Just Fold Paper

Choose a color theme

Fold only

Flat Origami Tulip Flower

Fold a flat tulip-style blossom with three points and two notches. This guide makes the flower head on its own, without a stem or an inflated cup.

Preparation + 5 numbered steps

Materials

6-inch square · 6 × 6 inches

One 6 × 6-inch square (15.24 × 15.24 cm). Thin origami paper is a useful starting point. Optional ruler and pencil for the petal guide points. No cutting or glue.

Start the interactive guide ↓
Read all illustrated steps ↓Download PDF ↓ · one-page illustrated guide
Flat tulip-style flower head with three pointed petals, two notches and a pointed bottom; no stem
Finished flat tulip-style flower head · no stem

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, not two different sheets. Darker tones show the reverse. Orange marks 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, not two different sheets. Darker tones show the reverse. Orange marks the moving packet and its hinge.

  1. 0. Prepare a square
  2. 1. Make an upward triangle
  3. 2. Find the base midpoint
  4. 3. Reopen the triangle
  5. 4. Raise the right petal
  6. 5. Raise the left petal and finish
  1. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: gold6-inch square · color face down

    PREPARATION · Flat flower head

    Prepare a square

    Set the square like a diamond, with one corner pointing up. Put the intended flower color face down.

    Layers: One uncut square.

    Check: The four sides are equal; the left and right corners are level.

    Explore this step ↑
  2. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBottom corner to top

    STEP 1 · Flat flower head

    Make an upward triangle

    Lift the bottom corner to the top corner. Match the two sloping edges and press the horizontal fold.

    Layers: Move the entire lower half onto the upper half.

    Check: Two free corners meet at the top above a closed horizontal base.

    Explore this step ↑
  3. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldBoth layers · corner to corner

    STEP 2 · Flat flower head

    Find the base midpoint

    Bring the right base corner onto the left base corner and crease the triangle in half.

    Layers: Move both layers of the right half together.

    Check: The base corners match; the new fold joins the top point to the base midpoint.

    Explore this step ↑
  4. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldUnfold to the broad triangle

    STEP 3 · Flat flower head

    Reopen the triangle

    Unfold the last action completely, leaving the first diagonal fold closed.

    Layers: Open the whole right-side packet back to the table.

    Check: The broad triangle is flat again, with a center guide ending at the base midpoint.

    Explore this step ↑
  5. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldHinge: base midpoint to 3/7 up right slope

    STEP 4 · Flat flower head

    Raise the right petal

    On the right sloping edge, locate a point 3/7 of the way from the base corner toward the top. With a ruler, that is about 2.57 inches (6.53 cm) along the 6-inch edge. Fold on a line from the base midpoint to this point, lifting the right corner upward and pressing it flat.

    Layers: Carry both layers of the right corner; leave the center and left side down.

    Check: The raised tip stays to the right of, and slightly below, the center tip. The angle is adjustable; the diagram uses the stated guide point.

    Explore this step ↑
  6. END STATEOriginal left: blue · right: goldHinge: base midpoint to 3/7 up left slope

    STEP 5 · Flat flower head

    Raise the left petal and finish

    Locate the matching point 3/7 up the left sloping edge. Fold from the base midpoint to that point, raising the left corner to mirror the right petal. Press both new creases flat. Your flower head is complete.

    Layers: Move both left-corner layers together. Keep the right petal and central point still.

    Check: Three tips and two notches sit above a pointed bottom. The center tip is highest; the two side tips are level. No stem is needed to finish this flat blossom.

    Explore this step ↑
Sources & notes

Origami Guide, Easy Origami Flower (undated tutorial).

Flat flower photo sequence ↗ · Source copyright information ↗

Origami Guide labels this design Traditional and permits original tutorials of designs so labeled. Its photographs and written instructions remain separately copyrighted. This guide independently authors its English teaching, geometry, diagrams and PDF; no source photos, prose or code are reproduced. This attribution is not a project-wide license.

Adaptation: Uses an exact 6-inch square as a local paper choice. Replaces the source’s small center pinch with a full center crease and a separate reopening action. The source leaves the petal angles adjustable; this guide chooses matching hinges from the base midpoint to points 3/7 of the way up each sloping edge. These are authored landmarks, not measurements recovered from photos. The source calls the flower complete at step 6, before beginning a separate-sheet stem; this tutorial teaches only that complete flower head.

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 36-square-inch sheet with rigid folds, both original layers in each petal and continuous original-material seams. Zero-thickness teaching geometry; paper thickness and contact are not simulated. Real-paper folding has not been tested.