (like pictured)

Bend the top of one side down to make the head.

Step 14: Flap Folds

Fold both wings down where two different angles meet on the wing flaps. Press the folds.

Step 15: Puff It Up

To finish off the crane and make it able to stand, gently pull the wings apart where they're folded.

Then turn the crane upside down and gently pull the opposite corners apart to finish opening up the body.

You can also try blowing into the hole on the bottom as you pulll out the wings to make sure you're crane's body is puffed out. Be careful to not pull out the wings too much or they'll rip. If the wings rip you will have to restart your crane with a new piece of paper.

Step 16: You're Finished!

Enjoy your brand new origami crane! If you had problems with these steps, please watch the video and re-read the steps. Good luck! I did this project because I love making paper cranes and I'm really good at it. Paper cranes are also cute decorations that cost almost nothing. I hope you"ll enjoy paper cranes as much as I do!

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How To Make a Paper Crane Step By Step

Published: Mar 25, 2024 by admin · This blog generates income via ads

Explore the candid world of origami; paper crane have proven to be an emblem of this paper folding art, captivating craft enthusiasts and those who believe in the mythical tale of the Japanese forging a thousand paper cranes and seeing a wish come true. Classic, wishful, and intricate, learning to assemble these careful creatures will not only boost your creative skills but also give you a taste of ancient Japanese art and unwritten folklore.

How To Make a Paper Crane

Our goal here is to keep the simplicity intact.

All you’ll need for crafting your paper crane is:

Step-By-Step Making Process

Step 1: The Launch Point: Folding Diagonally

Start by folding your paper diagonally from one corner to another. Repeat the process to have a fine ‘X’ crafted on your paper. Ensure the edges are well-aligned to make the crane folding seamless.

Step 2: Merge + With X

Flip your artwork and fold the paper horizontally in half. Repeat for a second time. You aim to overlay a ‘+’ over the ‘X’ you folded earlier. Accuracy is key.

Step 3: Origami’s Staple: The Accordion Fold

With the colored side facing downwards, unfurl the square. One corner should be pointed towards you. Next, converge the two side corners to the corner pointing at you, similar to the picture above. The upper corner is then folded to meet the other corners, resulting in an accordion-shaped square.

Step 4: Superman Fold

With the folded corners still aiming at you, fold the top right corner to meet the center diagonal of the square. A Superman logo-inspired shape should result. Mimic this fold with the left corner as well.

Step 5: Top Down

Now, gently pull the top part down and smooth out the crease.

Step 6: Frog to Diamond

Peel back the triangles you folded down and lift the top layer of the paper. This action will create a shape that looks like a frog’s mouth. Pull the top cornerback and down, flattening the folds for a diamond square.

Step 7: Rinse and Repeat

Mirror the steps from the Superman fold to the Diamond fold on the opposite side of your paper.

Step 8: The Slim Kite

Fold the top corner of the diamond towards the center line and then do the same for the left. Repeat this on the flip side. This gives it a skinny kite-like formation.

Step 9: A Nod to Wolf’s Head

Next, act as if you’re turning the page of a book: lift and fold the top right side over to the other side and press down the middle fold. Duplicate the step on the other side. The outcome should hint at a ‘wolf’s head’ figure.

Step 10: Snout Folding

Like folding an imaginary wolf’s snout, fold the top-right corner so that it touches the ‘ears’ of your paper wolf and imitate the process on the other side.

Step 11: The Book Fold

Fold the top layer from right to left, almost like you’re flipping through the pages of a book. Do the same on the other side.

Step 12: Heads and Tails

Pull out the long pieces to align with the body fold angle. Bend one side down to craft the crane’s head.

Step 13: The Flap Wings

Fold both wings down where two different angles converge. Flatten that fold.

Step 14: Final Touch of Life

To conclude, slightly pull apart the wings at the folds. Flip the crane and gently pry apart the opposite corners to form the body. Blow into the opening at the bottom as you ease out the wings to puff the body.

Step 15: Voila! Your Origami Crane is Alive!

