The sonobe unit is the base of modular origami. You can make a wide variety of geometrical shapes just by putting these little Sonobe units together. Some designs call for less than five units, while some call for more than a hundred! Fortunately, Sonobe units are easy to make, especially with the instructions and pictures below.
Steps
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Take your square piece of paper with the white side up if you are using origami paper with one colored side.
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Fold the paper in half vertically.
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Unfold the paper so you have a crease going down the middle.
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Using the middle crease as a guide, fold the two sides parallel to the middle crease and fold them into the center. This will make the paper fold into fourths.
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Unfold the paper once again.
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Take the section on the left and fold it over.
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Fold from the bottom left corner to the crease parallel to the right side of the paper. See image for further guidance.
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Unfold all of the paper. There should now be a couple of diagonal creases, don't worry, this will make the process easier for later steps.
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Turn the paper 180 degrees so that the diagonal creases are on the "top" of the paper.
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Repeat steps 6 & 7 but do not unfold.
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Fold the white flap over.
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Turn the paper 180 degrees, then take the bottom left corner and tuck it under the white flap.
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Turn the almost-finished unit over. Then fold in the extending white parts.
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Fold the two extending points to the corners in which they meet the rectangular part.
- At this point, you may be done, but there are other ways to fold the unit so you can make different polyhedrons.
- Do not add any further creases to create a cube.
- Add a mountain crease through the middle to make a hexahedron.
- Add a valley fold through the middle to make more complex polyhedrons such as a icosahedron, or even more complicated things.
- At this point, you may be done, but there are other ways to fold the unit so you can make different polyhedrons.
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Done!
Tips
- Add precise folds to make the model easier to assemble and more attractive. Precision folds require the creator to measure twice to fold once. Crease the paper with a thumbnail or the side of a ruler to make a sharp crease.
- There is an infinite amount of polyhedrons you can make with this unit, start with a simple one, then more complex, more complex, and so on. (It's even possible to make one with 900 of these!)
- Here is also a variation you can do to make your model striped:
Warnings
- Beware of paper cuts!
- Be patient, you don't have to finish this in a day. (although one unit only takes 3 minutes to make)
Things You'll Need
- Multiple pieces of paper (preferably a multiple of 3)