3D Snowflake

A 3D snowflake made of six identical arms. Each arm is a 3¾ in square: it’s folded in four, corner to corner, and slit, then the strips are curled alternately to one side and the other and joined at the tips.

• Medium
• 6 arms
• 2 Letter sheets
• 24 cuts
• 26 cm across

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 8745

On VanGami the template appears over your sheet through your phone camera — no printer needed. Trace it, cut, fold and glue. Below are all the steps in text.

What you’ll need

• 2 Letter sheets — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Pencil — and eraser
• Ruler — 8–12 in
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Tape — clear: six strips, ⅜ × ¾ in
• Stapler — holds the arms together
• Thread — 11¾ in, for the loop
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Sheet 1: white sheet. The white sheet should be under the camera now. The template has 2 sheets.
2. Squares. Trace three squares with a ruler, 3¾ in per side. You’ll cut along these lines.
3. Cuts. In each square, on the left, there are four solid lines of different lengths. You’ll cut along them later, after folding the square in four.
4. Stars. Trace two stars. You’ll use them to cover the middle of the snowflake on both sides.
5. Sheet 2: another white sheet. Remove the previous sheet and put another white sheet in its place, edge to edge. Don't move the phone — the scale will stay the same.
6. Squares. Trace three more identical squares, 3¾ in per side, with a ruler.
7. Cuts. In each square, on the left, there are four solid lines of different lengths. You’ll cut along them later, after folding the square in four.

Cut

8. Cut out: squares — 3 pcs. Cut out the three squares along their sides. Don’t touch the lines inside yet.
9. Cut out: star — 2 pcs. Cut out the two stars: make each cut from the sharp tip to the inner corner — the corners will come out clean.
10. Cut out: squares — 3 pcs. Cut out the three squares along their sides. Don’t touch the lines inside yet.

Fold

11. Corner to corner. Fold the square in half corner to corner, with the lines facing out: you’ll get a triangle. Crease the fold with your fingernail.
12. In half again. Fold the triangle in half again, one sharp corner to the other — lines facing out again. Now it has four layers.

Slit

13. Four cuts. Cut along the lines through all four layers: start at the fold the lines run into and go to the end of the line. Almost ⅜ in is left before the first fold — the future spine: don’t cut through it.
14. The other five. Fold and slit the other five squares the same way. You’ll end up with six identical triangles.

Glue

15. Unfold. Unfold one triangle completely. The square now has four angled slits, and a solid strip is left from corner to corner: that’s the spine of the arm.
16. Tape the middle. Lay a pencil along the spine and wrap the middle around it: the corners will overlap. Fasten them with a strip of tape, ⅜ × ¾ in, and take out the pencil.
17. Flip over — second strip. Flip the blank over so the tube faces down. On the next frame strip, bring the two free corners together over the blank, one on top of the other, and glue them.
18. Flip again — third strip. Flip it over again and glue the corners of the third strip. There’s just one rule: each next strip goes on the opposite side.
19. To the edge. Flip it over and glue the fourth strip. The last one, the fifth, is the edges of the square itself, again on the opposite side. The arm is done.
20. Five more arms. Unfold the other five triangles and assemble them the same way. You need six identical arms in all.

Assemble

21. Two halves. Fan out three arms, big loop up, with the tips overlapping by ⅜ in. Staple through the tips; assemble the second three the same way.
22. Join the halves. Bring the halves together at the tips, again overlapping by ⅜ in, and staple through the middle with one more staple. The six arms spread out like a star.
23. Join the arms at the sides. The big loops of neighboring arms come closest 1⅛–1⅝ in from the middle. Press them together slightly and staple along the strip — in each of the six places.
24. Stars. Glue a star onto the middle — it will cover the staples. Flip the snowflake over and glue the second one on the other side.
25. Loop. Near the tip of one arm, pass the thread through the outermost slit, run it under the spine, and bring it out through the slit on the other side. Tie the ends together — the snowflake is ready to hang.

Done. The snowflake is ready. Hang it in a window or on the tree.

Make it with your phone camera

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