All folds Basics · Entry 1 of 18

Valley fold

Dashed line: where to fold. Arrow with a solid head: which way the paper moves.

What it is

Fold the paper toward you so the crease sinks like the floor of a valley. The most common fold in origami.

History

The dashed valley line comes from the diagram system of Japanese master Akira Yoshizawa, published in 1954. Samuel Randlett and Robert Harbin adopted it in their English books in the 1960s, and it became the world standard: the Yoshizawa–Randlett system.

The flap lifts off the table toward you