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Origami Peacock
Origami Peacock
About 40 years ago, my grandfather first taught my mom how to make the origami peacock. When she started teaching me origami 30 years later, she wanted to teach it to me but couldn’t remember some steps and was never able to find it online. However, my dad found one she had made for him from when they were still dating in college. She was able to take apart the beautifully made origami peacock that he had preserved for over 20 years and remember the steps. I have probably made over a thousand of them since she first taught me and gifted these fun, pretty origami peacocks to the people that are important to me. Because of all the memories it carries, this origami peacock is by far the favorite origami for both me and my parents.
Tips for making a successful peacock:
The peacock will work with any odd number of folds (must be greater than 3 though) on the step 13 as long as both sides have the same number of folds.
(Ex: Doing 5 folds on one side would work if the other wing also has 5 folds, and doing 15 folds on one side would work if the other wing also has 15 folds)
On step 13, make sure you start on the side that is connected, NOT the side where the middle can be folded down.
If using paper that has different colors for different sides, start with the color you don't want facing up (step 5) for the front of the peacock to be the color you want at the end.
To make a peacock that stands easily, try to make the last (closest to center) fold of both sides as equal as possible. The more symmetric the wings are, the more balanced the peacock will be. Also, it tends to stand better if the last fold is slightly wider than the others.
Step 9 may be hard to do for beginners because one side is connected to rest of the paper on both sides. Learning how to make a crane first may help because that step is essentially the same (other than how one side is connected to the rest of the paper) but a more clear and easy version.
Video Instructions
Variation Examples
(number of folds)
5 folds
9 folds
13 folds
7 folds
11 folds
15 folds
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