How to Make Paper Snowflakes

How to Make Paper Snowflakes

This step by step guide will teach you how to make SIX pointed paper snowflakes. Most people make (and most how-tos teach) snowflakes with f... 06:43

This step by step guide will teach you how to make SIX pointed paper snowflakes. Most people make (and most how-tos teach) snowflakes with four or eight points. Real snowflakes in nature form with six points (or occasionally three if they formed weird) so I choose to make my own with six points. I taught myself this technique in high school and have been making paper snowflakes around Christmas time ever since. All you will need for this is paper and scissors. Some people like to use fancy paper, but I use plain white copy paper because somehow the simplicity of white is more beautiful to me. If you want to view a gallery of my snowflakes, see me on Flickr: Paper Snowflake Gallery. Remember to rate this Instructable! Remove these adsRemove these ads by Signing Up Step 1: Step 1 Picture of Step 1 First, begin with a square piece of copy paper. I usually make two snowflakes for every 8.5"x11" piece of paper, so I first cut the paper in half, and then make a square from each half. This makes a snowflake about 5" across. If you're just learning to make snowflakes, using a full piece of paper for each snowflake may be easier to practice with. You can make a square from a rectangular piece of paper simply by folding one corner down to form an isosceles triangle (like the one in the next step) and trimming off the excess paper. Step 2: Step 2 Picture of Step 2 Fold the square of paper diagonally to make a triangle. Step 3: Step 3 Picture of Step 3 Fold this larger triangle in half to make a smaller triangle. Step 4: Step 4 Picture of Step 4 Step 4-5.jpg Imagine the triangle in thirds, and fold the right third over, as shown. If you want to be precise and have a protractor, each "third" in this step is a 30 degree angle. See the explanation above, from a worksheet I made up, which should help to explain folding in thirds a little better. Step 5: Step 5 Picture of Step 5 Fold the left third over. Try to get all of the folds to line up as close as possible for the most symmetrical snowflake. « PreviousNext »View All Steps profile pic We have a be nice comment policy. Please be positive and constructive. 1-40 of 240 Next » cutiepie1116 hours agoReply these are hard my friend know how to make them leelee.susie1 month agoReply how is everyone getting a square from the copy paper mine keeps coming up with rectangle and so i cant make a triangle and my daughters frozen bday is tomorrow im having such bad luck i guess im being dumb from lack of sleep lol ReadsInTrees (author) leelee.susie1 month agoReply Fold one corner of the paper all the way down to one side. Like, if you're holding the paper upright (like you're reading a letter), fold the upper left hand corner all the way down so that it touches the right side of the paper. The edge of the paper that used to be at the top going horizontally should line up evenly with the right hand vertical side of the paper. What you'll have is a large triangle with a narrow piece of rectangular paper along the bottom. Cut off that rectangle, and you'll have a square already folded into the first triangle. LiamR21 month agoReply Mine was cut into two pieces... I Guess I'll have to retry. supersal.armstrong1 month agoReply So these instructions are Awesome!!! Thank you!!! I'm doing a Frozen theme for my daughters 1st birthday Going to find some glittery blue craft paper today (hopefully) and do some more to hang up on a white tablecloth. There is a Frozen PDF on Google with Frozen theme templates, going to give them a go next, but they cut the bottom straight.. So that might be different :) Thanks again!! Great instructions :) image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg kaylah13 months agoReply hellllppppp!!!! at number 6 step i end up cutting the snowflake in half! what am i doing wrong????? phyllis.jefferson.90 kaylah12 months agoReply your cutting the middle part be sure to start cutting a little at first until you get the hang of it then u can get a little more creative with it once you can kind of see which side goes to what hope this helps NancyG3 kaylah12 months agoReply Kaylah1, I'm not sure what is happening to you. But maybe this will help. Think of each fold as the radius/spoke of the snowflake. The point of the triangle is the center. The end with the 2 "bunny ears" is the outside edge. You may want to skip step 4C (I don't see a step labeled 6) and see if that helps. I might also recommend making a partial cut then unfolding your snowflake and see what the effect is. Then refold. It might help you map the whole process into you head. Hang in there. This particular