Preparing Regular 8.5x11 Paper for Origami

Make Origami PaperFollow the steps below to prepare an 8x11 paper for origami.

This guide teaches you how to prepare a regular 8½x11 copy or binder paper for origami. Papers need to be square before they can be used to fold most origami. I highly recommend getting some real origami paper with different colors on each side. It's an absolute delight to work with those because they're so much easier to fold. However, if you don't have any now, you can follow the steps below to transform a regular 8 1/2 x 11 paper into origami paper.

Step 1 Step 1: Get out a regular 8½x11 paper.
Step 2 Step 2: Take the left corner and fold it down to the right side. Make sure the right corner is creased at the very tip.
Step 3 Step 3: Take the upper right corner and fold it down to the left, connecting the corner to the left corner where the original fold was made.
Step 4 Step 4: Fold the bottom rectangle backwards and crease it well by using your fingernails to run along the edge.
Step 5 Step 5: Unfold the rectangle to it's original position.
Step 6 Step 6: Unfold the whole paper.
Step 7 Step 7: Cut out the bottom rectangle or if you creased it really well with your fingernails, you can tear it off.

To tear off, place the paper flat on a table and with each hand firmly placed on the rectangle and the rest of the paper, slowly spread the pieces apart.
Step 8 Step 8: Now you have a perfect square ready for origami!