Learning how to make a paper boat would be so useful for you and the kids. Together, you could have a fun time making a boat out of a paper. A paper boat is also called as an origami boat. It’s a great model to teach children.
You can make a boat out of any kinds of paper, origami paper, newspaper, white printer paper, and so on. Many teachers use this fun method as a great math-related activity because of geometry related. The word “origami” comes from the Japanese. It means the art of folding paper.
The steps of making a paper boat on this page will include a lot of foldings. There are various techniques for making a paper boat. Here are some of the easy ones:
1. Simple Cute Origami Boat
The first tutorial will be this traditional model of origami sailboat. It will make a sweet little decoration to add more festivity to the kid’s party, table place cards, and some others. You can also make a lot of boats and use as a garland.
With this origami boat model, there are a lot of possibilities. You just need a piece of square paper. Choose the paper with a design pattern or color.
For a more quality result, you can use a square paper that’s slightly thicker such as craft paper. That kind of paper is used in this tutorial. The size of the square paper used here is six inches. If you’re new to origami craft, this is how to make a paper boat easy. Don’t worry about it.
Here are the steps you need to follow:
a. Make a Triangle
The first thing you have to do after having the piece of paper is to fold it to make a triangle like this. Set the boat-side up. For example, if you want the sails to be in white color, the color-side needs to be facing up.
Fold it diagonally and get the bottom corner up to the top. Then, unfold it. Continue the same treatment to the other corner. Leave both of the fold to unfold.
b. Turn It Over
After that, turn the paper over to the side of the other and rotate it just like in the picture, Next, fold the paper right to left in half. Unfold it and fold the paper down to up, and leave them to unfold.
c. Create the Sails
Now it’s time to create the sails. Set the paper’s white-side up. Then, fold the top and bottom corners to the crease in the middle. After that, get the left and right corners together inward right to the top. Then, do as shown in picture number 11.
d. Insert the Corners
Insert the corners into each other by doing these steps. Fold the sail on the left down to the bottom. Fold it back up and leave it as shown in the picture. Gently opening the pocket of the boat and tuck the overlap inside.
e. Create the Sail Bottom
The last step is to create the bottom part of the sail. You should begin with turning the boat over and fold the bottom part of the corner up the middle part. It will make a stand for it. Then, turn the boat back over. There you have it, a cute little origami boat.
2. The Most Well-Known Paper Boat Tutorial
For the other paper boat model is slightly different. It’s the one that most people know about. If you are not familiar with it, you can follow the steps. The difference between this model to the previous one is that it’s how to make a paper boat that floats in the water.
It’s a great origami craft project to do with the kids. It’s quite similar to how to make a paper boat hat. The material you need to prepare is different from the previous one. For this model, you have to prepare the rectangular paper sheet. It can be a letter paper, white printer paper, and others.
Here are some simple steps to follow:
a. Making the First Folds
After the paper is prepared, you can start making the first folds. Set it vertically and then fold the bottom part half up to the top. Then, you can fold the bottom of the right corner to the left one. Make a little bit of pinch to crease the paper and open it again.
b. Folding the Bottom
The crease you’ve made will be helpful to guide the next folds. You can begin folding the left and right bottom corners to the center. Flatten them down and rotate the paper. After that, you should fold one layer as shown in the last picture.
c. Begin to Take Shape
From here, you can see that the boat begins to take shape. You can continue by flipping the paper over to the other side. The bottom edge needs to get the same treatment. Next, you can unfold them and fold the bottom right corner following the previous crease. Repeat on the left flap.
d. Re-fold the Bottom Edge
Next, re-fold the edge of the bottom back up. Then, open the bottom of the boat. Focus on the corners and flatten it. After that, insert the left side’s overlapping flap under the right side.
e. Final Folds
For the final folds, you can fold one layer up to the top side and repeat for the backside. Then, open the bottom part of the boat.
f. Revealing the Boat
It’s time to reveal the boat. You can do it by pulling the right and left flaps apart. Then, flatten the papercraft out, in the boat shape. The last move is to open it gently. You can see the triangle in the center. It resembles a sail of the boat. There you have it, a simple paper boat that floats.
Conclusion
There are some other paper boat models you can choose to make with your kids. Those two models are the most simple ones. Doing origami craft takes a while to master. These boat models can be a great start to learn origami papercraft.
Hopefully, those steps of how to make a paper boat become useful for your next craft project with your kids.