With careful fingers and some patience, your paper crane is set to take flight. Savour your handmade origami crane!

By RNmaster

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How To Fold A Paper Crane

I learned how to fold paper cranes at Terra Sol Sanctuary in downtown Wilmington, NC.

Up for the task? Prepare to be frustrated.

This takes practice, people.

Folding A Paper Crane

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Start out with a square sheet of paper (all sides should be even). Watch the video above while going through these visual cues to get started. It helps me to envision the shapes needed to make the crane, so I divided the steps up into those shapes (just go in order and watch the video for reference).

You’re done! Or you hate me!

Exiting nps.gov

Origami cranes.

On August 6, 1945, two-year old Sadako Sasaki was at home in Hiroshima, Japan when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on her city. Soon after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Imperial Japan surrendered and World War II came to an end, but the impacts of the bomb were just beginning to reveal themselves. Sadako sustained no obvious injuries in the bombing. Ten years later, she began having medical complications. After a diagnosis of leukemia, called atomic bomb disease by some in Hiroshima, Sadako was hospitalized. A Japanese legend says that folding 1,000 origami cranes grants the folder a wish, and Sadako set to work creating her cranes. From her hospital bed Sadako folded 1,300 cranes before her death just months later. Read more about Sadako Sasaki or watch a video about her and then create your own crane

The origami crane has become a symbol of resilience, strength, and peace. Below are directions on how to make a traditional folded origami crane. Below there also a template of an origami crane drawing that you can printout and color. As you make the crane, reflect on what peace means to you. You can even write a message of peace on your cranes and hang them up.

Fold an Origami Crane

Folding an origami crane can be a fun challenge especially if this is your first time making one. The directions below may help you fold your crane. There are also numerous resources on the internet and helpful videos on YouTube. The standard origami paper size is 6x6 inch (150 x150 mm) squares. You may write a message of peace on the origami paper before you fold your crane or write your message on its wings after you have created your crane.

SHUTTERSTOCK

Color an Origami Crane Drawing

A Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy

How to Make a Paper Crane

By elsa sjunneson in uncanny magazine issue twenty-six | 2234 words.

Imagine a piece of flat, perfect, origami paper. White on one side, vibrantly purple on the other.

This is the representation of my emotions before Life happened.

I remember the first time that I was ever truly, rightfully, angry. My father was dying. He was dying from a disease riddled with social stigma. When the doctors told us we had less than a year left with him, I perfectly articulated my feelings at seven years of age: “Fuck AIDS.”

Fold the paper in half by taking the top corner and folding it to the bottom corner, as you learn what it feels like to be angry, as you learn that the world isn’t just, because there is no cure for the thing that will kill your father.

I remember the first time that a man took advantage of my body, the first time I thought to myself “why are you doing this to me? ”

Fold the triangle in half, as you press the page down, control the rage that you feel at those who can take advantage of you.

My rage is supposed to be small. Manageable. Pretty. I am supposed to fold it down, make it something to consume—like an origami crane or a perfectly hand-dipped candle. I am a disabled woman. I have learned to suppress, to fold, to disappear. When I fold down my rage, I fold down myself. I make myself smaller, prettier, easier to consume.

But I am not easy to consume. I am a deafblind woman. And I am angry at the world.

I am angry because I live in a world that does not see me as capable, I am angry because I live in a world where I am expected to keep up, or sit down. I am angry because I am a queer woman, and I have been given the gift of generational trauma in the form of homophobia.

I am angry because this world? It wants me to sit back and let someone else take the wheel, and I’ve never been that kind of girl.

I remember the first time that someone yelled at me in a department store, asking where my “helper” was, asking if I could hear them.

Take the top flap and open it, creasing the left and right sides so you can fold the top/right corner to the bottom corner, suppress the urge to cry in public because people are asking why you, a twenty-year-old, are out by yourself.

There’s something really horrifying about realizing people don’t see you as an adult when you are in fact, an adult. There’s something angering about it too, that people assume based on the kind of body that you live in, or the sort of marginalization you carry within yourself that you can only be an adult if someone helps you.

