Griffith Business School
Origami Mortarboard (Graduation Cap)
Original design by Jon Tucker (bit.ly/1lFg2cM and bit.ly/1h6iUio).
Photos and instructions by Alicia Stokes (see youtu.be/gCul3NUMxGo for video tutorial).
Instructions
To prepare the origami, cut (or tear) off the rectangle below and fold along lines as indicated
(‘Fold forward’ = fold towards you; ‘Fold back’ = fold away from you) and flatten slightly.
1. Fold lengthways and turn so open side faces
3. Fold vertical flaps so they lie flat on the
2. Bring your hands together, slowly folding
4. Lift one rectangular flap so it stands
up (see below).
table, then fold the square back (in half).
lower sections in until you have a flat square
on the table and two vertical flaps.
vertically. Open, then squash down into a
triangle. Repeat on the other side.
Cut or tear along this line
d
d
ar
rw
fo
fo
r
d
w
ar
d
l
Fo
Fo
l
Fold back
Fold back
Fold back
Fold back
Fold back
Fo
l
d
d
ar
w
fo
r
r
fo
w
ar
d
ld
Fo
Fold forward
5. Lift one flap of triangle so it stands
vertically. Open, then squash down into a
smaller triangle.
Fold back on itself as shown. Repeat on
other flap, then flip model and repeat on
other side.
6. Holding model flat, carefully open triangle
from shortest side (green line, below), and
fold open along the previously folded line
(blue line, below).
7. Using your thumbs and forefingers, gently
shape/squash the corners into a halfbowl shape. Your model will now become
3-dimensional. Repeat on the other side.
8. Unfold the square shape and bring the two
bowl shapes together. Arrange the flaps of
the bowls so one sits partly inside the other.
9. To finish, make a narrow fold around the
edges of the bowl so it ‘locks’ everything
together. All done!