If you could have one wish, what would it be? There is an ancient Japanese legend that says, whosoever folds 1,000 paper cranes, will be rewarded with a wish from the gods.
Traditionally, these 1,000 paper cranes would be assembled onto 25 strings, each containing 40 cranes - called a senbazuru. Beads are placed at the ends of the strings to stop the cranes from falling off.
Why is the origami crane so popular?
The traditional Japanese paper crane is an image that many people all over the world are familiar with as a symbol of peace. Origami cranes are often given as gifts, and folding origami is often used in mindfulness techniques.
It is an extremely satisfying way to pass the time, and origami cranes (as well as other origami birds) make brilliant features for cards - just mount them onto a coloured background (or card blank) and you're done.
What do I need for the crane origami?
The only thing you need for origami is paper and your hands! We've also outlined a few other optional tools which are useful for origami after the tutorial which can make the folding process much easier.
Origami paper
Speciality origami paper is thinner than regular paper, to enable greater manipulation in terms of the folds. If you're keen to get into origami, it's worth investing in some proper paper as it can make the whole experience more enjoyable.
This is the paper we used (bottom row, third from the left) - and you get a whopping 180 sheets with 45 beautiful traditional designs. Check out the plethora of 5-star reviews on Amazon for this product!
How to make an origami crane video tutorial