With time, I had to learn how to deal with those feelings.

Turn the paper over and do the same thing to the other side, refuse to make yourself smaller even as you create something out of your anger.

This world, this society, wants to destroy me. It wants me to be small, it wants me to cower in a corner, afraid to see the light. It offers me locked doors, closed windows, and rejection at every turn.

Society paints my rage as a tantrum, it tries to label me a little girl who should go play with her dollies if she can’t keep up with the big boys and get a thicker skin.

Grab the left and right side of the flap and open it up. Crease the sides so you can fold the top corner down to the bottom. Hold the fragile paper object, which opens like a flower, in your hands. Don’t crush it because you feel a need to destroy something when a colleague compares you to a child.

With each closed door, with each insult, I fold. I crease. I twist. I bend. I make something out of the rage that wells up inside of my chest. It sits somewhere beneath my collarbone; I can feel it sometimes. I live in a world that doesn’t want me.

I have lived a life fueled by anger. I have been given the gift of rage. My rage could have destroyed me. I suspect it was meant to. Being harassed because of my disability, being bullied for being smart, being told to be smaller because I was scaring people with my smartness, to hide my eye because it made people uncomfortable, because my brains and my cataract weren’t ladylike enough… with each fold and crease I found poise and grace, and I found a weapon.

Take both sides of the top layer and fold them in to meet at the middle, then unfold. This step is preparation for the next step.

I don’t let it show anymore.

When I was in college, my rage was palpable. I would shout and cry more frequently. I opened my mouth and let opinions flow like wine, and I gave people more fodder to dislike me.

The world gives angry women few options, it offers us the option to be shot down for our rage. To be told that we are throwing tantrums, that we are “cute” when we are angry, that our rage isn’t useful. My rage has become useful. I have weaponized it beyond recognition.

Open the flap upwards. Show your Congressman your vulnerable parts, tell him how afraid you are of losing your healthcare, of how much you don’t want to lose your friends and family again like you did in the 1990s. He won’t listen, but you tried. You used your rage for good.

For a long time, my rage was weaponized online, it was almost performance art. People liked the angry disabled woman. They retweeted her. They wanted to show my rage off to the world.

But the truth is, my rage isn’t what’s saved me, it isn’t what’s made me who I am.

What’s made me who I am is my radical vulnerability.

Fold the left and right sides inward. The paper will look like an art deco ceiling decoration. This is the face you present to the world. Collected, but with all of the folding and twisting and bending underneath.

These days I don’t just shriek into the void without purpose (well, not much anyway—sometimes the world still pushes me too far). These days, if I’m yelling, if I’m sharing more than most people would, it’s with a purpose. I’ve begun sharing more of my emotional self, more of my soft underbelly, in the search for compassion. With the hope that someone who knows nothing of my life will see me who for who I am: a human being just like them. I’ve done this a lot on Twitter. Sometimes it’s a thread about inaccessibility, where I use photos and emotion to convey how frustrating it is to be locked out of a movie theater, or having to enter a fancy restaurant through the garbage elevator. Other times it’s re-sharing the things able-bodied people say to disabled people, when they’ve never met us before, like the woman who told me I was so AMAZING and BRAVE for ordering my coffee by myself.

I choose to share my feelings, not because I want people to see my emotion as a vulnerability, but because I want people to understand why my life has become about showing people the private life of a deafblind woman.

I bend, I twist, I crease, I fold… I burn. I burn brightly with my rage and I show it to the world when it suits me, when it’s appropriate. When the world needs to know that I am angry. These days I try not to make the rage make me feel small, I try to use the rage to teach people how to be better. Because my rage isn’t a fire stoked by those who would harm me—it’s a fire fed by social discrimination, by a society not built to sustain me.

What I’ve learned is that it is more comfortable for able-bodied people to call a disabled person’s valid concern and fear a tantrum, or a petty fit, because to agree with or to acknowledge the rage would require an abled person to introspectively recognize their privilege. It would require them to understand that a disabled person has a right to be angry, not just at the specific blockade in their way, but at a society which creates those blockades.

