Rainbow Accordion Fan

Two strips with five colored stripes are glued into one and accordion-folded, the bottom is taped tight — and the fan opens into a rainbow almost half a circle wide. You can fan yourself with it or stand it in a cup on your desk.

• Easy
• 2 strips
• 20 folds
• 5 flowers

Make it with your phone cameraLesson code: 5670

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

• Letter sheet — office paper, 80 gsm (20 lb)
• Markers
• Pencil — and eraser
• Scissors — small
• Glue stick — or PVA glue
• Tape — clear, wide
• Glass — phone stand

Steps

Trace

1. Left strip: outline. Trace the rectangle with a solid line — you’ll cut along it.
2. Left strip: folds. Ten lines across are the accordion folds. Dash-dot and dashed lines take turns — fold them in that order.
3. Left strip: stripes. Trace five lines lengthwise — the borders between the colors. The bottom one sets off the handle: don’t color below it.
4. Right strip: outline. The second strip is exactly the same. Trace the rectangle with a solid line.
5. Right strip: folds. Ten fold lines — taking turns again: the first one on the left is dash-dot.
6. Right strip: stripes. Trace five lines lengthwise — the borders between the colors, like on the first strip.

Color

7. Red. Color the areas that match this color. Move the marker in one direction — you’ll get fewer streaks.
8. Orange. Now the areas that match this color.
9. Yellow. Now the areas that match this color.
10. Green. Now the areas that match this color.
11. Light blue. Now the areas that match this color.

Cut

12. Cut out: left strip. Cut out the strip along the outline — four straight cuts.
13. Cut out: right strip. Cut out the strip along the outline — four straight cuts.

Glue

14. Glue the strips together. Lay the strips side by side, stripes up. Apply glue to the first panel of the right strip — up to the first fold — and lay the last panel of the left strip on it, edge to edge. You’ll get one long strip.

Fold

15. Accordion-fold it. Start at the left edge: dash-dot line — toward you, the next dashed line — away from you, and keep alternating to the end. Fold the glued part as a single panel. Crease each fold with your fingernail.

Assemble

16. Tape the handle. Squeeze the accordion together and stand it with the colored stripes up. Wrap the bottom — up to the bottom line — tightly with tape, two times around: this is the handle.
17. Open the fan. Hold the fan by the handle and spread the top edges apart, almost into a half circle: the stripes form a rainbow. Don’t pull too hard — the accordion should stay wavy.

Done. The fan is done. Open it by the top edges, and store it closed with a rubber band around it. You can stand the open fan in a cup on your desk or pin it to the wall.

Make it with your phone camera

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