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In this video I'm going to show you
how to fold Carmen Sprung's most recent model, the "carambola".
The model reminds of a starfruit
when you cut it in half.
I think it's simply beautiful,
especially because of these curves
that will form very naturally.
I folded this model from a 15cm square (6 in).
The diameter, that's about the distance from here to that connection,
is then about 7cm (2 3/4 in).
It varies a bit depending on how much you open the flower again.
The model isn't folded from a square, though,
but from a pentagon.
That's why I'll first show you
how to cut a pentagon from a square.
You can use any paper you like,
heavier paper works better,
so don't use too thin paper.
Then the curves will work better
and that gives the model a special touch.
The model doesn't need duo colored paper.
It can have one or two colors.
The back of the model is white if you use paper
that's white on one side.
I usually use Paper
that has two different colors, so that it's easier to see
what's happening in the video.
So let's get started.
If one side is white, start with the white side up.
Fold the paper in half horizontally.
Now we want to mark
the halfway point on one side.
So let's first take
one corner and mark the center here.
You can also crease in the top, but it's not necessary.
We only need the center.
To really locate the halfway point we need an intersection.
So let's fold the top layer again
and again only mark the center
to get that intersection.
You can again crease in the top if you like.
We'll cut the top section off later.
Then turn the paper like this.
Here's an open side, and there's a closed side.
We want to divide this 180 degree angle into fifths.
So the center of the pentagon will lie on this edge.
That's why we have to take the corner
on the closed side and fold it up.
If you use the open side
you'll cut a wonderful pentagon
that's divided in half.
So always be careful:
The closed side needs to be on the right
and you have to take the lower right corner
and align it with the intersection.
Like this we fold 2/5 of the angle.
So we can get 1/5
by halving the angle, so let's fold edge to edge.
This means we've got one, two, three fifths here.
So this angle is again 2/5 of 180 degrees.
So let's fold the angle in half again by aligning this edge
with that edge right here.
Like this. And then we've again got 2/5.
Let's fold that in half again.
Now we've divided the angle into five equal parts.
We've got several layers of paper here.
The top layer
already represents an edge of the final pentagon.
So let's cut along there.
I usually use a cutting knife.
But many of you probably don't have one, so I'll use normal scissors
to cut along that edge.
That works really well, too.
The cut may not be 100% straight,
but it shouldn't be off by much.
Be sure to cut all layers the same.
When you cut with scissors they sometimes slip a bit
and the lower layers aren't cut perfectly.
Then you need to correct and cut again. It worked well for me straight away.
Now unfold everything.
And there you've got it: a perfectly regular pentagon.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Now let's start.
The paper already has some precreasing we need.
So that's good.
Each corner is connected to its opposite side.
Let's take an edge of the pentagon
and align it with this precreasing.
Crease up to the central crease, that yo can see here.
I didn't mark it, so it's probably not as visible in the video.
But we only need the crease up to that halfway point.
Repeat that on all sides.
Now we created this star shape.
Look at these spikes.
They meet at the precreasings
that we created when cutting the pentagon.
We now want to crease the connection
between these two points.
I like doing that as follows: First take a point
and add a pinch mark that goes through it,
then take the point
and align it with the crease line.
Then crease between those two points only.
And repeat that on all sides.
Each time pinch, align, and crease.
I think it's much easier to just take one point
make a pinch in it and then align.
We'll hit the other point automatically.
This makes it easier to work precisely.
At least it's like that for me.
Let's do some more precreasing
that will make the next step easier.
Can you see the small pentagon we created in the inside?
We want to connect two points with a crease.
Locate one point, skip one, and pick the next one.
We want to connect these two points, thus creating a star in the center.
How will we do that?
First take a point of the pentagon,
make a small pinch here
and then align this crease line here
on itself - where it continues above -
and crease between the two points only.
Like this we create a crease line between the two points
of the inner pentagon.
Repeat that a couple of times.
Always add a pinch, then align,
and crease. As you can see I again
am only creasing between these two points and no farther.
It's quite important for this model,
because we want these beautiful curves in the end
that make the model so fabulous.
That only works if that area of the paper
has no unnecessary creases.
The curves are formed with this area of the paper,
so we don't want to crease there.
Now we've got a nice pentagon here.
I'll add another step here
that will make the next step easier.
Let's first refold the creases
we created in a previous step.
In the last step
we created these crease lines.
We want to fold those on both layers of the paper.
So fold it to the inside
and then press on both sides.
Now the creases are on both layers.
Repeat that on all five sides, too.
The angle that we fold here decides
how far the petals are opened.
I tried a out a variation
where I chose a smaller angle.
I folded the angle bisector (of the nner pentagon).
Right now we're not working with the angle bisector.
But if you do, the final model looks more like a star or a snowflake.
But let's continue with this model.
We can start collapsing it now.
First fold one of these edges in
and form a rabbit ear.
All creases are already there,
so just pinch this back into place
and then again pinch this crease back together.
Then fold in half.
I'll show you again.
First do this, and press down right here,
then pinch this together, so that a rabbit ear emerges.
Then fold it in half - you can see it nicely in the back.
Then check that
the small pentagon in the center of the star
is pressed to the top.
Again pinch, pinch, fold in half.
Pinch, pinch, fold in half.
Using the precreases - when we fold it together like this -
- pinch, fold up -
ensures that this area is folded upwards,
not to the bottom. That should happen automatically.
But if you're having trouble with it, do check that the paper is folded up.
Now we've done this on all sides.
Now press that central pentagon
to the top.
It's already precreased - you can see that here.
We want to make an open sink now.
The mountain folds all around are already done.
Now we want to collapse it.
Try it like this: First push a bit on the center.
Then take your index finger and your thumb
and pinch the corner a bit.
Do that for each corner.
Just pinch the point a bit.
We're only working on existing creases.
And then the open sink is done.
It has a nice star shape.
The model's almost done now.
We only have to take these creases here
- these mountain folds - and press them inside.
So press them upwards and then
they should autmatically reverse.
If that doesn't work as nicely for you ensure that
you're reversing the fold all the way to the tip.
I'll try to show you how it doesn't work.
See this - it doesn't quite work - and why?
Look here. There's still a gap here.
Ensure that the crease is reversed all the way to the end.
Then it works again.
You can also press together the two adjacent points
to stabilize the reversed fold a bit.
Proceed with the next one
and the next one
and the last one.
Just let the crease reverse by itself.
Don't stress the paper too much.
We want to have these beautiful, natural curves.
I like to add a finishing touch,
which isn't necessary.
I like to round the tips a bit.
For this I take my index finger and my thumb
and press the tip a bit to the side.
My thumb is a bit wider than my index finger
and I also position the thumb a bit lower on the model.
Like this the curve goes in one direction.
I really like that.
You could pinch the corner on both sides symmetrically.
I prefer it to be a bit asymmetric.
Repeat on all corners.
And then we're all done
with the carambola designed by Carmen Sprung.
It's an absolutely fantastic model,
so do give it a try.
Happy folding!