Take the left and right pieces underneath the top flap and pull them apart. Crease the bottom of those pieces so that they’ll stay spread apart. Open your heart, and show people what it is like to be the only disabled person in a room, to be the only one fighting for the things you need to survive. Give them no option but to consider your humanity.

So I turned to being radically vulnerable. Instead of simply being angry at the world, I started to think of ways to show people why I was angry. Some of my essays have been about opening myself stitch by stitch, and showing people what ableism has done to my soul. I told my readers about the many ways in which my writing has been suppressed—the many ways I have been suppressed—in “I Built my Own Goddamn Castle” ; I shared with my readers about what it was like to get a scleral shell made in “My artificial eye” in the Boston Globe ; I closed my eyes and dreamed about my deceased father for days before writing “Act Up, Rise Up” for Uncanny Magazine .

I share pieces of my soul in order to show people the world we live in. Because even though I’m angry, I display it differently. I show my anger, but that anger comes with a distinct expectation of compassion, with a need for people to see me as more than just a disabled woman, as a person.

A person who feels so strongly about the world that she lives in that she has no choice but to turn her burning rage into a beacon.

Take one of those pieces that you pulled apart, and slightly open the top corner so that you can bend a portion of it down to form the head. After bending a portion down, crease the sides of the head up so the piece will stay bent: hold it in your hands, look at the face that you have made.

Bend the wings down at a 90 degree angle and finish the crane, but know there are more to make, more stories to tell, more birds to set free.

Elsa Sjunneson

Elsa Sjunneson is a Deafblind author and editor living in Seattle, Washington. Her fiction and nonfiction writing has been praised as “eloquence and activism in lockstep” and has been published in dozens of venues around the world. She has been a Hugo Award finalist seven times, and has won Hugo, Aurora, and BFA awards for her editorial work. When she isn’t writing, Sjunneson works to dismantle structural ableism and rebuild community support for disabled people everywhere. Her work includes her debut memoir Being Seen: One Deafblind Woman’s Fight to End Ableism , her Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla novel Sword of the White Horse , and her episode for Radiolab “ The Helen Keller Exorcism .”

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Learning from disabled folks on how to dream of and carry out a kinder and more accessible world

by Jenny Kwon (they/she)

Introduction

I began reading Disability Visibility in the summer after seeing Alice Wong's Twitter announcement that the anthology had finally been published. I always look for ways I can better learn about disability justice, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to live in an era where I can learn about perspectives from social media platforms like Twitter, a platform that disability activists have used for years now to connect and mobilize. However, reading so many different perspectives from a single disability-centered anthology is something I had yet to do. I realized, to a lesser degree than Alice and all the writers who contributed to the anthology, that Disability Visibility was revolutionary in putting disabled voices and dreams into modern mainstream media, and I was incredibly excited to take a deep dive.

In the gallery below (in the form of an accesible carousel), I have illustrated my interpretation of six stories that touched me and impacted my view of what constitutes disability justice and what is needed to create a kinder and more accessible world . These stories include: "Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time" by Ellen Samuels, "The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People" by s.e. smith, "How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage" by Elsa Sjunneson, "Nurturing Black Disabled Joy" by Keah Brown, "I am too pretty for Ugly Laws" (a poem by Lateef McLeod embedded in the story "Gaining Power through Communication Access"), and "I'm Tired of Chasing a Cure" by Liz Moore.

Gallery trigger warnings: motifs of anxiety and 'curing' disability

Keah Brown on celebrating Black disabled joy

Celebrating Black disabled joy by existing and taking space - Keah Brown

Being too tired to chase a cure - perspectives from Liz Moore

Insert here

I'm tired of chasing a cure - Liz Moore

Step by step instructions on how to construct a paper crane from queer disabled rage

Step by step instructions on making a paper crane from queer disabled rage - Elsa Sjunneson

A poem by Lateef McLeod on being too pretty for Ugly Laws.

