A small kit. A clear table.
Take a thin sheet of paper, a pencil, and scissors you can control comfortably. Begin with a plain sheet before using your favorite red paper. A folded stack should be easy to cut without forcing the scissors. For open-sheet details, a craft knife and cutting mat give access to enclosed spaces; children should use scissors with adult supervision.
Watch the first fold
42-second animation with sound. The heart is a symmetry exercise, not a traditional Chinese motif.
Read the lesson transcript
Look at the complete shape. Fold the sheet down the middle. Draw half of the outline beside the folded edge. Cut the outside curve while keeping the connection at the fold. Open the sheet gently. The two halves mirror each other. Keep paper bridges intact so that the design stays together.
Your first cut, in four steps
Fold down the middle
Bring two edges together and crease once. Place the folded edge on your left. The fold is the center of the finished shape.
Draw half a heart
Start on the fold near the top, curve toward the open edge, and return to the fold lower down. Keep a continuous section of the fold between those two points.
Cut the curved line
Cut through both layers along the curve. Turn the paper as you cut. Do not cut down the fold: that connection joins the two halves.
Open, then flatten
Hold the broad parts and open the fold slowly. Smooth the sheet between the pages of a book. Compare the mirrored halves before trying an interior opening.
Learn to see the paper that stays
A line drawn on paper is not always a line you should cut. On the full-size printable pattern, black marks the paper to keep and white marks the openings and outside area to remove. The step illustrations use gray for the transfer guide, red dashes for the next cut, and blue for a fold. The small strips joining parts are paper bridges. Cutting through every bridge releases that piece.
Try a small notch from a folded edge; open the paper to see how it becomes an enclosed opening. Leave generous paper around the notch. For more examples, continue to the folds, cuts and paper bridges guide.
Choose a next step
A lantern or gourd in the beginner collection lets you explore a mirrored silhouette on screen. The butterfly guide introduces interior openings. The Fu guide explains why a character must keep its correct orientation.
A few good questions
My two halves came apart. What happened?
You probably cut through the entire folded edge. Return to step 2 and keep an uncut connection between the points where the curve meets the fold.
Why do my folded layers slide?
Match the edges and crease firmly before cutting. Work with a thinner sheet or fewer layers if you have to force the scissors.
Can I fold every pattern?
No. Reflection changes an asymmetric drawing or character. Use the method specified for the individual pattern; Fu is an open-sheet design.