Origami Daylily - Make-Origami.com

Origami daylily flowers

Real daylilies.

Daylily flowers are highly variable in their size, shape, color, and fragrance. The name is a generic one and refers to many cultivars of plants in the Hemerocallis genus; there are over 60,000 cultivars of daylilies. Most day lilies will bloom once and the flower only lasts for one day. However, it is possible to have multiple flowers on the same stalk, each opening on different a day. Interestingly, some daylilies bloom at night.

In a similar manner, origami daylilies can come in different colors, shapes, and sizes. Shown on the left is a flower with:
• a square center and flat petals,
• a square center and curled petals, and
• a rounded flower with curled petals and hardly any angles.

This origami flower is not hard to make, but it does have a divide-by-three step which may be challenging. In this web site, this flower along with the traditional lily are the two flowers which take the longest time to fold.

Instructions for Origami Daylily

Step 1:

Start with a square sheet of paper with the white-side facing up.
Fold the paper along the diagonals (in both directions).
Unfold to give you an “X” shaped crease.

origami daylily

Step 2:

Turn the paper over.
Fold from left to right.
Unfold

origami daylily

Step 3:

Fold the paper in half, top to bottom.

origami daylily

Step 4:

Gently push together the top-left and top-right corners of the paper.

origami daylily

The top layer of paper will lift up as you push together the corners.

origami daylily

A little more….

daylily

Step 5:

Swivel the front-flap of paper towards the right. Behind the model is another flap which points back. Swivel this back-flap towards the left.

daylily
This shape is called a “Preliminary Base” and it is an intermediate step found in many origami models.

You will need to trisect the top angle. This is to say, imagine that this is a pie and you have to cut it into three equal parts. See dotted lines.

daylily

Step 6:

Work with the top layers of paper only: fold the right-edge of the paper so the crease falls on the imaginary dotted-line from previous step.

origami day lily

Step 7:

Fold the left-edge of the paper overtop the right flap.

daylily

Step 8:

Unfold both flaps.
Next, we will make a Squash Fold.

origami day lily

Step 9:

Pry open the two layers of paper. Do the next few moves on both left and right flaps.

daylily
Carefully press down (or squash) the top of the paper.

origami day lily
Align the top-crease with the edges of the paper so you can squash evenly.

daylily
This is how it looks after the squash is complete. Next we will do a Petal Fold.

origami day lily

Step 10:

Work with the top layers only: fold the bottom-left and bottom-right edges of the paper to the center as shown.

daylily
Unfold the previous step.

origami day lily

Step 11:

Lift the center of the top-most layer.

daylily
Pull back.

origami day lily
Fold the sides in along the crease made in step 10.

daylily
Keep pulling back the top layer…

origami day lily
until it lies flat as shown.

daylily

Step 12:

Mountain fold along the dash-dot-dot line as shown. Basicaly, you fold back half of the flap and tuck it behind.

origami day lily

Step 13:

Turn the model over and repeat steps 6 through 12.

daylily

Step 14:

Fold the left-edge and right-edge of the model inwards to trisect the top angle (fold into thirds).

origami day lily
Unfold the previous step.

daylily

Step 15:

Squash fold: peel open the two layers of paper and squash down.

origami day lily

Step 16:

Petal fold: fold the bottom-left and bottom-right edges towards the center as shown. Unfold.

daylily
Lift and pull back the top-most layer of paper.

origami day lily
Fold in the edges of the paper along the crease made in step 16. Pull back completely and press flat.

daylily

Step 17:

Mountain fold as shown and tuck paper behind.

origami day lily
This is how it looks like when done.

daylily

Step 18:

Curl the paper around a pencil to make petals. Or, you can fold back the paper as shown below.

origami day lily
This is how the origami daylily looks like when all 4 flaps have been curled.

Origami daylily variations.

daylily origami day lily

Instead of wrapping the paper around a pencil at step 18, you can also fold back the paper. This makes the origami daylily more angular with square center and flat petals.

origami day lily

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