Insert here -->

I am too pretty for Ugly Laws - Lateef McLeod

An illustration of crip time intepretation by Ellen Samuels

Crip time - Ellen Samuels

Reimagining time as crip time and listen to your bodymind - Ellen Samuels

An illustration of crip space - performance art - interpretation by s.e. smith

Crip space, crip performance, crip art - s.e. smith

Going beyond the ableist standards of performance art and celebrating crip space - s.e. smith

Text descriptions and reasons for highlighting these pieces click on a name to jump down to the description

Keah brown liz moore elsa sjunneson lateef mcleod ellen samuels s.e. smith, nurturing black disabled joy by keah brown.

Brown, Keah. "Nurturing Black Disabled Joy." Disability Visibility , edited by Alice Wong, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 117-120.

Image caption: A portrait of Keah Brown's face overlays a blue background. She is smiling and wearing blue frames. Above her green text reads "My joy is my freedom." Beside her is the hashtag "#DisabledAndCute," a viral hashtag she coined in 2017. Beside the hashtag is light blue text that reads "Deserve to be seen" and orange text that says "Living unapologetically." A text bubble on the right coming from Keah's mouth reads "I wanted to celebrate how I finally felt, in this black and disabled body, I , too, deserved joy" (Brown 118). To her left there is a yellow bubble with blue text inside that reads "the reality of disability and joy means accepting that not every day is good but every day has openings for small pockets of joy" with a literal green pocket containing a purple heart above the text (Brown 119).

In a gallery centering disabled voices, it's especially important to highlight Black disabled voices. Like almost all mainstream spheres of life in the U.S., the disability activist/organizer community, as Keah Brown also mentions, is incredibly white-dominated. Additionally, disability has historically been presented in the media as equivalent to suffering and being a worse alternative to death (ideas stemming from deeply-rooted eugenics ideology). I intentionally started the gallery with Keah's face and her piece on Black disabled joy to combat these two phenomena. Living and thriving have so many different meanings to disabled folks and mainstream media and the rest of society needs to understand and highlight these meanings and narratives instead of pushing the same, tired, ableist and unimaginative stereotypes of disabled folks.

I'm Tired of Chasing a Cure by Liz Moore

Moore, Liz. "I'm Tired of Chasing a Cure." Disability Visibility , edited by Alice Wong, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 75-81.

Image caption: A face is viewed from the bottom up - with the nostrils and chin visible but not the rest of the face. The background is orange and dotted with pink and red pills and light orange pill bottles. The face is cradled by two hands, and it is crying a stream of blue tears with the words "i'm tired" running down the face. Crowning the head is red spikes to represent headache/splitting pain. To the left, a blue speech bubble reads "Are you going to wish for a cure?". To the right, a bright green speech bubble reads "have you tried have you tried have you tried have you tried" to represent the onslaught of of advice from abled folks to 'cure' Liz's chronic illness/disability.

The art style is purposefully messy, scratchy and imprecise in this piece. I wanted to convey the rawness I felt in reading this narrative - the raw frustration of being constantly redirected to a new cure, constantly gaslighted by medical professionals after revealing inner struggles, and constantly receiving unwanted and unsolicited advice from abled people who act as if they not only know more, but also as if every trick in the oudated book hasn't already been tried. This piece is a self reflection and an introspection that lets Liz and the readers to slow down and ask themselves: What do they really want? Is it a cure to chronic illness and disability? Is it worth constantly striving for a kind of normalcy that they most likely will not return to? Out of all six pieces, this piece touches most directly on the way the medical model of disability can contribute to internalized ableism and limit the ways disabled and abled folks dream on how to 'better' their own lives. "There is a high cost to pursuing miracle cures," Liz notes, and it illustrates how unforgiving our current society is on disabled bodies and souls and also how unaccepting society is. Liz asks why we can't try acceptance - acceptance of "battered" and "broken" beings. Acceptance in the form of communal support and love. This is what is necessry to survive, because Liz knows that if she continues her pursuit to find cures to her connective tissue disorder and "achieve the person" she once was, she will miss the person she has become (Moore 81).