project was simple for me. But I have struggled with this type of thing in the past. Typically it's a matter of one simple step that I just didn't get at first. Then once I got it - BAM! Don't give up. ReadsInTrees (author) NancyG32 months agoReply Step 6 and beyond is on the next page (hit the orange button at the bottom). Instructables wants to split up the steps into pages. nwaordu kaylah13 months agoReply did you figure out what you was doing wrong because i'm in your boat amyabrigo nwaordu2 months agoReply You're skipping step 3. (Folding the triangle over into another trangle a 2nd time) Snowflaking nwaordu3 months agoReply I was doing the same thing. Turns out I was folding it one too many times. amyabrigo kaylah12 months agoReply I did this. You're skipping step 3. wendys1 kaylah12 months agoReply haha omg thats funny ReadsInTrees (author) kaylah13 months agoReply You may be cutting too low? This is a step where you do chop off a big chunk, but only the top. If you folded correctly to this point, you'll see that the top of the snowflake has those two paper corners making a V shape at the top. You'll be cutting those off. We need to even out the layers of folds so that everything is symmetrical, and by making the cut at an angle, that makes the final points of the snowflake. NancyG32 months agoReply Simple and easy. Great instructions. One additional hint - sharp scissors make this easier. Smaller scissors will give you more control over intricate details. LarryJ12 months agoReply I made a few of these to use as name tags on gifts, adds a personal touch I think. Thank you I forgot how to do these. Anna CG2 months agoReply YAY!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! opeyemi.enigbokan2 months agoReply Amazing...my snowflake is amazing MaitreyiS made it!3 months agoReply This is really useful FS83P0VG1QVZ35E.MEDIUM.jpg zakra3 months agoReply Daniela made it IraP3 months agoReply I did it today! IMG_20141129_211106.jpg ReadsInTrees (author) IraP3 months agoReply Those look great! dsantil71 IraP3 months agoReply WOW!!! Can I hire u to make me some, lol ReadsInTrees (author) IraP3 months agoReply Nice! Fightwinconquer made it!3 months agoReply Yaaay. Thanks for posting! IMG_20141218_181622500.jpg KatrinaC23 months agoReply my snowflake came out in a reactangle shape ReadsInTrees (author) KatrinaC23 months agoReply Give it another go, and try to follow the steps very carefully so that you don't miss any folds. Minion Matthew 8443 months agoReply I love making snowflakes and this is the best way!!! (I would put a picture but I've got an old iPad so I can't take pics) :( JaNieceW3 months agoReply Very easy seemed as if it would be hard bu turns out to be fine! i made it i just did not have a photo MattN3 made it!3 months agoReply here's what I made image.jpg ReadsInTrees (author) MattN33 months agoReply Hmm, looks like you skipped a few steps of my tutorial. :) MattN3 made it!3 months agoReply here's what I made image.jpg kimberly.shorey.53 months agoReply Thank you very much for the step by step directions, they are easy to follow. The only trouble I had at first was figuring out which side you should cut off once you have it folded in thirds. I had to try it twice, but once I figured it out, it made really awesome snowflakes. I'm going to making snowflakes this afternoon for Christmas decorations with my 7 year old, which will be a blast. Thank you again! :) Happy Holidays!!! loomergirl3 months agoReply THANKS SO MUCH! I am making a lot of snowflakes for Christmas decor. Thx! DanaA13 months agoReply Thank you! Your steps and pictures were easy to follow. genny.ward.793 months agoReply I'm sorry to bother you, but did you get the first 6 steps from making a star? I was just wondering because I have been doing those steps for over 10 years to make perfect 6 point stars like the star of David. ReadsInTrees (author) genny.ward.793 months agoReply Well, since a snowflake has six points, you'd use the same steps to make a star of David. I didn't "get" them from there when I figured out these folds 15+ years ago in high school. I just worked it out after realizing that folding in half again and again would only make multiples of 4 points (4, 8, 12). So yes, if you know how to make a 6-pointed star, then it's just the same folds. grannyjones3 months agoReply Before I retired, I had access to an awesome computer drafting program. I wrote a macro to draw snowflakes by drawing the first 30 degree segment freehand, then using mirror, rotate, and copy commands to complete each intricate design. susan.vukici3 months agoReply Your instructions were so helpful, i am now obsessed with making these!! Thank you sooo much ;) 1-40 of 240 Next » profile pic We have a be nice comment policy. Please be positive and constructive.