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Flat Origami Candle

Make a flat candle picture from one square. Three corners fold to the center, then a broad flap rises to form the candle body while the original top point stays visible as a small flame.

Preparation + 10 numbered steps

Materials

6-inch square · 6 × 6 inches

One 6 × 6-inch square (15.24 × 15.24 cm), preferably with contrasting sides. Put the intended flame color facing up at the start. A ruler and pencil help with the body and side marks. No cuts or glue.

Start the interactive guide ↓
Read all illustrated steps ↓Download PDF ↓ · one-page illustrated guide
Flat Origami Candle: a folded candle body with an exposed triangular flame
A folded candle body with an exposed triangular flame

Follow along

Preparation

The interactive guide needs JavaScript. Read every illustrated step below.

Camera only; does not change the fold.
Help · controls & diagram

Play or drag the progress slider to watch a fold from 0% to 100%. Use the view buttons or drag the diagram to look from another angle.

Blue and gold track the original left and right halves of one sheet, not its literal colors. Darker shades identify reverse faces. Orange highlights the moving packet and its hinge.

With the diagram focused: Space plays or pauses, ←/→ change steps, and Home resets.

Every step, at a glance

Compare your paper with each diagram after completing the action. Blue and gold track the original left and right halves of one sheet, not its literal colors. Darker shades identify reverse faces. Orange highlights the moving packet and its hinge.

  1. 0. Prepare the diamond
  2. 1. Crease the vertical center
  3. 2. Reopen the diamond
  4. 3. Crease the horizontal center
  5. 4. Open both guides
  6. 5. Bring the right corner to center
  7. 6. Bring the left corner to center
  8. 7. Bring the bottom corner to center
  9. 8. Raise the candle body
  10. 9. Narrow the right side behind
  11. 10. Narrow the left side and finish
  1. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldPrepare the diamond

    PREPARATION · Origami Club Candle 2

    Prepare the diamond

    Set a corner at the top and the intended flame color facing up. Keep the opposite point directly below it.

    Layers: Use one uncut square.

    Check: The left and right corners are level.

    Explore this step ↑
  2. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldCrease the vertical center

    STEP 1 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Crease the vertical center

    Bring the right point to the left point and match the edges. Press the crease joining the upper and lower points.

    Layers: Move the whole right half.

    Check: The two side points coincide.

    Explore this step ↑
  3. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldReopen the diamond

    STEP 2 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Reopen the diamond

    Return the right half fully to the table.

    Layers: Open the same half.

    Check: The square is flat again with a vertical guide.

    Explore this step ↑
  4. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldCrease the horizontal center

    STEP 3 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Crease the horizontal center

    Bring the bottom point to the top point and press across the middle.

    Layers: Move the entire lower half.

    Check: The new crease joins the left and right points.

    Explore this step ↑
  5. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldOpen both guides

    STEP 4 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Open both guides

    Lower the folded half completely. Locate the crossing of the two creases.

    Layers: Open the same lower half.

    Check: The original center is clearly marked.

    Explore this step ↑
  6. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBring the right corner to center

    STEP 5 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Bring the right corner to center

    Fold the right point leftward to the crossing of the center guides. Press the vertical fold halfway between the point and the center.

    Layers: Move the complete right corner flap.

    Check: The original right tip touches the center.

    Explore this step ↑
  7. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBring the left corner to center

    STEP 6 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Bring the left corner to center

    Fold the left point to the same crossing. Keep both side folds equally wide.

    Layers: Move the left corner flap without lifting the right one.

    Check: The two side tips meet at the center.

    Explore this step ↑
  8. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBring the bottom corner to center

    STEP 7 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Bring the bottom corner to center

    Fold the bottom point up to the crossing. Press the horizontal fold halfway between that point and the center.

    Layers: Carry every layer in the lower triangular packet.

    Check: Three original corners meet at the center; a diamond-shaped point remains at the top.

    Explore this step ↑
  9. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldRaise the candle body

    STEP 8 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Raise the candle body

    On the vertical center line, mark 0.71 inches (about 1.80 cm) above the original center. This is one sixth of the original center-to-top-tip distance. Fold everything below a horizontal line through this mark upward.

    Layers: Carry the full lower packet, including the bottom corner and the folded side flaps. Leave the upper tip still.

    Check: The new straight upper edge stops about 0.71 inches below the original top tip. That exposed triangle is the flame.

    Explore this step ↑
  10. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldNarrow the right side behind

    STEP 9 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Narrow the right side behind

    Measure halfway from the vertical center line to the current right edge: about 1.06 inches (2.69 cm) from center. Fold the entire right strip behind along this vertical line.

    Layers: Carry every layer in the strip away from the visible front. Leave the small flame untouched.

    Check: The right body edge is straight and the flame still projects above it.

    Explore this step ↑
  11. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldNarrow the left side and finish

    STEP 10 · Origami Club Candle 2

    Narrow the left side and finish

    Fold the matching left strip behind on a line about 1.06 inches left of center. Smooth the candle flat for a card or celebration display.

    Layers: Carry all left-side layers behind; keep the right strip folded.

    Check: A level rectangular body sits below a separate exposed triangular flame. Your paper candle picture is complete.

    Explore this step ↑
Sources & notes

Origami Club; diagram copyright credit: Fumiaki Shingu, A Candle 2 (undated web diagram).

Candle 2 construction diagram ↗

The reference diagram credits Fumiaki Shingu. Diagram copyright credit does not establish the model designer or a design-reuse license. This guide does not label the design traditional or public domain. No reference media, wording or code is reproduced; these instructions, numerical geometry, SVG diagrams and PDF are original.

Adaptation: Uses the complete simple Candle 2, not the separate pocket-shaped Candle tutorial. Center guides and the three center-meeting corners are separated into individual actions. The source leaves its body fold and final side folds unmeasured. Here the body hinge is one sixth of the corner-to-center diagonal above the original center, leaving one sixth of that diagonal exposed as the flame. Each final side hinge bisects the distance from the center line to the current side edge. These are authored ruler landmarks. The broad body rises over the top diamond; no sharpening folds, narrow paper strip or drawn flame substitutes for the candle construction.

Original instructions and diagrams, made with AI assistance. About & reuse

Accuracy notes

Real-paper follow-along and paper weight have not been tested. Diagrams illustrate the sequence, not paper thickness, contact, collisions or exact layer visibility. One connected 36-square-inch sheet. The body fold carries the lower corner and both overlapping side flaps; both final side folds carry their complete packets behind. Zero-thickness teaching diagrams do not simulate paper thickness or contact forces. Real-paper folding and printing have not been tested. This is a paper picture, not a candle to light.