How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage by Elsa Sjunneson

Sjunneson, Elsa. "How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage." Disability Visibility , edited by Alice Wong, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 134-140.

Image caption: This is a step-by-step illustration of the literal and figurative steps to folding a paper crane of queer disabled rage. There is an audio description of the art above, read as a spoken word poem - unfortunately, I am currently still working on making this player keyboard accessible.

It's exhausting to even survive in spite of and against ableism. Queer disabled rage stems from a society that continually places expectations on queer disabled folks, expecting them to conform in order for society to see them as members of society. Social media has allowed the disability community to extend farther and connect with each other on a wider level, but at a cost: the rage, especially queer disabled rage, and other raw emotions that disabled activists, writers and people have can be more easily co-opted and used against them. In this piece, Elsa discusses how her rage has turned more strategic, utilizing her being vulnerable about her identity, background and struggles to "shift perception of disability," see disabled folks like Elsa as whole, and push for change (Sjunneson 139). Her writing is expertly crafted and purposeful, and she can take control of how she presents herself and how to use her voice. Elsa is by far not the only one who is an activist or advocate who expresses herself in this way. The rest of society's duty is to listen to the "radical vulnerability" and receive the paper cranes hiding the years of rage borne from ableism and painful events (137).

I Am Too Pretty for Some 'Ugly Laws' by Lateef McLeod

McLeod, Lateef. "I Am Too Pretty for Some 'Ugly Laws.'" 2018. Lateef.

Image caption: Lateef is wearing a blue suit and tie and is resting underneath a dark green tree with extended gnarled branches. In flowing text, the words "I am too pretty for some Ugly Laws" float above and underneath the branches. "too pretty" and "Ugly Laws" are in pink and red respectively while the rest of the words are in yellow. Typed, white-text snippets of his poem read below: "Too smooth to be shut in. Too smart and eclectic for any box you put me in...You can stare at me all you want. No cop will bust in my head and carry me away to an institution. No doctor will diagnose me a helpless invalid with an incurable disease." The last verse of his poem is handwritten in different colors: "My roots are like a hundred-year-old tree. I will stay right here to glare at your ugly face, too" (McLeod 226).

This is my favorite poem in this anthology. I absolutely love its confidence and refusal to back down in the face of ableism. "Ugly" policies and laws like Chicago's policy in 1967 that "any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated...deformed so as ot be an unsightly or disgusting object...shall not theirein or thereon expose himself oto public view..." were meant to shame, dehumanize and further isolate disabled folks (McLeod 226). Despite structural and ideological attempts to shame disability perspectives away, Lateef holds his ground, firmly stating that his roots are "like a hundred-year-old tree" and that he will stay to glare at their ugly face (226). Reading words like these makes me even further convinced that disabled folks, especially QTPOC disabled folks, have and should be leading the forefront of the movement towards accessibility. The rest of society misses out on the sheer resilience disabled folks have (and I understand that this word holds mixed connotations for many - because it is the harmful ableist society that pushes people to be resilient in the first place).

Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time by Ellen Samuels

Samuels, Ellen. "Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time." Disability Visibility , edited by Alice Wong, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 189-196.

Image caption: The painting is split between the left and right. On the left side, the background includes both a shining yellow sun with a skyblue background and a moon with a dark blue sky and pouring rain. The green words "Listen to the" surround Ellen's figure. Ellen has her eyes closed and is hugging herself. On her body there are the pink words "body mind." The whole sentence reads "Listen to the body mind." Her torso hovers over a clock with the blue words "Take the time you need." Ellen is gripping the two red clock hands in her hand. On the right side is a representation of the current capitalist system that this piece indirectly critiques. The office buildings representing the dominating corporate culture have a human arm (the collective 'arms' of all the workers they exploit and the arms of CEOs and millionaires and billionaires) manipulating a pink clock shaped like a gear. This clock represents how time works in our ableist society. An email appears to "me" from "my boss" saying "Hey, I expected this 2 days ago. Where is it? Why are you taking so long?" Purple calendar sheets go by indicating the ableist passsage of time. Text messages in purple and green read "hey, you're late" and "expect this to dock your pay. next time, you're fired."

As someone who struggles with anxiety and with over-extending themselves, this piece was one of the most impactful pieces I read in the anthology and one of my favorites. In a world that constantly asks us to stay overtime, go above and beyond and work ourselves to the bone, reimagining how we can re-orient our lives around a different structure of time itself is revolutionary. This idea of 'crip time' and listening to your 'bodymind' in of itself is resistance and a clear example of why ANY kind of push towards social change should not only include but also be led by disabled folks. The experiences of nondisabled folks would not allow for dreaming of a radical concept like crip time, which encompasses self care, self love and being in tune with yourself before doing anything for anyone else. I cried a little in relief after reading this piece because it provided me an answer outside of the capitalist system to questions about 'work-life balance' and 'burnout' that really concerned more about self-care and being able to survive and thrive.

That being said, Ellen's piece on crip time isn't just about how society needs to reimagine time as a form of providing accessibility and fostering self-love and community sustainability. Crip time is "time travel," in how outwardly young bodies can have the "impairments of old age" (Samuels 190). Crip time is "grief time" and how time slows down when we lose loved ones and we enter a state of grief and have a strong desire to warp time to flit between the past and present (192). Crip time is "broken time" in its insistence for bodyminds to take breaks - which to me was the framing that left the deepest impression on me - and for us to stop pushing our bodies "away from us while also pushing [them] beyond [their] limits" (192). Crip time is "sick time," which never bodes well in our capitalist society when sick time means less opportunity for companies to profit and more opportunity to lose jobs (194). Crip time is "writing time" for Ellen and "vampire time" in the way bodyminds refuse to bend to the will of a scheduled, strict world. Crip time is a lifestyle. Nondisabled folks should listen to disabled folks on how to incorporate crip time into society to make our world more accessible and kind not only to each other but also ourselves.

The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People by s.e. smith

smith, s.e. "The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People." Disability Visibility , edited by Alice Wong, Vintage Books, 2020, pp. 271-275.

Image caption: There is a slanted aerial view of the stage of "Descent," a piece choreographed and performed by Alice Sheppard and Laurel Lawson. The two performers elegantly wheel around each other as hanging lights surround them. The stage is colored in dark blue and green swirls. Behind them rests a blue ramp. Music plays in the air - represented by colorful notes decorating the stage. The phrase "crip space" is written in light green on the stage. At a 90 degree angle on the front-facing portion of the stage, the phrase "space by us, for us" is written in light purple. An ASL interpreter stands in front of the stage, dressed in all black and signing. Three people sit at the front as they observe and marvel at the performance. All three are thinking the same thought: the bold yellow words "For ME." drift in a blue cloud.

For the millenia that disabled folks have been excluded from mainstream media and practically all spheres of abled society, it should not be surprising that there are disabled-centered spaces where folks have the ability to live and thrive as they are. I always try and remind myself how lucky I am to even be informed of organizations like Sins Invalid, take space in crip spaces and watch performances by and for the disabled community. I admire the way s.e. smith discusses the necessity of these spaces, stating how others taking offense at the existence of performance spaces like the one illustrated is why they're needed, because "as long as claiming our own ground is treated as an act of hostility, we need our ground" (smith 274). These spaces are respites from the soul-sucking, ableist society outside - this is illustrated at the end of smith's piece when they have to get back home via BART and the elevaors "are, as usual, out of order" (275). It's ridiculous to demand the non-existence and refusal to understand the necessity and empowerment performance spaces provide when disabled folks can barely use public goods and services.

When communities strive for cross-cultural unity and disability solidarity, how are they able to cultivate spaces where "everyone has that soaring sense of inclusion" and are able to have "difficult and meaningful conversations"? How are we able to do this? s.e. smith brings up these thought-provoking broad questions that should be considered when dreaming and building towards a kinder and more accessible world. One thing is certain: refusing to "consider the diversity of human experience" and promoting exclusion will only decrease accessibility (274).

Concluding notes

All pieces from Disability Visibility impacted me in some profound way. There were people who I wanted to highlight but didn't have capacity or time to do so, such as Stacey Park Milbern, an incredible queer Korean disabled activist who passed away this year. Hearing her speak and looking through the hashtag #WhatStaceyTaughtMe made me emotional - not in the inspiration porn-esque way - because other than Stacey and a few other folks, I rarely see Korean and Korean diasporic representation as I dive into disability justice.

There were also pieces that I so desperately wanted to create art from and visualize somehow. Some that were so, so important to me and fit the theme of "dreaming of a kinder, more accessible world," however, didn't feel right creating art for. One of these pieces was Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha's piece "Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World." Leah's work centers queer trans mixed-race and diasporic South Asians and Sri Lankan people of color and abuse survivors. The events she describes in her poem, "Psych Survivors Know," for the "people in the ICE concentration camps" deliver gritty, raw and real emotions and feelings that I don't believe art could convey any better. Organizing in the harshest conditions in settler-colonialist U.S. is extremely far from the traditional view of organizing. Inevitably, when I draw my interpretations of these stories that I as a reader have had the privilege of reading, I put my own inherently ableist spin on it. Even if I don't mean it, my own lived experiences will never do justice to the visions that disabled folks have for a world that truly meets their needs. Nevertheless, even if an artistic interpretation of Leah's piece isn't in the gallery, I consider hers the piece in Disability Visibility that talks the most about what a crip future looks like and how grassroots organizations are already building towards this future.

It's also incredibly important to mention that many of the concepts that narratives within Disability Visibility highlight, such as communal living, mutual aid and crip time, are not achievable in our current capitalist system that prioritizes output and profit over people. Ableism has existed much longer than capitalism, but capitalism continues to perpetuate ableism. It is not a coincidence whatsoever that many disability justice groups incorporate abolition into their community care and organizing work. This is more of a personal take, but the more I learn about disability justice, the more I realize that policies that would be labeled by some as "radical" are not so radical when they are the ones meeting the needs of folks with various disabilities.

Additional resources to continue a disability justice-oriented education

Ableist Words to Avoid - an incredible list of words, their connotations and alternatives compiled by Lydia X. Z. Brown, aka Autistic Hoya. While Lydia gives several disclaimers that suggest checking in with folks first regarding their personal language use preferences, since phrases considered offensive to some may not be offensive to others, this list does show how deeply rooted ableism still is in our language and slang.
Sins Invalid - "a disability justice performance project that centers people of color, queers, nonbinary and trans people with disabilities." They also have a list of principles of disability justice that is incredibly worth reading over and keeping in mind.
The Abolition and Disability Justice Coalition created their own " Guiding Principles Based in Disability Justice " based on Sins Invalid's 10 principles of disability justice.
30 Years after the ADA, It’s Time to Imagine a More Accessible Future - an article for Bitch Media by Anna Hamilton that pushes for change beyond what the ADA provides in accessibility. Hamilton acknowledges how influential and important the fight for Section 504 was (led by Judy Heumann and counselors/campers/allies of Crip Camp/Camp Jened). However, she cites voices such as the Black Disability Collective that argues for combining disability and racial justice efforts and activists/journalists such as s.e. smith, who states that uprooting deeply rooted ableism from a "very limited and medicalized view of disability" and extending responsibility in enforcing and creating accessibility to a societal scale rather than an individual one are two necessary factors to achieve long-term accessibility.
Twitter accounts to follow to get started (go WAY beyond these accounts): Follow everyone featured in Disability Visibility. Additionally, follow these: @SFdirewolf @DisVisibility (Alice Wong - the editor of Disability Visibility ), @Imani_Barbarin (Imani Barbarin aka Cruches&Spice), @disabilityjust1 (Disability Justice Culture Club, a disabled QTPOC collective in East Oakland working on climate justice, community safety and culture change), @thellpsx (Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha), @DisabilityStor1 (Aparna Nair), @BlackDisability (Black Disability Collective), @NCDJ_ASU (The National Center on Disability and Journalism)

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